Iceland seems like a good place to maybe have cancer

In Canada, to see a specialist you need to schedule an appointment with your regular doctor. If he thinks you have a severe enough issue then he'll call a specialist and they'll set an appointment with you. That's a referral.

I think they have 2 purposes. 1. To keep specialty doctors from spending time seeing people that do not actually need them. 2. So that insurance companies do not have to pay for more expensive doctors if not needed. Not all U.S. health insurance plans require getting referrals, it just depends on the plan you have. I do find it easier when I can just directly contact who I want though.

alright thanks!

The sad part is that if it turns out you need to see a specialist, you may be in for a hell of a long wait, and could even end up being bounced between non-specialists in the meantime, trying to treat you for something less severe