Sometimes your primary care doctor may request that you see a specialist for a particular ailment that they are not experts in. Or sometimes you may know you need to see a specialist! Navigating the health care system isn’t the easiest. Johnson Health Center has a referral department to hopefully make the process easy and seamless for you. Below are some common questions you may have about a specialist appointment:

What type of services are considered a specialty?

Some of the more common specialists we refer to are: physical therapy, dermatology, endocrinology, optometry, podiatry and oncology.

What is a referral?

A referral is given when your physician sends you to a specialist for more focused treatment. Typically, your doctors office will send the specialist necessary medical notes and schedule your appointment for you. Sometimes, specialists prefer to speak to the patient or have paperwork filled out ahead of the appointment which means they would call you directly. It’s important to remember, not all offices require for you to be referred to have an appointment with them; you may be able to go straight to them before visiting your primary care doctor.

How will I know who takes my insurance?

With any form of insurance, Medicaid or private, you may call your insurance for a list of offices that will accept your insurance.

I don’t have insurance or extra money to afford a referral.

Many offices have financial aid applications available to help determine if you qualify for reduced costs. Johnson Health Center also partners with some local specialty offices. These offices provide lower costs based on a completed Reduced Fee Application with Johnson Health Center.

I missed my referral appointment.

If an appointment that you were referred to is missed, you may call that office and reschedule; your physician does not need to referrer you again. However, many offices have no show fees for missed appointments.

The specialist I need to see is out of town and I don’t have transportation to get there.

Johnson Health Center provides transportation to UVA on Fridays for patients who express need. We will also provide transportation to local specialty appointments. This is free of cost to you!

*If you have questions about an open referral that Johnson Health Center is helping you with, dial 434-929-1400 option 4.