Appointments with the heart transplant program require a
referral from the patient's current physician. If you would
like to be considered for transplant, please speak to your
physician about eligibility.
Referral Process
To expedite the referral process, we have created the
following checklist for your convenience. Records may be faxed
to 919-681-8860.
Please call with any question or if there is additional
information we can provide to facilitate the referral
process.
Contact Information
Voice: 919-684-2651
Fax: 919-681-8860
Email: Heart_Transplant@mc.duke.edu
The following information is needed to process a
referral:
- Patient name, address, and phone number
- Patient height and weight
- Date of birth
- Recent history and physical and/or discharge summary
- Most recent right and left heart catheterization
reports
- Most recent echocardiogram report
- Most recent chest x-ray
- Operative report from any thoracic surgeries
- Insurance information (if available)
- Referring physician's name, address, telephone number and
fax number
Once the referral information is received, we will evaluate
new patients for consideration for heart transplant as quickly
as the referring physician deems appropriate.
For critical patients, hospital transfer
and evaluation can be arranged at the time of contact.
For routine referrals, our cardiologist
will see patients and begin an evaluation within one to two
weeks.
The referring physician is welcome to call our office to
request consultation information. If the need is more urgent,
the physician may page the transplant cardiologist on call via
the Duke operator.
Once the evaluation has been completed, the referring
physician will receive a letter with the transplant team's
decision whether transplantation is appropriate for the patient
and a copy of all test results obtained during the patient's
evaluation.
You may also want to refer to the "Before Your Transplant"
section in the
Patient Guide for more information on the indications and
evaluation process for transplant.
