Physician referral services generally provide the name of a physician, the physician's specialty, office address and office telephone number. A website address may also be provided. Physician referral services may be volunteer organizations, companies that benefit indirectly by the referral, companies that are paid a fee by the physician or, rarely, companies that are paid a fee by the prospective patient. These services are often provided in conjunction with other patient-related or informational services.
Users
Physician referral services are often utilized due to a change in the prospective patient's circumstances. The patient may have just moved to a new location, been diagnosed with an illness or been told surgery is needed. The patient may have a new insurance plan that doesn't pay for services from a former physician, or may desire a second opinion about a diagnosis or treatment plan from a new physician.
Location-based Services
Physician referral services are often location-based. A local medical association may offer referrals to all the physicians in their local area or those who are members of the local association. A hospital may offer referrals to all practicing physicians who have privileges to treat patients in the facility.
Specialty-based Services
Many physician specialty organizations offer referrals to physicians in their particular specialty. According to MedlinePlus, a website maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, organizations ranging from the American Urological Association to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons provide physician referrals. Age-related services also exist: Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Geriatrics Society offer referrals to physicians who treat patients with special needs due to age.
Insurance-based Services
Sometimes, a physician referral service is operated by a health insurance company. This type of service educates the consumer on which physicians participate in the insurance plan and may inform the consumer about specific requirements, such as the need for a referral from a general practitioner in the plan before seeing a particular specialist.
Benefits
Physician referral services provide a variety of services for prospective patients. The Hospital for Special Surgery queries the prospective patient about his or her needs and then identifies and patches the patient through to the office of an appropriate physician, for example. The American Medical Association provides lists of physicians by specialty, along with information about their education, licensure and certifications. Other organizations offer insurance information, whether the physician is seeing new patients and other pertinent data. Occasionally, the service is part of a broader range of offerings provided by a nurse who discusses a medical problem with a prospective patient before referring the patient to a particular physician.
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