RE Referral?

Davie813

This is probably a stupid question, but how does a person actually go about finding an RE? 

I had assumed that my OB would just refer me to someone in my insurance network, but I'm second-guessing that because I'm having a terrible time getting in touch with her and want to be sure I've done any necessary groundwork before I do.  Did those of you who have REs search for them yourselves and then ask your OB/primary care physician to refer you?  If so, were you able to make an appointment prior to getting the referral?

I ask because I want to start seeing a specialist immediately if I'm still unsuccessful after the next two cycles, and I seem to remember from this board that REs have loooong waiting lists.  So I was thinking it would be best to take the appointment now and cancel it if I don't need it.  

Any insight into how the process works would be much appreciated!

BeckyP005

Gosh I can't even remember! We have 3 clinics in my city so I went with the one I used with my first marriage. Insurance had no play for me. Pretty sure I just called them up and made appt?

Wow why can't I remember!!!!!

ksgsmu

My insurance won't pay for fertility treatments so that wasn't a factor.  I found my RE through my OBGYN (she sent me to him for my hsg)  but I looked into all RE's in my area ( a ton of them!)  I used sart.org to compare their statistics, and googled them all and looked at their ratings online and asked on several boards on this website for reccomendations for my area.    After doing all my homework it was between my RE and one other in the city.  They tied with their success rate and use to be partners.  I decided to go with my current RE ( the one my obgyn sent me to intitially) because I felt comfortable with him and it was super close to my house.

Davie813

Hmmm.  I know my insurance does have some infertility coverage (if I'm referred by my primary care physician), although I'm still trying to figure out the details.  But asking for recommendations here seems like a good start.  I'm going to do that now!

CaraH

I'm OOP, so I didn't need a referral. I did get a recommendation from my Gyn, and then we asked around. Everyone said to go to our clinic (and many specified our doctor, but that was luck). By being willing to take the first available doctor, I had my appointment within a month. If your Gyn is familiar with the testing protocols, he/she can save you time by getting so e of that done in advance, too. My RE was pleased that we came in with appropriate blood work, HSG and SA already done. He could look it all over in that initial consultation and be much more specific in discussing our plan.

latershrader

Per my insurance, I had to be referred by my OB/GYN. And they required 6 months of documented TTC before they would do the referral. That was after already having tried for almost a year on our own. But once they did give me the referral, it was to a preferred clinic. I'm glad i waited because I'm only paying for 50% of the entire thing (IUI + meds) at a discounted rate because of an agreement my insurance has with them. Talk about lucky!

You can always call your insurance carrier to ask what their requirements (timing, which dr) are for coverage.

Best of luck to you! 

Davie813

Thanks, for the replies, everyone!

@soontobeshrader, yes, I have the 6 month requirement, too.  That's why I'm looking at going in a couple of cycles from now.  What does "documented" TTC mean, exactly?

Did you have to locate the RE yourself, or did your OB give you a list?

latershrader

Documented means we went in for a preconception appointment, just to discuss anything we need to do special (prenatals, timed BD, TTC for dummies really). Then we kept in touch through email. She gave me clomid right off the bat but didn't monitor (so I only did 2 cycles of that). But it was all documented in emails and office visits. My insurance requires me to go to a specific RE, so I didn't have to locate one myself. 

resolve.org is also another great resource. They have a tool to search for a provider in your area.