[dlhall]

My agency just sent out an email telling us when we receive a referral to be prepared to make a decision within 48 hours that they can no longer hold referrals for any length of time. Has anyone else heard this? They also stated that we may not have time to get an IA doctor review.

We had planned to use Dr. Johnson (we used Aronson for our first adoption) but I just checked his website and it said it was 5 day turn around. I checked Aronson's website and we can get a review done in 24-48 hours, but it will cost (she was expensive before and now she's outrageous!). Does anyone know of an IA doctor that may be able to do a review within 24-48 hours that is not completely outrageously expensive?

Liz

[Shay]

Well I can't tell you anything about the IA docs. I just wanted to say wow, congrats on the referral and I hope it all works out for you!!!

PRAYERS!!!

[BrandyHagz]

Reminder From the Moderator: Please remember that recommendations, comments and URL’s to websites about fee based adoption services must be made via Private Message.

Homestudy Providers, attorneys, dossier preparation service, International Adoption Physicians, Travel Agencies and all other fee-based adoption related services fall under this same rule. If you have a question about its permissibility here on the forums, don't hesitate to send me an email or Private Message!

[dlhall]

Sorry, Brandy, didn't even think about that rule. If anyone has a recommendation for an IA doctor please PM me.

Shay, we haven't gotten a referral yet. They just said be prepared to make a quick decision when we get a referral. I'm reading between the lines and assuming that things are finally picking up and hopefully we'll hear something soon.

Liz

[Shay]

Hey Liz after rereading your post...duh..I am sorry I didn't read it right the first time.

Well anyway I will keep you in my prayers that maybe this means good news soon!!!!

[klk88]

Sorry Brandy. Wasn't even thinking. Will be more careful in the future.

[mikiment]

Just a personal observation strictly from my own viewpoint. I would strongly suggest you don't let your agency pressure you on the need to accept a referral immediately with the idea that you might not have "time" to get an IA doc's opinion. That sounds very iffy to me, as if they don't want you to have time to check out the referral or follow up on scary medical stuff. While this whole process is admittedly a giant leap of faith, don't let anyone pressure you into making a decision before you can check it out with an IA doc if that's your preference. They are very experienced and can get info back very quickly that really helps you make an informed decision. And good agencies are familiar with this IA doc review process, so for them to try to avoid it or say you don't have time for it seems questionable at best.

I can't refer you to another IA doc since I used one of the ones you mentioned, but you can find many reputable ones by searching the forum or even doing google searches. I would certainly not let my agency say there wasn't enough "time" to check out a referral. That sounds like they are strong-arming you, and would make my antenna go straight up as to if they are trying to slide something through or pull a fast one. Just my humble opinion, not to scare you or anything, but just a thought to consider.

Best of luck, hope all goes well, and will keep you in my prayers.

[gabmom]

I pm'ed you with the name of a wonderful MD.

If anyone else would like the name please feel free to pm me.

[dlhall]

Mikiment,

I agree and am having trouble accepting this new approach. The only thing that's not making me freak out is the fact that we used this agency once before--of course at that time we took two weeks to decide whether to accept a referral or not. I trust the agency, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. Our SW says that they are getting pressure from Russia and it's out of their hands. Has anyone else heard this about having to make a quick decision on a referral?

Liz

PS Thanks to all members who have PM'd me. I have a great list of doctors to look into now and I'm not so worried about the turn around time on an evaluation. You guys are the best!

[kimber413]

Our agency strongly suggested using an IA doc for our referral. However, when we were given a referral, they did request that we get the IA doc to look over the information as quickly as possible. The reason wasn't because they were trying to push us into making a decision, but more because Kaitlin didn't exactly match our wish list. If we decided against her, then they had another family waiting that she might have been a good fit for. They wanted us to decide within 5 business days so that they could offer her to someone else if we declined. Our first choice for IA was out of the country for 3 weeks (and I certainly didn't expect them to wait that long for a decision), and the other one had a waiting list of over a week. We ended up finding a terrific IA doc who understood our situation and stayed late to look over our information and spend over an hour on the phone with me answering all of my anxious questions.

So, I guess my point is, sometimes an agency may want you to make a decision quickly so they can find the child a home if you decide against accepting the referral, not because they're being underhanded about anything. However, if they ask you not to have a referral checked out, then I would be very suspicious of their motives, and would be very concerned about the agency. They should never discourage you from getting a doctor's opinion.

Of course, the doctor said Kaitlin looked wonderful (although she made herself available for us while we were in country if we should need her to look ove any additional photos or information), and we accepted the referral within 2 business days. If a doctor gets a lot of publicity due to a high profile client, then I would expect their wait list to become rather long, and would certainly try to locate another doctor. There are many, many good IA docs out there, just some are more "popular" than others.

[Ktates]

Are you talking about receiving the referral prior to travel - that seems very quick to me. I know in country you are usually only given a few days to make a decision. Hopefully things work out for the best!