Referring a patient

When to consider referral

• Heel pain, plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinopathy not responding to first-line care
• Ankle sprains, instability, fractures and other sports injuries, including a return-to-play plan
• Painful bunions, hammertoes or arthritis of the foot and ankle
• Fungal nails, warts, corns, calluses and other skin and nail problems
• Diabetic foot examinations, and patients with diabetes and neuropathy who need protective foot care
• Foot ulcers and non-healing wounds, or a warm, swollen foot suggestive of Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy
• Custom orthotics, gait evaluation and footwear advice
• Children with heel pain, flat feet or gait concerns
• Surgical evaluation, through our Center for Lower Extremity Surgery
• Nerve pain, numbness or neuromas, through our Lower Extremity Nerve Institute

What to send

Please fax your referral, on our referral sheet or your own form, along with:

• Patient demographics and contact information
• Insurance information (front and back of card) and any required referral or authorization
• Recent clinical notes and your question for us
• X-ray reports and, where possible, the images themselves (X-ray and ultrasound are available on site, so a referral doesn’t need to wait for new films)
• MRI, CT or ultrasound reports, and images if available
• Prior operative reports
• Relevant lab results, such as hemoglobin A1c for patients with diabetes, and vascular studies for wounds

What happens next

Our office contacts your patient to schedule. After the evaluation, a consultation note with our findings and recommendations is sent to your office. For urgent problems (an unstable fracture, a deep infection, a suspected Achilles rupture, a wound with spreading infection), please call and ask to speak with the clinical team, so your patient can be seen quickly.