Refer a Patient to Our Rheumatology Team

Yes. We require a referral from a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant for all new patients. This helps us prepare for the visit and understand what you'd like us to evaluate.

We review every referral within two business days of receiving it. Once we've confirmed your patient is a good fit, they call us at 386-561-9967 to book — appointment availability varies by location and provider.

One thing that helps: let your patient know they need to call us. A referral sitting in our queue without a call from the patient doesn't get scheduled, and that's the most common reason a referral stalls.

Complete records also move things faster. See the documentation list above for what to include.

Because your EHR is faster and more secure. A referral order sent from your system faxes straight to 844-815-1446 with the chart attached — one step for your staff, complete records on our end.

A web form would collect a name and a phone number, and we'd be calling your office for the clinical detail anyway. Rheumatology referrals need the office note, labs, and prior therapy history to be scheduled appropriately, and infusion referrals need considerably more.

If your office doesn't refer from an EHR, fax the referral to 844-815-1446 with your office note, recent labs, and the clinical detail listed above.

We accept most major plans, including Medicare and most PPO plans: Aetna, Ambetter Health, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Devoted Health, FHCP Medicare, HealthFirst Health Plans, Humana, Medicare, TRICARE, UnitedHealthcare, VA Health Care, and WellCare.

Coverage can vary by plan and location. If you're unsure whether your patient's plan works, call 386-561-9967 before you send the referral — faster than finding out at scheduling. Full list: Insurance & Referrals.

Yes. Every infusion patient establishes with one of our rheumatologists before their first infusion — we don't accept infusion-only referrals.

That initial visit confirms the indication, reviews baseline labs and screening, and establishes the ongoing management plan that insurers require for authorization. It also means someone is monitoring response and tolerability over time rather than just administering the drug.

Refer as you would for any new patient, and note the infusion request on the referral so we can start the authorization process early.

It depends on the plan.

Straightforward approvals come back quickly; plans requiring step therapy, documented prior treatment failure, or peer-to-peer review take longer. We manage the whole process — authorization with the insurer, coordination with specialty pharmacy, and scheduling once approval comes through. No follow-up needed from your office.

What speeds it up most: prior DMARD or biologic history with the reason for stopping, the diagnosis with ICD-10 code, and the relevant serologies.

Refer for evaluation and let us make the call. Agent selection depends on diagnosis, prior therapy, comorbidities, screening results, and what the patient's plan will actually authorize — that's the work of the consultation.

The table above shows which agents we use by condition and the criteria that typically support a referral. If you'd like to talk through a specific case first, call 386-561-9967 — we're glad to take curbside questions from referring providers.

Yes. We don't accept infusion-only referrals, so a patient who needs Reclast establishes with one of our rheumatologists first. Refer as you would for any new patient and note that Reclast is the requested infusion.

The initial visit confirms the indication, reviews renal function and vitamin D status, rules out secondary causes of bone loss, and sets up the authorization — most of which needs to happen before a first dose regardless of who administers it.

Criteria that typically support a Reclast referral: T-score ≤ -2.5, prior fragility fracture, intolerance or non-adherence to oral bisphosphonates, or chronic steroid use.

Urgent — don't fax these and wait. Call 386-561-9967 so we can triage and schedule directly. We hold urgent slots for such cases.

If your patient has organ-threatening features — rapidly rising creatinine with active urinary sediment, pulmonary hemorrhage, mononeuritis multiplex, or vision changes in suspected GCA — send them to the emergency room rather than waiting for an outpatient appointment.