referral

nouns

a person whose case has been referred to a specialist or professional group

"the patient is a referral from Dr. Bones"

referral

is a type of (narrower)

a person requiring professional services

"a typical case was the suburban housewife described by a marriage counselor"

a recommendation to consult the (professional) person or group to whom one has been referred

"the insurance company says that you need a written referral from your physician before seeing a specialist"

referral

is a type of (narrower)

something (as a course of action) that is recommended as advisable

the act of referring (as forwarding an applicant for employment or referring a matter to an appropriate agency)

referral

is derived from

is a type of (narrower)

the act of sending on to another destination

"the forwarding of mail to a new address is done automatically"; "the forwarding of resumes to the personnel department"