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If your doctor tells you to see another doctor, ask for a "stat referral". That seems to be the magic word to make the process go fast. I don't really know what

If your doctor tells you to see another doctor, ask for a "stat referral". That seems to be the magic word to make the process go fast. I don't really know what this means, or if it's an official real thing, but a doctor used these magic words and I got an appointment with a rare specialist within a day.

Clubber 3y ago
Stat, used as a directive to medical personnel during in an emergency situation, is from the Latin word statim, which means “instantly” or “immediately.”
- Accujack 3y ago
  struct stat { dev_t st_dev; /\* ID of device containing file */ ino_t st_ino; /* inode number */ mode_t st_mode; /* protection */ nlink_t st_nlink; /* number of hard links */ uid_t st_uid; /* user ID of owner */ gid_t st_gid; /* group ID of owner */ dev_t st_rdev; /* device ID (if special file) */ off_t st_size; /* total size, in bytes */ blksize_t st_blksize; /* blocksize for file system I/O */ blkcnt_t st_blocks; /* number of 512B blocks allocated */ time_t st_atime; /* time of last access */ time_t st_mtime; /* time of last modification */ time_t st_ctime; /* time of last status change \*/ };
gauravphoenix 3y ago
It means immediately/as-quick-as-possible, but the referring physician needs to user their best judgement before placing such order. For example, if the doctor is suspecting you have renal colic (kidney stone), the lab orders can be marked as stat.
deleted 3y ago
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cosmotic 3y ago
This may get the asker closer to the front of the line, but it pushes everyone else back. If everyone asks for a stat referral, then stat referrals will take a long time. This is something that you should probably rely on your doctor to ask for and not to insist on.
devilbunny 3y ago
I got in to see a retina specialist within three hours based on a stat referral from a general ophthalmologist. But I did have a retinal hemorrhage at the time. Certain tests - e.g., echocardiography - are almost always ordered "stat" in the hospital. So it really means nothing unless the referring doctor calls the lab where they are performed and says "we are holding up an entire operating room and its personnel pending the results of this test". THAT gets results. So, yes, "stat" referrals will get you in very quickly - but the referring doctor is placing their credibility on the line by doing so. They are asking the doctor being referred to to go out of their way and delay other patients in order to see you because what you have is something that needs to be seen right now. The referring doctor had better have a good reason to do so, or they will become the boy who cried wolf and get ignored. Likewise, it's allowed for one surgeon to "bump" another one for an emergency case - but they have to call them personally and explain why this emergency can't even wait for a couple of hours (aside from massive trauma, almost all can).
deleted 3y ago
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creamyhorror 3y ago
Apparently this medical usage is the source of the wider adverbial use of 'stat' (as in "get it done stat!").
bjornasm 3y ago
I hope that its up to the doctor to descide who gets in front of the queue and who doesn't. To exaggerate a bit, isn't this like having a blinking siren on top of your car to skip ahead on your way to work.

Clubber 3y ago

Stat, used as a directive to medical personnel during in an emergency situation, is from the Latin word statim, which means “instantly” or “immediately.”

Accujack 3y ago
struct stat { dev_t st_dev; /\* ID of device containing file */ ino_t st_ino; /* inode number */ mode_t st_mode; /* protection */ nlink_t st_nlink; /* number of hard links */ uid_t st_uid; /* user ID of owner */ gid_t st_gid; /* group ID of owner */ dev_t st_rdev; /* device ID (if special file) */ off_t st_size; /* total size, in bytes */ blksize_t st_blksize; /* blocksize for file system I/O */ blkcnt_t st_blocks; /* number of 512B blocks allocated */ time_t st_atime; /* time of last access */ time_t st_mtime; /* time of last modification */ time_t st_ctime; /* time of last status change \*/ };

gauravphoenix 3y ago

It means immediately/as-quick-as-possible, but the referring physician needs to user their best judgement before placing such order. For example, if the doctor is suspecting you have renal colic (kidney stone), the lab orders can be marked as stat.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

cosmotic 3y ago

This may get the asker closer to the front of the line, but it pushes everyone else back. If everyone asks for a stat referral, then stat referrals will take a long time. This is something that you should probably rely on your doctor to ask for and not to insist on.

devilbunny 3y ago

I got in to see a retina specialist within three hours based on a stat referral from a general ophthalmologist. But I did have a retinal hemorrhage at the time. Certain tests - e.g., echocardiography - are almost always ordered "stat" in the hospital. So it really means nothing unless the referring doctor calls the lab where they are performed and says "we are holding up an entire operating room and its personnel pending the results of this test". THAT gets results. So, yes, "stat" referrals will get you in very quickly - but the referring doctor is placing their credibility on the line by doing so. They are asking the doctor being referred to to go out of their way and delay other patients in order to see you because what you have is something that needs to be seen right now. The referring doctor had better have a good reason to do so, or they will become the boy who cried wolf and get ignored. Likewise, it's allowed for one surgeon to "bump" another one for an emergency case - but they have to call them personally and explain why this emergency can't even wait for a couple of hours (aside from massive trauma, almost all can).

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

creamyhorror 3y ago

Apparently this medical usage is the source of the wider adverbial use of 'stat' (as in "get it done stat!").

bjornasm 3y ago

I hope that its up to the doctor to descide who gets in front of the queue and who doesn't. To exaggerate a bit, isn't this like having a blinking siren on top of your car to skip ahead on your way to work.