New Patient Appointments

It is always advisable to establish care with a physician before an acute illness presents, since new patient appointments are not always available on the same day. At your first visit, the doctor will want to review your medical history and all of the medications you take, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements. We recommend bringing the bottles of all your medications with you to your appointment and arriving 15-20 minutes early to complete your paperwork.

Physicals

A physical is time to review changes in your medical history, discuss age-appropriate health screening, update vaccinations, and discuss healthy lifestyle choices with your doctor. It also provides an opportunity for you to get to know your doctor and vice versa. For women, annual pelvic exams and pap smears may be recommended, depending on your age and medical history. We always recommend that you check with your insurance carrier to determine if these services are covered under your plan; sometimes this is designated as "wellness coverage."

Follow-up Visits

For those with chronic medical problems or taking regular medications, routine follow-up visits are necessary to refill prescriptions, assess your response to treatment, and perform any routine monitoring tests that may be necessary. Please be aware that our goal is to refill all of your prescriptions in person at your follow-up visits. This provides an opportunity to discuss any changes, perform a comprehensive review of your medical regimen, and check for drug interactions. We therefore encourage those who take medications regularly to bring all the pill bottles to every appointment. This will allow us to see if additional refills are needed.

Referrals

In some cases, a referral to a specialist may be required. Please check with your insurance carrier before scheduling a specialist appointment, and be aware that it may take up to 48 hours to obtain insurance approval for a referral. Some insurance carriers require that you be seen in our office within a specific time frame in order for us to request a specialty referral.

After-hours Service

Non-emergent questions and concerns, including prescriptions refills, should be directed to the office during regular office hours. For emergencies only, an on-call physician is available after hours and can be reached by calling the office number, which will automatically connect to an answering service.