CMAA Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Guide for Exam Prep

A patient referral is specifically a recommendation made by one healthcare provider to another for specialized services or further evaluation. This process often occurs when a primary care physician recognizes that a patient requires more specialized care than they can provide themselves, such as referring a patient to a specialist for a particular condition or procedure. The referral ensures that the patient receives appropriate care tailored to their specific medical needs and allows specialists to review the patient’s case based on the primary provider's assessment.

The other options, while related to patient care, do not accurately define what a patient referral is. A formal discharge does not involve recommendations for future care but rather indicates that a patient is leaving one provider's care. A second opinion represents a patient’s initiative to seek additional viewpoints on their diagnosis or treatment plan, rather than a direct referral between providers. Communication about test results pertains to the sharing of specific medical information rather than making a formal recommendation for further services. Thus, the correct definition of a patient referral encapsulates the collaborative nature of healthcare provision between various specialists.