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

My doctor sometimes leaves the date off certain referrals. Does that mean they don't have an expiration date?

Thomas Davis55 said:And in the meantime, I’ve managed to lose three successes, lol. So what, am I supposed to go out and beat up those two plus the new three?

Is there actually anything else left for you to do? 😉
Or, if you're really that embarrassed, just take it to the DMs and pay for it. 😍

This whole healthcare reform thing is certainly... interesting. And by "interesting," I mean it’s practically unbelievable!
So, I headed down to the Mayo Clinic this morning to hit the desk and try to Order an appointment with a physiatrist. I went in knowing full well the waiting list is massive—I figured I'd be looking at a month or two of waiting at least.
But then, the nurse behind the counter asks me for my referral.
Naturally, I tell her I’ll just bring the referral along when I actually show up for the appointment.
"No," she tells me, "we need the referral right now to book the appointment."
So, according to this new system, you basically need two referrals just to get one single checkup. Just brilliant.😠
Anyway, on to the next one!👎

Honestly, you don't need two separate appointments; just book the one that covers the full examination. It’s possible they set it up this way to weed out those "patients" who call in just to snag an open slot without any real intention of actually showing up, especially when their primary care physician has no plans to refer them anywhere in the first place.

That’s just not true. You can definitely Order over the phone or just show up in person, though if you don't mind me asking, which hospital are we even talking about here?

Kimberly Ward said:That’s not quite right; you can actually place an order over the phone or just show up in person. Also, if I may be so bold as to ask, which hospital are we talking about here?

We're discussing the Mayo Clinic.
Actually, it isn't true that you can just call it in if you're looking to get a referral...
And just to circle back to the previous point: those referrals don't stay valid forever.
If I don't actually make it to the front of the line for another two months, then by then, it probably won't even be good anymore...

The rules have actually changed since the start of the year!
Where I used to go to Order, I now have to show up in person with my referral
They take the referral back, and then you bring that same one to your appointment. Apparently, it serves as official proof that people are ordering things for actual needs, which is supposedly how they managed to shorten those long waiting lists🤷
The expiration dates on referrals vary, too. I asked about surgery specifically because of the wait times, and since mine was issued late last year, they told me it’s valid for two years🤷

jadesailor14 said:The rules changed once the new year hit.
Where I used to Order, you actually had to show up in person with your referral form.
They take the referral back, and then you bring that same one to the actual appointment; apparently, it just serves as official proof that people are ordering things for legitimate needs, which is supposedly how they managed to shorten those massive waiting lists. 🤷
The expiration dates on these referrals vary, too. I was asking specifically about surgery because of the wait times, and since mine was issued toward the end of last year, they told me it’s valid for two years. 🤷

Well, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for clearing that up.🙏

The doctor can issue a referral without a date, or you can just head back there and have them fix the date for you.

jadesailor14 said:the rules changed after New Year's
where I was trying to Order, you actually had to show up in person with the referral
they take the referral back and then you bring that same one to the actual exam, supposedly it just serves as proof that they’re Ordering for a legitimate need—apparently that's how they managed to shorten the waiting lists 🤷
the expiration date on referrals varies; I asked about surgery specifically because of the wait times, and since mine was issued at the end of last year, they told me it’s valid for two years 🤷

I was trying to Order at Mercy Hospital (Beverly Hills, NYC), for ENT and thyroid stuff. And I did everything over the phone (without even driving down there) and got an appointment. Then after the exam, I show them the referral and they keep it. Basically, the first few days of the month are open, so that's when they have openings. If I understood correctly. I got the ENT thing done within a week, and the thyroid should be done in less than a month. And it wasn't just for those two things either, I had a whole pile of stuff to get checked out and I got seen relatively fast. If they don't have space, they just refer you elsewhere where there's availability.
Meanwhile, someone in my close family was trying to book at Holy Spirit, and they didn't get an appointment until May, yet the same thing needed at Beverly Hills gets an appointment in less than three weeks.
As far as I know, the referral is good for a month, but if you miss that window, people easily just fix the date on the paper or issue a new one with the doctor's stamp.

Since this is about a hospital in a smaller town, I honestly don't know how things work over there, but it seems to me like everyone is just doing their own thing.

A doctor can't exactly issue a referral without a date because they're all linked up on the computer (Deloitte), so the ones who actually follow the rules stay by the book.

The only thing they actually have coordinated is when you can call in to Order—like, there's just one specific time for centralized ordering.

I was wondering, if I happen to have a referral for a specialist from a clinic in a place like San Diego, would it be okay to take that to a different city, say New York, for an appointment?

Exactly. You can even ask them to reimburse your travel expenses—that’s what Milinović said, all while he was busy bragging about his absolutely brilliant little reform.

gentletiger46 said:Exactly. You can even try asking them to cover your travel expenses—that’s what Milinović was bragging about while he was busy touting his supposedly brilliant reforms.

Thanks for getting back to me.
I mean, it's such a tiny town where there's basically just one specialist clinic, and honestly, those doctors might be misleading people; they claim they won't perform a procedure simply because the law doesn't allow it.
It’s not like I’m some idiot who can't go and verify that for myself!

Is central scheduling mandatory or just optional?
I showed up at the dermatology department, booked right then and there, and snagged an appointment immediately.
But then, over at anesthesiology, the nurse told me I have to go through the central scheduling system.
I guess I'm wondering if the rules are the same for every department, or if it's possible that anesthesiology and
dermatology just operate under different systems?
Did the nurse at dermatology do me a favor, or was she actually required to
Order my appointment through the main office?
There are basically three ways this plays out:
1. The nurse at dermatology did me a solid.
2. The nurse at anesthesiology is giving me a hard time.
3. These departments don't follow the same set of rules.

They used the nuclear exception for me too, but they told me I'll have to go through the central ordering process next time. 😉

1.Maybe dermatology has an admin on duty right now, but anesthesia might be short-staffed at the moment
2.Or maybe derm just has a lighter patient flow, so they actually have time to Order things
2.It’s also possible anesthesia isn't fully computerized yet while derm is
3.With the central system, you should technically be able to Order from anywhere in the hospital, but when things get crazy, they probably just spread the workload by sending requests to the local clinics

there are tons of reasons why
You can always send an order via fax or email since it leaves a paper trail, so if something goes wrong, you've got proof to file a complaint

I just picked up my referral from my primary care doctor, and now I’m supposed to go ahead and Order an appointment at Mercy Hospital... I recently heard about this new centralized scheduling system, and frankly, I’m a bit lost. I'm planning to send an email to book the slot—what am I actually supposed to write? Should I just say "I want to schedule"? And honestly, I have no clue which specialist I even need to see at the hospital—will they just assign me to someone? Has anyone here actually used email to set this up? If so, please walk me through it... thanks.

Man, they’re just making things unnecessarily complicated. I honestly don't get the point of all this right now. What happens to the elderly or people who don't even own a computer? Not everyone is tech-savvy or living their life through a screen. Sure, they say you can still Order in person, via fax, or email... but what about a 75-year-old grandma who doesn't even know what an email is and has nobody to help her? If she lives out in rural Nebraska and the nearest Mayo Clinic is hours away in the middle of nowhere, how is she supposed to Order?
Honestly, it’s not clear to me either what anyone is actually supposed to do to get an appointment. They haven't laid out any precise instructions or even made a formal announcement; they just vaguely mention that you can't use the phone anymore. It's pathetic, really. Just more headaches for everyone else...

Thomas Davis55 said:I finally managed to get my referral from my primary care doctor for a checkup, and now I’m supposed to go ahead and Order an appointment at Mayo Clinic... I only recently heard about this new centralized scheduling system they have going on, and honestly, I’m feeling a little lost with how it all works. I was thinking about trying to schedule everything via email, but I’m not entirely sure what the protocol is—should I just write something simple like "I'd like to schedule an appointment," or is there more to it? Also, I have no clue which specific specialist I should be booking with at Mayo Clinic; do they just assign me to someone automatically? Has anyone here actually used the email option before? If you could walk me through it, I’d really appreciate it... thanks!

Everything is laid out quite clearly on the hospital's website; you just need to scan your referral and mention in your message that this is your initial consultation.