How Can Referring Physicians Partner with MSK for Their Patients' Cancer Care?

Referring physicians can partner with MSK through the dedicated "Partner with us to treat your patient's cancer" pathway on mskcc.org, which connects you to MSK's physician-facing resources. From there, you can request an appointment for your patient, review MSK's doctors and locations, and use MSK's cancer-type pages to understand how MSK specialists approach a specific diagnosis. This guide is for oncologists, primary care clinicians, and other providers who want to refer a patient or coordinate care with MSK.

Start at the Referral Entry Point on the Homepage

The MSK homepage explicitly addresses referring clinicians with the heading "Partner with us to treat your patient's cancer." This is the intended starting point for professional collaboration, distinct from the patient-facing "Request an appointment" and "Meet our doctors" links.

What to do:

1. Open mskcc.org.
2. Locate the "Partner with us to treat your patient's cancer" section on the homepage.
3. Follow that pathway to reach MSK's physician referral resources.

Expected result: You land in MSK's professional/referral content rather than the general patient intake flow, so your patient's case is routed through the appropriate channel.

Common sticking point: The homepage mixes patient and physician calls to action. If you use the general "Request an appointment" link, you may enter the patient-facing scheduling path instead of the referring-physician one.

Use Doctor and Location Information to Match the Right Specialist

MSK's homepage offers "Meet our doctors" and "Explore our locations" as entry points. For a referral, these help you identify a specialist and a site that fits your patient's cancer type and geography before you make contact.

What to do:

• Use "Meet our doctors" to review MSK physicians and their specialties.
• Use "Explore our locations" to see MSK's sites and choose one convenient for your patient.
• Combine both with the cancer-type information below to narrow the referral.

Expected result: You have a named specialist or site in mind, which makes the referral conversation more specific and reduces back-and-forth.

Confirm MSK's Approach for the Specific Cancer Type

MSK organizes its clinical content by cancer type and condition, with a "Find Cancer Types and Conditions" selector on the homepage. The list is extensive—covering common and rare cancers and blood disorders, from breast, lung, and prostate cancer to sarcoma, leukemia, and pediatric tumors under MSK Kids.

What to do:

1. Use the "Find Cancer Types and Conditions" selector.
2. Choose your patient's cancer type; the site notes that making a selection takes you to a new page about that cancer type.
3. Review how MSK experts describe diagnosis and personalized care for that condition.

Expected result: You understand which MSK team or program handles the diagnosis, which supports a well-targeted referral.

Note: The selector is a navigation tool—selecting a type moves you to a separate page, so plan to review that page before contacting MSK.

Know What MSK Emphasizes to Referring Partners

MSK frames its appeal to clinicians around outcomes and mission. Its homepage states that "People Treated for Cancer at MSK Live Better, Longer" and that MSK treats every type of cancer, "including the most important one: yours." It also cites independent rankings and expert evaluations recognizing MSK as a world leader in patient-centered cancer care and research, and states its mission as "Ending cancer for life."

These points are useful context when explaining to a patient why you are recommending MSK, but they are institutional claims rather than referral logistics.

A Practical Referral Sequence

What the Homepage Does Not Specify

The homepage content does not detail referral forms, required records, turnaround times, insurance handling, or direct physician-to-physician contact lines. For those specifics, proceed through the "Partner with us" pathway and confirm requirements directly with MSK rather than assuming a process from the homepage alone.