Info Desk [Paperwork, ordering, wait times, procedures, booklets, prescriptions...]

Daniel Cooper40 said:Hm, they call me, but I haven't tried emailing yet. Which number are you calling? Most orders come in between 1 and 2 PM, so that’s probably your best window to try.

Was that experience specifically with gastro, or just a different department?
I'll definitely give it a shot around then. Thanks.

I am not quite sure where else to turn for this—does anyone happen to know just how much access a clerk or perhaps a doctor, say, over in the OB-GYN department actually has regarding a patient's full history? I mean, can they easily pull up everything someone has done in their department or even across other specialties? Is a Social Security number or some other identifier enough for them to just pull up an entire medical file?

I couldn't find the right thread for this, so I’m asking the admin to please move this post or just point me in the right direction.
I was wondering if someone could walk me through how to actually request a prescription online from my primary care doctor—I know how to book an appointment at the hospital or schedule follow-ups, but I can't seem to find the option to just type out what I need so the pharmacy can have it ready by the next day. Any help would be appreciated.😉

Timothy Lee29 said:I couldn't find the right thread for this—admin, if you wouldn't mind moving this or pointing me in the right direction.
I’m trying to figure out how I can request a prescription online through my primary care physician. Someone please walk me through it. I already know how to book an appointment at the hospital or schedule follow-ups, but I can't seem to find the option to just list what I need so the prescription is ready for me by the next day. Thanks. 😉

I'm not entirely sure that's even an option. Prescriptions are usually tied directly to your insurance card, though I suppose I don't know if a doctor is actually allowed—or even able—to issue them that way...

You can't really do it all online yet. Sure, doctors might reply to an email, but getting a full prescription cycle going requires more than that. If you just need a refill, I know you can sometimes just call it in, but for a first-time script? You’re definitely going to need to see a physician in person. They aren't exactly in the business of writing prescriptions from a distance. 🙂

Timothy Lee29 said:I couldn't seem to track down the right thread for this, so I'm asking the admin to please move this post to the correct spot or just point me in the right direction.
I’ve been wondering how I can actually request a prescription online through my primary care doctor. I already know the drill when it comes to booking hospital appointments or scheduling follow-ups, but I can't seem to find the specific option to just message them about a refill or a new script. It would be so much easier if I could just send a quick note and have everything ready to pick up by the next day. Does anyone know how this works? Thanks! 😉

You really need to sit down and have a serious talk with whichever doctor is writing those prescriptions for you.
Is it actually common practice for patients to just send an email to book their appointments? When you're dealing with a chronic treatment plan, it really changes your whole rhythm. It’s not just about taking a pill once in a while; it becomes this constant, underlying hum in the background of your life. You start planning your entire day—your meals, your sleep, even your travel—around that one specific routine. It’s like having a second job that you never applied for, but you have to show up for every single day without fail. Then they’ll probably just hand over their email address to you.
If you don't have an email address to work with, you're basically stuck with two options: giving them a call or just showing up at the doctor's office in person.

Rebecca Grant26 said:I’m not quite sure where else to turn—does anyone happen to know how much access a clerk or perhaps a doctor, say, in the OB-GYN department, actually has to everything a patient has done in their department or others? Is it easy for them to just pull up someone's entire medical history? Would something like a Social Security number or an insurance ID be enough for them to see all those records?

That probably depends on the specific hospital.
For instance—and this always strikes me as a bit odd—I ended up in the ER at the same hospital twice within two weeks, yet they acted as if I hadn't been there just fourteen days prior.
Now, the blood bank—they definitely have everything logged in their own database.
But generally speaking, there isn't one massive, centralized database that allows any random physician to instantly see your full history of conditions, illnesses, and such—unless, of course, that specific doctor or the hospital itself maintains its own internal system.
The only entity that truly sees the full scope of your treatments is Medicare. Though, from what I understand, doctors don't have direct access to those files.

Has anyone here actually spent any time at the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins Hospital lately? I'm looking for some info. My friend's elderly parents are heading to the Mayo Clinic soon and they need a place to crash nearby. Nothing fancy, just somewhere decent that won't break the bank for a few days. Any leads on apartments or cheap rooms in the area?

darkmaker70 said:Is there any way to order besides going there in person? That’s just not convenient for us...

I haven't had time to go in person, so I'm heading to them tomorrow. 😁 My first email for centralized ordering was sent on April 4th. 🙂 I still haven't heard anything back, even after calling. Just forget about it—either go there yourself or have your primary care doctor handle the referral!!!!

After a few days of silence, I lost my temper and emailed the Department of Health website—I mean, what’s the point of having centralized scheduling for the gastroenterology department if it clearly doesn't work? 🙂 (Honestly, this is the only time I've seen a system fail this badly, and it doesn't look like they plan to fix it.)

The response was basically this:

Dear Madam,
Thank you for bringing these issues within the healthcare system to our attention. We are aware of the problems regarding email scheduling at certain hospitals and are taking all possible steps to resolve these matters as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, please be advised that the process for initial gastroenterology consultations is being integrated into the e-scheduling project (currently in the implementation phase). This means your chosen physician can refer you from their office to any hospital in the US for said consultation via the central health information system. At Johns Hopkins Hospital, they have released available appointment slots for their outpatient clinics for August, September, and October (depending on the specific specialist's clinic).

Sincerely,
Ask us anything, Medicare

(My GP refuses to do it that way, unless I want to get into a screaming match with her. 🙂

So, I guess I'll just hit the road. Even if I manage to get an appointment tomorrow, waiting three months would be just great, 🤣 since the line for gastro is already endless...

I just realized you mentioned it's inconvenient to schedule there. I'm going to head over tomorrow or the day after. Send me a DM and I can try to get you scheduled if you're out of town. Just tell them you're an acquaintance of mine or something, say you sent an email and nobody responded, and ask if they can help. You can just send me the referral, maybe they'll need an insurance ID number or something. I'm not really sure what they require.

Sean Garcia said:I'm wondering if anyone has been to the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins? Also, are there any apartments or rooms for rent near the hospitals? Some elderly friends of mine are coming to stay near the Mayo Clinic and they need somewhere affordable for a few days.

Check this out there’s plenty here, you’ll probably find something that works.

Question:

My grandma needs to get medical macrobiology and parasitology tests done. She heard they're open, but she can't remember where exactly 😍 because the doctor just wrote down "7-9 AM, Mon-Wed" (she thought it was at the local community clinic), but when she went in today for bloodwork, she totally forgot 🤣—basically, she did her blood and urine right there, then brought the referral back home instead of leaving it. 😂
Do you do those tests at the local health center, or at a major hospital like Johns Hopkins? Or does any general hospital just handle that stuff?

She missed the window last Wednesday, and she needs the results by next Wednesday ☕ I guess how long does it usually take to get results back? (just so I know whether to cancel her appointment with the doctor for next Wed or if it'll be ready sooner).

Dealing with them is always such a headache. 😁

wiredpanther7 said:[Question:

My grandma needs to get some microbiology and parasitology tests done. She heard they have specific hours, but she’s insisting the doctor didn't actually say where to go 😍—the doctor just wrote down Monday through Wednesday from 7 to 9 AM (she thought this was at the local community clinic), but today she went in to get blood drawn and completely forgot about the other stuff 🤣—meaning she got her blood taken, dropped off a urine sample there (who knows what happened to it), and brought the referral slip back home with her 😂
Do these tests happen at the local clinic, or does she need to go to a major hospital downtown or over on Petro Avenue? Or do most hospitals just offer this service generally?

She missed her window last Wednesday, and she needs the results by next Wednesday ☕. Also, how long does it usually take to get the results back? (I want to know if I should cancel her appointment with the specialist for next Wednesday or if everything will be ready by then)

Dealing with them is never simple 😁

I'm guessing she has a paper referral for microbiology and parasitology, but she ended up going to a standard lab at a local community clinic.
You didn't mention exactly which specific tests are listed on the referral.

Usually, clinics have a hygiene and epidemiology department that collects samples for bacterial testing (like antibiotic sensitivity) for urine or throat and nose swabs, and then they send everything off to the main facility in Arlington!
I'm not entirely sure if she needs to leave the physical paper referral there.

Generally, those collected samples are picked up on certain days of the week, so the turnaround time can be way longer than if she just went directly to a place like General Hospital and handed the samples straight to their microbiology lab.

swiftbear86 said:I guess she probably has a paper referral for microbiology and parasitology, but went to some basic lab at a local clinic instead.
You didn't actually say which tests were on the referral.

Usually, those community clinics have a hygiene and epidemiology unit that sends urine samples or throat and nasal swabs for bacterial testing over to Arlington National Cemetery!
I'm not really sure if you even need to hand over the paper referral then.

Anyway, they usually just collect those samples on certain days of the week, so the results take way longer than if you just went to, say, General Hospital and dropped it off at their micro lab.

My bad, I have the referral right here now—urine culture, ABG, colony count.
Yeah, just a standard referral. She's used to everything being digital on her insurance card now, so she didn't even show this one.😁
So, she can just take the urine sample to General Hospital tomorrow. Thanks, I wasn't sure if all those departments exist everywhere or just at specific hospitals. And I get what you mean about the local clinic; she was just there last Wednesday.😁

wiredpanther7 said:Sorry, I have the referral now—it’s for urine culture, ABG, and colony count.
Yeah, just a standard referral. She’s used to everything being digital on her insurance card now, so she didn't even bother showing or handing over this one. 😁
So, she can just take the urine sample to the Los Angeles Lakers clinic tomorrow. Thanks, I wasn't sure if all clinics have those specific departments or if it's just certain hospitals. And thanks for the tip about Amtrak; she understood that perfectly, she just went by there last Wednesday. 😁

The referral needs to specify microbiology-antibiogram and colony count; your "everyday" local labs don't handle that kind of testing. At Amtrak, they clearly collect samples on Wednesdays, and you have to make sure the urine is in a test tube. I'm surprised they didn't ask for the referral; you can always give them a call and then just drop off the paperwork tomorrow.
I'm not sure if those referrals are available in a digital format yet—my guess is it still needs to be the paper version.
Check back tomorrow at the place where she dropped off the sample. If they haven't sent the sample along yet, you could always drive it over to the Los Angeles Lakers clinic yourself, assuming that's the right facility for your area.
If you do that, you should definitely have the results by Tuesday (maybe even sooner).

Let me know how it goes.

swiftbear86 said:According to the referral, you need a microbiological antibiogram and a bacterial count; standard labs don't even touch that stuff. At Amtrak, they clearly collect samples on Wednesdays, and you have to hand over the urine in a vial. I don't get why they didn't ask for her referral; you can always just call them and bring the paperwork tomorrow.
I'm not sure if those referrals are digital now—but I'm guessing it still needs to be paper.
Check tomorrow at the place where she dropped off the sample. If they haven't forwarded it yet, maybe you can just take it directly to the Los Angeles Lakers clinic if that's within your area.
The results should definitely be ready by Tuesday (or maybe sooner, I guess).

Let me know what happens.

Just checking in. I swung by Rebro today to drop everything off at microbiology, so results should be in Monday.

As for the gastroenterologist—I actually managed to get an appointment pretty fast through my primary doctor, May 21st. The phone was ringing non-stop, but the nurse just ignored it, and there wasn't even a line. She basically just told me to brace myself for the actual appointment date 😍 —they see everyone between 9:00 and 11:30, and since everyone is scheduled at once, I guess it’s going to be crowded.

I have a bit of a silly question here.

Does anyone know how to check who my primary care doctor actually is? Basically, back when I was a student, I didn't bother seeing the campus clinic doctor—I just went to the first place I could find. I wasn't really there much, and now, after five whole years since my last visit, I have absolutely no clue what her name even is.

I wonder where I can look up that info? Thanks! 🙂

Sarah Hernandez46 said:I have a bit of a silly question here.

How can I find out who my primary care physician actually is? See, back when I was a student, I didn't bother seeing the campus clinic doctor; I just went to whoever was available at the time. I wasn't there much, and now—after five years since my last visit—I have absolutely noooo idea what her name even is anymore.

Where can I go to look up this info? Thanks! 🙂

Just give the local Social Security Administration office a call and ask them the same thing you asked us.

http://www.ssa.gov/index.html

I’ve got a question too 🙂

My doctor sent over a referral for some routine blood and urine work—the usual stuff like glucose, cholesterol, bilirubin, and liver function tests. However, the referral specifically says I need to go to the Amtrak facility.
I’ve actually never been there; I’ve done all my testing at the clinic on Martić's my entire life.

Does anyone know if I can just take this referral to the Martić's location and get everything handled there without any issues? 😁

Olivia Nguyen78 said:I've got a question too. 🙂

My doctor just handed me a referral for some routine blood and urine work—just the standard stuff like glucose, cholesterol, bilirubin, and liver function tests. According to the paperwork, I’m supposed to head over to the Amtrak station clinic to get it done.
I've never actually been there myself; I've just gone to the clinic on Martić's my whole life to get my blood drawn.

I was wondering if I could just head over to Martić's with this referral and get everything taken care of without any hassle? 😁

I don't think so, not if the referral explicitly says it's for Amtrak.
Is it actually possible for a doctor to have their own practice right there within the Amtrak stations?

Both hospitals have pretty much the same availability, so I was wondering—is there any actual reason why one might be a better bet than the other?

I need to get a 24-hour urine protein test done. I was handed this red referral slip and now I’m completely lost—where am I supposed to go for this, and is there a specific clinic that handles it hygienically? Or am I looking at heading straight to a major hospital like Mayo Clinic?

Angela Wright said:I need to get a 24-hour urine protein test done. I was given a red referral slip, but now I have no clue where to take it, who actually performs these tests, or if they can even maintain hygienic standards? Do I have to head to one of the major hospitals?

Looks like you don't even need an appointment at the Los Angeles Lakers medical center.
Just remember, you have to collect your own urine over the full 24-hour period.
Here are the instructions: