A physician who sends a patient to another doctor for specialty care or services.
If a physician accepts payments from another physician solely for the referral of a patient, both are guilty of healthcare fraud.
The disadvantages are limited choices since you are required to choose a primary care physician. The primary physician must then make referral outside the network and getting the referral for specialists may be difficult.
It is usually governed by state.
As you didn't state where you live, the best advice I can give is to call local area hospitals, which often have Physician Referral lines. If you have a Primary Care Physician, then that would be the first source to go to for a referral.
Many mammography facilities accept "self referral." This means women can schedule themselves without a physician's referral.
referral
referral
Primary Referral
Primary Referral
Primary Referral
Primary Referral
Get StartedWhen a patient's family physician cannot provide a medical treatment, the patient may wish to see a specialist. This document allows you to request that your primary care physician (i.e. your family physician) refer you to a specialist. Your physician may ask that you come in for an appointment before he or she makes the referral. Alternatively, your physician may suggest that you see a specialist without you requesting him or her to do so.Nearly every insurance company and managed care organization has its own policy regarding referrals to specialists. For example, many health care plans require a patient to obtain a referral from his or her primary care physician before seeing a specialist. Additionally, some specialists will not see a patient without a referral.However, in some instances, a referral may not be necessary. For example, many companies or managed care organizations allow a woman to visit a gynecologist for an annual exam without a referral. This should be explained in your insurance policy or other benefits information.