self-referraln.
/ˌsɛlfrᵻˈfəːrəl/, /ˌsɛlfrᵻˈfəːrl̩/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfrəˈfərəl/ 1. The action or fact of a patient referring himself or herself to a medical specialist, clinic, etc. (rather than being referred by a doctor or other professional); an instance of this.
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1939 E. G. Williamson How to counsel Students xiv. 333 Referral by the teacher or self-referral brings the student to a trained counselor who diagnoses the causes of these symptoms.
1953 Rev. Educ. Res. 23 433 Females are found to be at least as maladjusted as males when measures are based..on self referrals to psychiatric clinics.
1971 New Society 14 Jan. 65/1 Fewer of its clients died in the high-risk first year after self-referral.
2008 Independent 21 Oct. 10/6 Self-referral will help both vulnerable members of society and those with busy lives by providing quicker access.
2. Originally and chiefly U.S. Referral of patients to a medical facility by a physician who has a financial interest in that facility; an instance of this.
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1985 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 19 Sept. 750/1 Conflicts of interest may be inherent in the fee-for-service system, but ethical practitioners minimize them by avoiding self-referral whenever possible.
1989 Orange County (Ca.) Reg. 29 Apr. a27/2 The staunchest critic of physician self-referrals..has proposed legislation that would prevent most doctors from investing in medical facilities and from sending their Medicare patients there.
1993 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 24 Apr. 1083/1 Self referral significantly increases the cost of health care.
2013 N.Y. Mag. 23 Dec. (Legal Leaders Suppl.) 12/3 (advt.) Sometimes doctors even open their own outside testing facility, run the tests themselves, and collect the fees. This is a practice called self-referrals.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1939