Physician Referrals
Who Can Make A Referral
We currently are accepting requests for new patient appointments from outpatient clinicians to whom we will send a report and recommend appropriate follow-up care with us or elsewhere. We are unable to accommodate self-referrals or referrals directly from emergency departments.
E-consult Service Now Offered
We also offer an ambulatory e-consult service to referring providers who have specific clinical questions regarding their patients’ care. This service offers patients and their providers access to a formal, one-time consultation that includes a thorough chart review and a written recommendation that is sent back to the referring provider within three days
Our Services
We provide subspecialty services in the following areas:
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- Dementia
- Epilepsy*
- Headache
- Movement Disorders
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Transverse Myelitis
- Neurofibromatosis
- Neuromuscular Disorders*
- Sleep Disorders
- Stroke
- Neurogenetics
- Genetic testing
*If requesting procedure-only referral such as EMG, EEG, video EEG, VEP, SSEP, lumbar puncture, or sleep study, please fax your referral to (984) 974-1667.
Due to limited staffing and other considerations, we are currently unable to provide services for the following conditions: low back pain, primary psychiatric disorders, chronic vertigo, TBI/PTSD and fibromyalgia. Please see the “Provider Resources” section below for the contact information of specialists who may be able to provide you with expertise for these conditions.
If you are seeking a consult for a disorder not listed above, please submit a referral request and we will review our ability to provide you with assistance.
How To Make A Referral
When making a referral to neurology, please note that neurogenetics uses a different referral process. All other referrals can be made using the general neurology referral instructions.
General Neurology Referral
- UNC CareLink: Sign in to your UNC CareLink account to submit a referral request online. If you don’t have an account and want to enroll, visit UNC CareLink and select "Request New Account" to get started.
- Fax: If you don't have a UNC CareLink account or would rather submit a referral offline, please fax a completed Adult Neurology Referral Form to 984-974-2285 or a Child Neurology Referral Form to 984-974-5437. If you have any questions, please call 984-974-4401.
Neurogenetics Referral
- UNC CareLink: Sign in to your UNC CareLink account to submit a neurogenetics referral request by putting neurogenetics and/or genetic testing in the comments of an ambulatory referral for neurology. If you do not have a UNC CareLink account and want to enroll, visit UNC CareLink and select "Request New Account" to get started.
- Fax: If you don't have a UNC CareLink account or would rather submit a referral offline, please use the UNC Neurogenetics Clinic Referral Form for adult and child patients. Fax the form and all pertinent records to 984-974-2285.
Memory & Cognitive Disorders Referral
The Memory and Cognitive Disorders Division at UNC Neurology is currently focused on the diagnosis and treatment of patients at earlier stages of their disease and with a higher level of independence and function. This ensures that the patient will be able to participate in all testing and decisions associated to the diagnostic and therapeutic process, thus increasing the chance of benefiting from the most updated therapies available, and eligibility for clinical trials.
At this time, we are accepting referrals only from within the UNC Health System.
To ensure a comprehensive assessment and tailored care plan for your patient, we request additional information regarding their current diagnosis and functional status. Specifically, we kindly ask that you provide us with the “Functional Activities Questionnaire in Older Adults with Dementia”, (1), to be completed by the closest caregiver, and the “Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test” (2).
The following two tests are required for each referred patient:
- Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) Test - Must be completed by the patient's family member or caregiver. Please note - a score must be given to each of the 10 items. Blanks are not allowed.
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Test - Must be completed by the referring clinician. MoCA certification is NOT required to administer the MoCA test. If you are unclear on how to administer it, instructions for completion are below.
Once MoCA and FAQ results are available, please place a new referral and place the scores in the comments section.
- For those being referred for monoclonal anti-amyloid therapy consideration, these criteria are a MOCA ≥ 17 AND an FAQ ≤ 12.
- For those being referred for a general (non-mAAb) dementia evaluation, the criteria are MOCA>=12 and FAQ<=22
- We no longer see patients purely for dementia-related behavior management
Referrals should be faxed to the Adult Neurology Clinic at 984-974-2285
Full referral details can be found here.
New Patient Referral Process
Referrals are first reviewed to determine the level of urgency and UNC’s ability to fulfill the consult request. We have streamlined our processing of urgent referrals to be completed within 48 hours of receipt should the referring provider/office contact our office to inform us of the reason for urgency. We ask that the referring provider be available to discuss the reason for urgent consideration with one of our reviewing physicians, as this will ensure proper triaging and timely scheduling when appropriate.
Non-urgent referrals are otherwise processed within three to five business days often by a clinician to ensure the patient receives the most appropriate care within our clinic. Our staff will contact the patient directly to schedule an appointment.
Clinic Locations
Chapel Hill locations that offer neurology services are listed below.
Provider Resources
The following provides the contact information of specialists who may be able to offer expertise for services that we are not equipped to treat at this time.
Low Back Pain
UNC Hospitals Imaging and Spine Center or UNC Hospitals Pain Management Center
Spine Center
The Center prefers referrals to come electronically via UNC Carelink. Start the process by entering an Ambulatory Referral to the Spine Center. There is an option after this to specify a specialty if desired; the Center has spine specialists from PM&R, Ortho and Neurosurgery. If you do not have UNC CareLink, you may submit a referral by faxing (919) 966-9094 or by calling (984) 974-4200. Please note that referrals are not necessarily required.
UNC Hospitals Pain Management Center - Submit referrals through UNC CareLink or fax a referral form to (984) 974-6793. For more information, call (984) 974-6688.
TBI
UNC Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Submit a referrals through UNC CareLink or fax a referral form to (984) 974-9786. For more information, call (984) 974-9747.
Fibromyalgia
UNC Hospitals Pain Management Center
Submit referrals through UNC CareLink or fax a referral form to (984) 974-6793. For more information, call (984) 974-6688.
