For Patients
Before Your Visit
- When you speak to our call center you will be registered with Cleveland Clinic, or your previous registration will be updated.
- The National Consultation Service will contact you in three business days with further information including instructions regarding next steps, and to answer any questions you may have. At that time you’ll be invited to sign up for our patient portal My Chart. After you have signed up, you will receive a questionnaire in your MyChart account. Please fill it out and return it to us at your earliest convenience.
- The information you provide will be used to plan the consultations and other appointments so that these are done in a timely manner.
To make the most of your visit, please use the secure electronic MyChart system to communicate your needs to your care team. This will be explained further when you call us.
Review of Medical Records
- To enhance the value of your visit with the physician, we ask that you bring records that are most relevant to the reasons for your visit.
- These records should include laboratory results, radiology /imaging studies such as CT or MRI scans and ultrasound, heart tests (such as echocardiogram, stress test) and any other special studies that seem important for us to review such as endoscopy, surgery reports or neurological tests. Please try and arrange these records in chronological order and separate them by medical specialty, labs, radiology tests, etc.
- If you have seen a number of physicians, it is helpful to have the notes of the last one or two office visits. Extensive emergency room and hospital admission records are usually not needed. A hospital discharge summary is usually more useful. It is often useful to have copies of the actual images on a CD, particularly if there were abnormalities. If you can, please try and limit the number if records you bring to about 50 pages so that the physician can review them at the visit and return them to you.
- Upon review of your case our physician may ask you to bring additional records in advance.
During Your Visit at Cleveland Clinic
- You will meet your Internal Medicine physician for an initial extended consultation.
- You will typically be referred to other physicians within Cleveland Clinic based on information we receive when planning your visit. These consultations can be adjusted when you are seen in person, if needed.
- A second visit to your Internal Medicine physician is recommended after your other Cleveland Clinic consultations, when possible. This “wrap up” visit provides the opportunity to bring together the results of consultations and special tests and provide a plan moving forward.
- Sometimes it is not possible to complete all assessments in one visit. A return visit may be necessary.
- Please note that the assessment with the National Consultation Service physician is not intended to establish yourself with a primary care specialist. We are here to assist you with a comprehensive assessment of your diagnosis and to provide a clearer path to improving your health and wellness. If you need a primary care physician for ongoing care, please advise us.
After Your Visit
- A summary of your visit with recommendations will be provided at the end of your wrap–up visit and sent to you and your physician if you wish.
- We strongly encourage using MyChart. This provides electronic communication through a secure service. MyChart provides access to your medical records including visit notes and tests and allows your physicians to communicate with you.
- It is often a good plan to have a visit with your primary care doctor after you leave our consultation services to review the report and recommendations.
Travel Assistance & Directions
The National Consultation Service works closely with Medical Concierge, a full-service department that ensures that out-of-state visitors have the best possible travel experiences. They assist our patients who require external support with travel assistance with arranging airline reservations and hotel accommodations, including reservations to hotels located on Cleveland Clinic main campus.
Cleveland Clinic offers parking, lodging and transportation options on and near the main campus of Cleveland Clinic.
- Access Our Medical Concierge Service
- Learn more about Parking, Lodging and Transportation
- Hospitality Concierge | Call 216.636.1288
Directions
Cleveland Clinic is located about 30 minutes from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and about 20 minutes from Burke Lakefront Airport, an executive airport for smaller planes and jets.
For your National Consultation Service appointment, please proceed to the first floor of the G building to desk G10 (Marked G on the Map). Find directions and a map below:
You also may request directions and a map by calling Global Patient Services locally at 216.445.5580 or toll-free at 800.223.2273, ext. 55580.
For Physicians
Whether your patients have complex, chronic or co-existing health problems that require extra attention, we have services to streamline their access to Cleveland Clinic specialists.
When you refer a patient to Cleveland Clinic’s National Consultation Service, you can be assured that:
- The service will contact your patient within three business days. The patient is asked to provide details or concerns directly so that the physician can plan consultations and so that we can do so in a timely and efficient way.
- One of our consultative medicine internists will examine your patient and coordinate care.
- You can follow your patient’s progress online. You can log into DrConnect, a free, secure, online tool that streamlines communication between you and Cleveland Clinic staff.
- In addition, a summary of your patient’s visit will be sent directly to you, including all test results and a recommended treatment plan.
Refer a Patient
To refer a patient to the National Consultation Service, please call us locally at 216.444.5665; or toll-free at 800.223.2273 ext. 45665.
National Consultation Service
National Consultation Service contact number: 216.444.2323
National Consultation Service fax number: 216.636.2053
