71.   Most patients are referred by other physicians, although self-referrals are accepted.

72.   Ms. Dallek said consumers should call the primary-care doctor they want to use and ask about the policy on referring patients with their condition to specialists.

73.   Ms. Skolnick of Robertson Stephens said that such assistance programs would usually allow Apogee to refer patients to its clinics, giving its business an additional lift.

74.   Now, government investigators are examining whether those two initiatives might, in combination, violate a law prohibiting doctors from referring patients to facilities in which they invest.

75.   Once a patient sees a doctor, it is up to that doctor to decide whether to refer the patient to a medical center for a transplant.

76.   Opponents also said that under the Clinton rules, doctors might have faced problems in referring patients to specialists.

77.   Patients should be referred to a sleep clinic for problems not readily diagnosed or solved by a family doctor.

78.   Past investigations had zeroed in on the doctor who referred the patient, even though it was the radiologist who said there were no signs of cancer.

79.   Patients are either referred by doctors or come in on their own.

80.   Patients can be referred for scans by any physician.