Navigating Healthcare Referrals: A Patient’s Journey

It’s Wednesday, and I still don’t have an appointment for my biopsy. I had been told to expect a call by today, but no such luck.

At lunch time, I called Dr. S office.
“No, ma’am, we don’t have the referral just yet,” said the kind administrator. “But let me go ahead and set up your chart so that once we do receive the referral, our coordinator can move forward with scheduling.”

I gave her my information, hung up, and immediately called my primary.
“Hi, I’m calling about a referral.”
“Yes, ma’am, is this regarding the CPAP?”
“No, this is about the biopsy.”
“Oh yes, I see that right here too. We’ll send the referral to the fax number once again.”
“Ok, Great! Thanks,” I said, and hung up.

Later that evening, after work, I tried reaching the specialist’s office again, but by then they had already been closed for an hour according to their answering service.

“I’ll try again tomorrow” I thought.

Thankfully, work has been an incredible distraction. It always has been. This weekend I’m scheduled to work, and for once I’m grateful. Staying busy keeps me from sitting in the silence of the unknown, letting my mind spiral. It’s the long drives, the late nights, the idle moments when the thoughts begin to eat away at you.

And today’s driving thoughts? How our healthcare systems need improvement. We’re still using fax machines to transmit critical referrals? There’s no universal system to manage them? No secure real-time dashboards that can track the process without violating HIPAA? The handoffs between patient, doctor, insurance, imaging, and paperwork form a maze that slows care. In medicine, process improvements aren’t just helpful…..they’re necessary.

During the commute…I tried calling my brother, hopeful he would pick-up so I could inform him of what’s going on, only to discover he had changed his number. Not what I expected.

When I finally got home, a letter from the mammogram center was waiting.

It was the report.

Findings: 1 cm x 0.9 cm x 0.8 cm irregular, echogenic mass with suspicion of malignancy, located at 3 o’clock posterior depth on the left breast. Results labeled “Abnormal/Suspicious,” with a recommendation for an ultrasound-guided core biopsy.

Of course, I had to look it up. The possible causes range from benign to malignant. My hope is still firmly with benign…. and I’m anxious to see the confirming data.

Well, in the words of a Courageous Cowboy: Let ’er buck.