Therapy Practice Calls
Speech therapy referral calls: what belongs in the note
A practical intake boundary for referral status, scheduling, communication access, and clinical questions at speech therapy practices.
Begin with the reason for contact
Ask whether the caller needs a new evaluation, ongoing visit, reschedule, records request, or billing contact. Follow the practice's identity procedure and capture a safe callback number. For a child, record the parent or guardian relationship as the caller states it.
Do not turn intake into an assessment
The caller may describe speech, language, voice, feeding, or swallowing concerns. Write the description accurately, but do not screen, diagnose, rank severity, or recommend treatment. Use the clinical escalation path for concerns the practice defines as urgent.
Prepare the scheduler
Record referral and order status, preferred location, general availability, interpreter or communication access needs, and documents already sent. Do not promise that a referral is complete until staff verify it.
Confirm the next administrative step
Say whether the request is waiting for document review, benefits review, scheduling, or clinician review. Repeat only an appointment that the system shows as accepted.