Have you every been in this situation before – you go to your family doctor, he gives you a referral for an ultrasound, you call up the clinic mentioned in the referral and get the next available appointment (which is more than month away…). We all have. So why don’t we, the patients, get the freedom when booking the appointment to the clinic we want at the time convenient for us?
There is, however, something the doctors don’t mention – you don’t need to go the same clinic as specified in the referral. Most of the time, you can go to any specialized clinic you want. The referral that the doctor gives let’s the doctors know what procedures need to be done, on which parts of the body. Most of the clinics will accept the referral from any family physicians for the needed procedure. Bellow is an example of a referral form to a specific clinic:
Even though the clinic is specified on the referral, you can take this referral to any other clinic you find. So next time, you get your referral see what other options you have. To find the doctor nearest to you, check out OpenCare.com If you are interested in booking the appointment online, you can see the list of available clinics and doctors at http://opencare.com/find/ontario.
