The fax machine should have gone the way of the dodo, but the healthcare system still relies on it like a baby bird relies on its mother.

What makes this an even bigger hassle for patients is the policies that companies create to accompany this antiquated technology.

OP found a loophole in a ridiculous policy that nearly led to square one in the journey to see a specialist. I’m glad OP found a solution!

Original or a fax.

About 6 months ago I got a referral from my Dr. to a medical clinic to check on a minor thing that he was not worried about but was bothering me.

He wrote out the referral but couldn’t refer me anywhere specific. I did some research online and found a clinic near my house.

I followed their process to book an appointment and sent a picture of the referral using their online form.

It took 5 months for them to find any availability but I finally got an appointment. But after 6 months I couldn’t find the referral form anywhere.

Knowing that if I started from scratch it would take another 6 months to get an appointment I decided to chance it.

Maybe they’re afraid a computer virus would masquerade as a doctor.

Seriously, though, they COULD verify where it came from digitally.

Somewhat predictably as soon as I got to the office they asked for the referral form, I asked them if they had the copy I sent in with appointment request.

They did, but this was not sufficient because it was an electronic copy.

And I quote “Appointments can only be held if we have the original referral or the doctor’s office faxes it to us.”

I stared at the receptionist for a moment or two dumbfounded by such a stupid policy.

10/10 improv skills to both OP and their GP’s receptionist.

Then I asked for 10 minutes to work this out.

I hustled out to my car and called my Dr.’s office. I got the receptionist and explained the situation.

Then I grabbed a copy of the picture I had taken of my referral form (the same one that they already had) and emailed it to her, she confirmed she would fax it to the clinic right away.

This ridiculous policy could threaten people’s health. I’m glad OP is all right!

I got in to my appointment and it turns out my doctor was right, it was nothing.

But I do have my pride at outsmarting their stupid system.

Let’s see what the commenters had to say.

This person found a workaround in college. Education also seems to run like it’s in the stone age.

A floppy disk joke was inevitable and this one is well executed.

Wealth in a country should mean shorter wait times, but it looks like the opposite may be true.

This person is sick of gatekeepers interfering with healthcare access.

When you have a health problem, the last thing you want is to deal with administrative nonsense. I hate how common this is.

There are much better ways to make sure documents are official.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.