Originally Posted by FlyBoyd

We had a point of service debate/debacle in 1995 (out of region asthma attack/ER visit) that took three years to settle...and we did everything by the book...no really...we did. I finally walked into a TRICARE office one morning and told them I wasn't leaving until it was fixed. I made sure they understood I was going to be a PITA all day everyday until they unscrewed what was wrong. 4 people on phones working the problem (initial input by someone was incorrect and they "can't" change it after the fact) for a couple hours...It was fixed by lunch.

After that, we go the extra mile to get the referral. Other than emergent situations (broken arm, viral meningitis, etc) we have forced the system to work within acceptable timelines. Word of advice - when seeking the odd referral make sure and have the doctor request more visits than you actually need. It limits the hoop jumping when procedures don't go as planned and you have to go back.

We just moved and our new PCM is awesome. They have a website where you can input referral request. They then determine if they even need to see you and will request the referral without an initial visit. We're 50-50 on them needing to see us to get the referral.