Request for Advice (RFA) service: GP access to specialist advice on patient cases in 3 to 5 days
The request for advice (RFA) model allows hospitals across Queensland to provide specialist advice back to general practitioners (GPs) on their patient cases. The service may be helpful for patients who need specialist review and advice sooner, helping to cut down on timeframes to accessing critical care.
Request specialist advice from Mater Queensland specialists
Mater offers a ‘Request for Advice’ (RFA) service to support GPs wanting access to specialist cardiology, dermatology (adult and paediatric), endocrinology, haematology, nephrology, neurology, obstetric medicine and respiratory and sleep medicine.
This is not a referral to Mater but is a request for timely clinical advice which may eliminate the need for a specialist face-to-face outpatient consultation.
The service uses the Consultmed digital platform and is asynchronous. GPs will receive feedback from the Mater Queensland eConsultant team within 3 business days.
Please note, from Tuesday 31 March 2026 Queensland eConsultant service is transitioning from Medical Objects platform to the Consultmed portal. Consultmed will now integrate with both Best Practice and Medical Director practice management systems for seamless access for GPs. See tips for getting started with Consultmed on the Mater Queensland eConsultant webpage.
Request for advice from Queensland public hopsitals
RFAs can also be made to specialists working in the public hospital system. Queensland Health’s GP Smart Referrals platform is used to access this service for patient case review.
GPs practising in the Brisbane South PHN region can use GP Smart Referrals to submit a request for advice (RFA) to Metro South Health Hospital and Health Service clinicians in the following specialty areas:
diabetes and endocrinology (Metro South wide)
persistent pain management service (Metro South wide)
ADHD (service only available for patients known to Logan Hospital’s paediatric service).
Metro South Health advises that response times for requests for advice submitted through GP Smart Referrals is typically within 5 business days.
Find more clinical advice options on HealthPathways
GPs can see all advice options in the region for every speciality on Brisbane South HealthPathways. This includes all phone and written advice provided by Metro South Health, Mater, Queensland Children’s Hospital and other free specialist care providers.
Advice options continue to expand and will be updated on HealthPathways.