medical referral

What is a referral?

Sometimes a doctor is not responsible for a particular examination. Or not for a particular treatment. Then he can refer you to a specialist.

You can only go to some specialists with a referral. A referral is a piece of paper with your diagnosis and details on it. And which examination should be carried out.

Sometimes the doctor can recommend a specialist. But you can also choose which specialist you want to see yourself. You have a free choice of doctor.

You can then call the specialist to make an appointment. Tell them on the phone that you have a referral. This is important for the specialist.

When you go to your appointment, hand in the referral at reception.

A referral helps the doctors to pass on important information. For example, the new doctor will then know your diagnosis and findings. Or even prescribed medication.

Your GP can issue you with a referral. However, you can also be referred from one specialist to another.

Can you see all doctors without a referral?

Clarify whether you need a referral before treatment. Ask at the practice.

Some doctors are only allowed to work with a referral. For example, in laboratory medicine or nuclear medicine.

Hospital doctors will also only treat you with a referral. There is one exception to this: if you go to hospital in an emergency, the doctors there will treat you without a referral.

You may be on a ‘GP contract’ with your health insurance company. In this case, you must always have a referral from your GP to a specialist.

If you are privately insured, you do not need a referral. However, the treatment must be medically necessary for the costs to be reimbursed.

How long is a doctor’s referral valid for?

Referrals are always valid until the end of a quarter. The year has four quarters.

A quarter always lasts three months. The first quarter runs from January to March.
The second quarter runs from April to June.
The third quarter runs from July to September.
The fourth quarter runs from October to December.

Sometimes you don’t get an appointment with a specialist straight away. You can then use a referral in the next quarter.

Sometimes treatment is not completed within a quarter. In this case, you do not usually have to submit a new referral slip.

There is one condition for this: you must have a valid electronic health card at the time of treatment. Or be able to show another proof of insurance.