Specialty Referrals

Through telemedicine, we are able to offer certain specialties from your health care home, by connecting your primary care provider with specialists through Project ECHO, a program of UNM Health Sciences Center. This saves our patients money because the specialty care they receive is included in their co-payment to First Choice. It saves them time and travel expense by making the care available through their primary care visit. But most of all, it improves the health outcomes of our patients by managing chronic disease and complex medical issues in a proactive manner that keeps patients healthier, in their communities, and out of the hospital. Read more about Project ECHO here.

Our patients are referred to specialists for the care they need beyond the primary care setting.  Each health center has a staff person dedicated to processing the referrals that our health providers order for patients.  The wait times for processing referrals and for receiving an appointment time varies depending on the type of specialty care needed.  Please allow for time for processing referrals and for getting your specialty appointment set.  For some specialists, the appointments are not set by First Choice, but by the specialist.