Also pretty important, in general (not knowing your exact health care setup):
If YOU call a doctor that you don't know, to make an appointment, you will be seen when the doctor has the right amount of time to meet you and do a consultation. That might take a month. Or two.
If your doctor calls a doctor for a referral, that doctor will make the appointment and usually slip you in as a more urgent visit within a few days.
Same thing with dentistry: if I went to my endodontist and said "Hey Doc I'm going to need a root canal, my doctor down the road told me to set one up." The endo will give me next available. And that might not be for a few weeks. If my dentist calls and says "Hey Doc, Jazzie has a blah blah in her blah blah and needs to get in, when's the soonest?" The endo will have me drive right over and it'll get done within the hour.
Whether you need a referral for medical insurance or not: if they ALLOW referrals, get one. You will always be seen faster.
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