I definately asked for references and they were noted to me, although not many since the BI CK center was fairly new at that time (at that point, they had only done a few AN's).
I am now a patient-to-patient reference for BI and they have given out my name on numerous occassions and they have no issue giving out patient references. They also noted to me to be as honest as possible (the good, bad and fugly), which is what I do.
I'm not sure who you spoke to there, but if you haven't tried the actual radio-oncologist, ask them for the references. Typically, they have no issue giving them out. If they do, ask why.
To answer your question about checking out the physicians (and centers), you can contact your State Board of Registration (you can find it online) and you should be able to do a physician search, which should clearly note their credentials, any malpractice, awards, publications, etc on them. The State Board should also be able to provide you with the Accreditations of the facility.
Hope that helps.
Phyl
Phyl