Help me find an ankle surgeon in Columbus Ohio that can see me soon?

January 7, 2016 9:01 AM

I had an appointment with a surgeon, waited 3 weeks, and now they postponed my appointment another 3 weeks.  Help me find someone else?

I have a foot injury in Columbus Ohio, and my family dr. referred me to an ankle surgeon.  I waited 3 weeks for my appointment, and now they scheduled me called to postpone my appointment another 3 weeks.  Help me find an ankle surgeon in Columbus Ohio that I can see soon (today, tomorrow, next week at the latest?) I am willing to pay cash out of pocket for the visit, and I have my MRI and Xray results I can take with me.  I've never done this before and I don't know how one would go about seeing an ankle specialist on short notice.  FYI my injury is achilles and ankle.
Thanks.

posted by lijiaxiaoniu to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

When I broke my foot, I had such a hard time finding an ortho to see me right away. Lots of places I called were booking weeks or months out, which didn't help because I had just broken my foot and needed treatment/guidance right away. What I did is I went on my insurance provider's website to look for orthos in my zip code's 10 mile radius and I just called, called, called. I finally found an office that had a cancelation, which was the only reason I could be seen the next day. If you have insurance, I'd start there with their doctor search and call down the list. Some places will want a referral before they will even schedule you, but you need to ask how soon the doctor can see you so you don't waste your time because sometimes it will be months.
posted by AspirinPill at 9:12 AM on January 7, 2016

Tell your family Doctor what happened and ask him to give you another referral. He will either make a call on your behalf to the original referral or give you a second name. If he has no one else, then call your insurance company. I would also ask the guy who deferred you twice for his recommendation for someone with less work who can see you soonest kind.
posted by AugustWest at 9:38 AM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

I found that asking any doctor (yep, even asked my ob/gyn) and any person (ran into someone I used to go to the gym with? maybe she knows a good orthopedist!) I talked to helped me find the "right" orthopedist for my injury. So really, ask around to everyone you know. Getting in to see orthopedists can be very tough! Good luck!
posted by freezer cake at 12:16 PM on January 7, 2016

Ugh. Seconding AugustWest. You know how when you call a doctor's office, if they have a "press 1 for so and so, 2 for so and so" entry system? They almost always have a "press 4 if you're a referring physician." THOSE calls get picked up immediately, because the practice wants the business. Doctors will often fit in patients at the request of other doctors, whereas if a new patient cold-called it would be unlikely. Source: it's happened to me, plus I have a doctor in the family.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 1:03 PM on January 7, 2016