[The referral of infectious diseases is a key activity for infectious diseases departments and units, as well as for the hospital]

Infectious diseases referrals (IDR) is a core activity of infectious diseases departments, and is certainly the one with the greatest potential impact on the hospital due to their cross-sectional nature, and with the emergence of a bacterial resistance and antimicrobial crisis. However, there is no standard model for IDR, no official training, and evaluation is merely descriptive. Paradoxically IDR are at risk in a health system that demands more quality and efficiency. The aim of this review is to assess what is known about IDR, its definition, key features, objectives, method, and the evaluation of results, and to suggest improvements to this key activity for the infectious diseases departments and the hospital.