Frequently
Asked Questions

Now, more than ever, the need for managing people’s mental health and overall well-being is critically important. Recognizing this further highlights the importance of a cross-Canada health professionals digital resource directory to navigate this need; benefiting both clients/patients and the professionals who help them. 

An effective referral system ensures a close relationship between professionals in a client’s or patient’s circle of support and helps to ensure that they receive the best possible care following as short a wait period, and by the most suitable health professional, as possible.

When you are able to easily access and provide your client or patient – who has already put their trust in you – with a referral to a specific colleague or professional, this is a win-win situation.

You save time and are appreciated for being able to guide your client or patient in the right direction, quickly and efficiently.

Your client or patient receives the help they need sooner. They are able to access the “right” professionals to meet their needs and appreciate not having to search aimlessly in the hopes of finding a good match. 

As a lighten workload member you not only have access to the Health Professionals Directory, but also to discussion forums with other health professionals, access to members discounts and rewards and the ability to send and receive messages with other members through our private messaging system. There is no fee for a lighten workload membership.

You are eligible to become a member of Refer To Me if you are a health professional, agency or Medical Doctor. This includes psychotherapists, social workers, art therapists, chiropractors, naturopaths and speech and language pathologists, for example. The Medical Doctor category includes general practitioners and specialists. Community Care/Not for Profit organizations include any agency or organization not making a profit or serving the general public at no (or nominal) cost to them. 

In order to be a member of Refer To Me, we ask that you have completed a degree program at an accredited University or College.

Although many of the professionals on Refer To Me will also be members of regulatory bodies and be governed by the rules and regulations of same, this is not a mandatory requirement.

We appreciate complete transparency and honesty when completing the registration process and creating your profile listing.

Medical doctors, community care/not-for-profit agencies, and health professionals who want to refer out only, will not be charged for a membership on Refer To Me.

Health professionals who charge a fee for their services and are looking to grow their practices by receiving referrals from other members, will be charged a one-time fee for a lifetime membership.

These fees are subject to change, with notice.

The difference between most other sites and ours is that Refer To Me is  managed by a Psychologist who understands the needs of both health professionals and their clients/patients and therefore, has created a site that responds to these needs.

We help you find other health professionals for your clients/patients. With Refer To Me, you can direct your client or patient to the “right” match for their needs. When referrals are made from professional to professional, rather than when a client or patient finds you online, the person who has been referred is more likely to follow up and be reliable.

Like other sites on which your profile may be listed, Refer To Me’s Health Professionals Directory is also available to your clients or patients (non-members), if they prefer to find a health professional themselves.

When you or they are searching another site on which your profile is listed as a resource for finding professionals, it is likely specifically geared towards one profession only. On Refer To Me, you have access to a comprehensive multi-disciplinary list of health professionals.

Last, but not least, you will find that the cost of listing your profile on Refer To Me is less expensive than other professional directories, since it is a one-time fee, despite the added value of features such as being able to privately message other members, to get discounts and offers from our partners and to connect and communicate with other professionals on our discussion forums page.

When a client or patient has a specific need or concern, they want to make sure that the professional to whom they are being referred has experience or expertise in that particular area. They also typically want to make sure that they have experience working with their age group and if they are being seen in person, have an office in close proximity to home or work. They may even want to meet with someone who can communicate with them in a language other than English. Of course, they also want to know that the person to whom they are being referred, is available.

Searching online to make sure that all of these requirements are met would take a long time and still may not yield exact results. By accessing Refer To Me, the professional who is referring can enter all of their client’s or patient’s needs and let the site do the work for them.

In addition, with Refer To Me, the professional who is making the referral can chat with the professional to whom they are referring so as to give them a heads up that a referral is coming their way, and to share non personally identifying information about the client or patient.

Once you’ve been charged your one-time fee for a lifetime membership, there is no refund available, even if you choose to remove your profile page. 

The one-time fee is equivalent to what was formerly an annual fee. If this site ceases to be, for whatever reason, prior to one year following the payment date, we will refund you a prorated amount of the fee paid.

As a result of mental and other health concerns being so prevalent, you may find that the professionals to whom you typically refer, have long wait lists or have closed their practices for now. In addition, professionals often refer to the same group of professionals – not because they are always the best match, but because they don’t have time to research other options. 

Refer To Me allows you to expand your network of professionals so that you are not accessing (or exhausting!) only a few. With Refer To Me, you can easily see who has space in their practice before making the referral, which leads to greater client satisfaction and less stress when trying to find someone to help them as quickly as possible.

All members in our Refer To Me community can send referrals to those who have created a profile page in our directory. Members who have signed up for our ‘lighten workload’ or ‘medical doctors’ membership have done so specifically to refer out only. Health Professionals who are looking for referrals will be contacted by other members’ clients after receiving your contact information from the member who has found you in the directory and considers you to be a good match.

Although we are primarily a B2B platform, non-members are also able to access the Health Professionals Directory on which you may be listed. From there, they are able to contact you directly. 

It’s difficult to say how many referrals you may receive and how often. A lot depends on who is searching for what. Having said this, we are consistently developing relationships with organizations and associations, along with Medical Doctors, who want to refer out only.

Absolutely! in this case, we recommend choosing one of our free memberships that allow you to refer out only and to not create a profile listing at all – such as the lighten workload membership.

We trust that our colleagues will enter accurate and legitimate information. However, registrants will be verified by a Refer To Me administrator. During this process, we reserve the right to confirm designations and organizations with whom colleagues are affiliated. Refer To Me is not responsible for the accuracy of information that has been entered, nor for the way in which the professional maintains or updates their profile listing or their professional behaviour. It is always good practice for a health professional to confirm accuracy if they are suspicious and to report this concern, or others, through the ‘Contact Us’ page.

In addition, clients or patients should be made aware how you have accessed the person to whom you are referring and that you are not personally in contact with or familiar with their work (unless, of course, you are).

Although EAP (Employee Assistance Programs) through a client’s or patient’s workplace may be easy to access and affordable, many clients and patients are not content with going in “blind.” Typically, the client or patient is assigned a practitioner that they know nothing about, unless they enquire. When a client or patient is referred to a specific professional through Refer To Me, they can “look into” that person to try to confirm a good fit before the initial meeting.

If you’re a member of an association, then of course you can locate colleagues. You may even be able to access other publicly accessible association websites to look for other professionals. This may be a long and tiring process, though. With Refer To Me, we’ve done the work for you.

Please click on ‘Health Professionals Directory’ in the navigation bar (at the top of the page) to see all of our health professionals. Search for a professional by area of expertise, languages spoken, location etc. Then, contact the professional by clicking the ‘Email Me’ button on their profile page, fill out the required fields on the form, and press the send message button. You will receive a confirmation email once you submit the form. There is no charge for you to access Refer To Me’s Health Professionals Directory.