Patient transfers to CPMC and referrals to physician specialists

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Regional Referral Program and Transfer Center

Assisting patients, doctors and health plans to meet their needs in a high-quality environment. 888-637-2762

What We Do

Our Regional Referral Program and Transfer Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 888-637-2762.

The Regional Referral Program has seven primary functions:

Assist in patient transfers from other hospitals to CPMC
Answer general public calls for physician referral and services offered at CPMC
Process referrals to CPMC-based specialists
Monitor external medical transport services assisting physicians, patients, and third party payers with these resources
Network development of specialty services
Support and liaison to Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation specialty services outreach clinics throughout Northern California and Nevada
Liaison to San Francisco Primary Care physicians

Transfer a Patient

The Transfer Center facilitates the process of transferring patients and coordinates or arranges to provide the medically necessary transport services and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 888-637-2762. For pediatric transport, call 866-PEDS-911.

Specially trained nurses collect patient information and then contact a California Pacific Medical Center specialty physician, bed control nurse, admitting and finance department staffs, case managers and appropriate clinical staff.

The Transfer Center will facilitate the process, and also coordinate and/or arrange to meet the medically necessary transport services for the patient.

Please have the following information available when requesting transfer:

Patient’s name, address, telephone number, date of birth /li>
Diagnosis and care related issues
Referring physician and name of facility/hospital
Admitting physician (if known)
Patient’s present location
Patient’s mode of arrival and transport company if applicable, and estimated arrival time
Whether transport assistance is required
Insurance information

The Admitting Department will be notified of your patient’s pending admission. Parents/responsible parties will be asked to come to Admitting to sign required admission documents.

Refer a Patient

Normal hours of operation for the Regional Referral Center are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Referrals to specialty physicians may be requested by telephone 888-637-2762 or by fax (415-600-2955). Please have the following information available when requesting physician referrals or consultations:

1. Name of referring medical group, health plan and product type (HMO, PPO, POS)

2. Referral Authorization form, which should include:

Authorization number
Patient name, address, telephone number, date of birth (including the insured's name and SSN if patient is a minor)
Diagnosis/ICD-9 code
CPT code(s)
Specialty requested
Reason for referral
Referring physician or PCP's name, address, phone and fax

3. Clinical notes, chart notes, reports, H&P, labs and other pertinent medical information important to the referral.

To further expedite the referral process, you can fax the CPSS referral form to 415-600-2955 (24 hours/day).

4. Download a PDF of the referral form.

5. Online patient referral is also available. Physicians interested in this tool may contact us to obtain a token. Please call 888-637-2762.

NOTE: If you already have a Sutter user name and password, you may proceed directly to online referral.

Once the physician visit or hospital admission has been scheduled, our Specialty Referral Coordinators will complete the process of coordinating the referral for you. The specialist will communicate directly with you, keeping you apprised of the patient’s condition, treatment and outcome.

Our Specialty Referral Coordinators are also able to assist you with contracting issues; they can address questions regarding contracts in place, specialty physician carve-out rates and physician services on a case-by-case basis.

Specialty Physician Referral Directory

I would like to request a Specialty Physician Referral Directory.

Maternal, Neonatal and Pediatric Transport Services

888-637-2762

California Pacific Medical Center’s Women & Children's Transport Team provides safe, timely, high-quality care during the transport of all neonatal and pediatric patients, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, regardless of diagnosis, race, ethnicity or financial background.

Care is provided by specially trained pediatric and neonatal nurses, paramedics, EMTs, neonatal nurse practitioners and physicians, based on a patient’s acuity and needs. Care is compassionate, developmentally appropriate, professional and based on the principles of family-centered care. The needs of the family are considered and met with respect, understanding and support.

The decision regarding mode of transport (helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft or ambulance) is collaborative based on the acuity of the patient, weather conditions and other factors. Each transport is reviewed for quality.

The scope of care provided includes stabilization and transport of critically ill or injured patients based on current research and practices. Our team maintains contact with the accepting physician at California Pacific throughout the transport. This provides the opportunity to relay pertinent patient information to California Pacific so the receiving unit is prepared for the patient. In addition, the transport team can provide conventional ventilation, nitric oxide and multi-system support.

Moreover, the Transport Program maintains active involvement in formal and informal educational opportunities for referral hospital staff, transport physicians and nurses, accepting physicians, residents and independent transport programs.

General Public Calls

Normal hours of operation for Physician Referral calls to the general public are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Referrals may be requested by telephone (888-637-2762). This service provides information to general public callers regarding CPMC clinical services/programs, and CPMC physicians.
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