Introduction to the Referral Process

Hello everyone, it's the first day of the Chinese New Year. Happy new year, everyone!

We wish you all the best for the new year! Today, we are going to introduce how to refer from clinic to hospital, hope it can help students in need.

Clinic to hospital: Referral Process

Clinic → Ask for a consultation → Doctor's recommendation → Medical center appointment

As we mentioned last time, patients will generally go to the clinic they belong to first for basic treatment. The doctors here will decide if the patient needs a higher level of care or specialized treatment based on their condition.

referral letter

If specialty care is needed, the clinician will write a referral letter to the medical center/specialist to help refer the patient. These referral letters generally include the patient's medical history, current symptoms, and the results of tests done at the clinic. The patient then needs to make an appointment with the specialist at the medical center and bring the referral letter with him/her when he/she goes to the clinic.

Vandy Student Insurance

In general, students with school health insurance who want to see a specialist need to make a referral at the student health center. If you do not have a referral letter, you will not be covered under your insurance contract.

Referral Procedures

If you have already been seen at a student health center, you can contact the doctor at that time through the online health portal, my Health at Vanderbilt (you can download the app), or call the student health center and ask for a referral letter.

If you have not been seen at a student health center, you can contact the student health center through my health at Vanderbilt or by phone and ask them to make arrangements for you based on your specific situation.

Note: Referral letters are not required in the following cases

• Mental illness/substance use disorder treatment

• Obstetrical and gynecological care

• Care in case of student health center closure

• Medical emergencies

• Medical care when a student is more than 40 miles from campus.

• When student health center services are not available due to a change in status (for example, when a student is on medical leave)

Thank you all for reading!

Next article: Introduction to insurance other than student insurance, including vision, dental, etc. Please stay tuned!