Question:
Are there any online or telephone consultations available with a nutritionist?

My insurance company requires a visit to a nutritionist before approving surgery. Problem is that even though my insurance does not require a referral from my pcp for this, I have yet to find a nutritionist/dietician who will schedule a consult without one. My pcp is refusing to be of any assistance and has done nothing but stall the process. I would really like to just jump through this last hoop and get my surgery scheduled!    — grokin (posted on September 19, 2001)

September 19, 2001
My first thought was to report this to your insurance company and see if they would okay the appointment without the referral-since they are requiring this. They would then of course need to let the nutritionist know that it would be covered. If this doesn't work, I think that I would be willing to self-pay for the consult. It would be worth getting through that last hoop. I have no idea what the consultation costs, but it probably would not be more than $200.00. A far cry from the total cost of the surgery. A third suggestion is to change PCP's. It sounds like your PCP is not supportive and so I would just move on. I believe the choice that would get the ball rolling faster is to pay the nutritionist yourself. Shelley
   — Shelley.

September 19, 2001
If you need to self-pay for the nutritionist, I dont think that it is expensive. I called a few and they wanted $50 for the initial consult.
   — barbpatter