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

If you don't get an automated response, something's probably messed up. It usually shows up within a few minutes.
For general surgery, you can just walk in with a referral, but for any other surgical specialties, you'll need to schedule an appointment first.

Since it involves abdominal surgery, an appointment definitely needs to be scheduled. I'm going to try one more time. Thanks, coastaltiger7!

Edit: I still haven't received an email, even though I'm certain I'm filling everything out correctly. I honestly don't understand what the issue is; I've already tried twice more.

You’ll need one for the abdominal scan.
Did you check your spam folder?

It just hit me that I went through the exact same thing recently. I didn't get a confirmation email either, so I assumed the order failed and ended up doing the whole process twice. Turns out, they just messaged me saying I'd sent the same referral in two different times.

If you don't hear back about an appointment in a day or two, I guess you should just resend it. They're usually pretty fast with this stuff.

I received two responses this morning 🙂
Kazo says any day between 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM.

Awesome! :-)
So I guess they only need a formal order if you're dealing with plastic manufacturers.

Could someone give me a hand?
I need to get scheduled for a Doppler VB Silva and a TCD—but I’m struggling to find the exact search terms to use on the Medicare website to check the waiting lists. Since the availability dates change so much depending on which specific scan you're looking for, I really want to make sure I'm searching for the right thing...

Hey everyone!

My question might sound pretty basic, maybe even a bit silly, but hey, that’s why this forum exists, right? 😁

Since I’ve only been to the doctor a handful of times in my life—knock on wood, three times exactly—I’m wondering about the best way to get a full workup done. I'm talking a complete blood count, testosterone levels, liver enzymes, the whole nine yards.
Can I just head over to my primary care physician and ask them for a referral? And if you were me, where in Washington, D.C. would you go to get the most reliable results?

And obviously, can any of this be covered by insurance so it doesn't break the bank?

Please, I need some advice

What happens when your doctor passes away? To be specific—my primary care physician died about three years ago, right after my last visit to the office. Nobody ever reached out to tell us we needed to pick a new doctor or anything like that. Now that I actually need to see someone, we’ve just discovered he’s been gone for quite a while. So, what now? Where is my medical file? Does someone automatically take over the patient list? If I have to choose a new doctor, how long does the whole process take before I can actually get an appointment?
I can't find anything about this on the Medicare website or anywhere else online... :/

If you have access to your online patient portal, check there first to see which doctor is listed. Alternatively, you could just call Medicare directly and have them run the check for you.

Does anyone happen to know the hours for the Quest Diagnostics lab over on Vuk Vrhovac, and do I need to book an appointment ahead of time?

Can anyone explain what a color Doppler ultrasound of the splenic vein actually entails? I know the basics, but I'm also wondering about the TCD...

I've had one hospital tell me they don't perform TCDs at all, while another one mentioned they just aren't offering them right now.
What exactly is a TCD?

Could it be this one:

I also stumbled upon this:
TCD and TCD VB are non-invasive ultrasound diagnostic methods used to check the circulation in the intracranial posterior segment—specifically the vertebral-basilar flow—as well as the intracranial anterior segment via the carotid flow. They perform the scan by placing a probe against your temples and the back of your neck.

melloworca6 said:Could it be this one:

And I also stumbled upon this:
TCD and TCD VB are both non-invasive ultrasound diagnostic methods—they let you check out the circulation in the intracranial part of the posterior (VB) and terminal (carotid) flows. They basically just run the probe along your temples and the back of your neck.

But why isn't Rib doing this right now... and why did they tell me to check back in at the end of the month?

I haven't a clue. There might be differences between those color Doppler scans, just like there are variations between ultrasounds. 🤷

I actually went looking to get my spirometry and diffusion tests done privately. I was basically pacing around and asking everyone if they offered them, and they told me they could do the spiro, but not the diffusion. When I was at the hospital, they did both on the exact same machine, so it seemed logical to me that if they offer one, they’d offer the other since the tests are so similar. Clearly, I was wrong.

Maybe it's the same kind of nonsense here. 🤷

melloworca6 said:I honestly have no clue. There might be differences between those color Doppler scans, just like there are variations between ultrasounds... 🤷

I actually tried to book a spirometry test and a diffusion test privately—I was bouncing around all over town—and they told me they could do the spiro, but not the diffusion. When I was at the hospital, I had both done on the exact same machine, so it seemed logical to me that if they offer spiro, they'd offer diffusion too, since the tests are so similar. Clearly, that wasn't the case...

Maybe it's the same kind of runaround here. 🤷

Ugh, that just sounds so silly to me. I think I'll just email every hospital in the area and see who can get me in the soonest—and whether anyone even offers it outside of private clinics...

restlessangler said:That sounds incredibly stupid to me. What am I supposed to do, email every single hospital in the country to see who has the shortest waitlist or if anyone even does this without charging private rates?

They do it at Oakwood, and I'd bet they do it at Rib too since it’s a pretty standard scan.
Maybe they just haven't released next year's schedule yet, which is probably why they told you to check back at the end of the month. I guess that's the only reason that makes sense.

coastaltiger7 said:They’re performing them over in Oakwood, and I’d bet they do them at Rib too—that kind of scan isn't exactly rare.
Maybe they just haven't released next year's schedule yet, which would explain why they told me to check back at the end of the month. Honestly, I can't think of any other reason...

The answer to my question about ordering was basically that they aren't doing TCD right now, so I should try checking in again late this month.
I'll send an inquiry over to Oakwood and we'll see what happens...

My bad, I guess I wasn't reading closely enough. I'm not sure if the Oakwood facility handles TCD; I just saw the mention of a color Doppler ultrasound and assumed that was the issue.

coastaltiger7 said:Oh, my bad—I definitely wasn't reading closely enough. I wasn't sure if they were doing the TCD at Oakwood or not; I just saw the mention of a color Doppler near the Sliva area and assumed that was the main issue...

The issue actually lies with the TCD 😢

I'll probably get roasted if this has already been covered, so sorry in advance—but when a doctor sends over a lab referral, does it automatically hit the local clinic near my home address? My doctor is based in Washington, D.C., but that’s not where I actually live. I'm not sure if he can see my residential info in my file, and he just told me to head to either the clinic in Arlington or the one in Alexandria. Now I'm stuck wondering where my referral actually landed—DC or my hometown.