Frequently Asked New Patient Questions:
Optimal Health Spectrums Office Hours:
Monday – Friday 9:00a – 4:30p (lunch from 12:00p – 1:30p)
Saturday – Sunday – CLOSED
We are closed on all major holidays. We will send out email announcements about any special closings, change our phone greeting to announce the change, and post the information on our doors.
How much does an office visit cost? What about testing and other costs?
Please call the office or use our Contact Us form to receive our new patient email that explains the entire process for becoming a new patient and lists potential fees for office visits and testing. Costs for initiating treatment are greater than maintenance treatment, because we do more tests in the beginning while figuring out your comprehensive health situation and developing your treatment plan. Often some of the cost of office visits and testing is covered by a patient’s PPO insurance plan. There may be some additional expense for nutritional supplements or medications if those are part of your treatment plan. Nutritional supplements are generally not covered by regular insurance, but may be covered under certain medical savings account plans. We always try to work within your means.
New Patient Deposits:
New patients will be asked for a credit card deposit of 50% of the appointment fee when scheduling. That deposit will then be applied to the appointment fee at your check-out.
Insurance:
Since we are a wellness-oriented integrative medical clinic, we are not able to be contracted with any insurance plans. Therefore, our services are paid for out of pocket at the time of each appointment. If you have a PPO as your insurance carrier or have an FSA account to use toward medical expenses; we can provide you with an itemized receipt that you can submit to receive reimbursement for your office visits or in-office laboratory services. PPO insurance plans may partially reimburse in-person and sometimes telehealth appointments and lab tests, but phone appointments are usually not reimbursable. Medicare patients may not submit their bills to Medicare because we are not a Medicare provider.
How to prepare for your First Appointment:
After you have read the relevant sections of our website that pertain to your health issues, and have read “What is Integrative Medicine”, please click on the New Patient Appointment Request Form to send us your information and request an appointment. After we receive your appointment request, we will email you our new patient email with complete information about the process for becoming a new patient. When you decide to schedule, we will send you an invitation by email to sign up for our electronic medical records system, ChARM, so that you can fill out your new patient medical history intake forms online prior to scheduling a new patient appointment, and upload any recent labs and into your ChARM portal. Your provider will carefully review your ChARM intake forms prior to your visit.
Follow-Up Appointments:
At your follow-up appointments we will review your lab results with you and explain to you what they mean and assess your current symptoms and progress and make your ongoing treatment decisions. You will get copies of all of your test results in your ChARM patient portal, but remember that we are looking for optimal results – not just normal – so we may interpret test results differently than your other doctors.
Cancellation Policy:
All patients are responsible for remembering and coming to their scheduled appointments on time, but we will give you a courtesy reminder in advance of your appointment. Your scheduled appointment means that no one else can be seen at that time, so if you know that you cannot make it, please let us know 48 business hours prior to your appointment.
In-House Blood Draw and IV Lab:
Our lab facility is comfortable and inviting, and we offer specialized, personalized lab services. Our staff are experts in humanely performing all types of blood draws, including difficult adult and pediatric venipunctures, have extensive experience with children of special needs, and a detailed understanding of accurately handling complex specimen processing. When blood is drawn and processed in-house for shipping, the cost is based on the complexity of the blood draw and the subsequent specimen processing time. The lab staff will provide you with an individualized folder including all the tests ordered, with a breakdown of cost for tests that insurance does not cover. Some tests, such as stool and saliva tests, are kits that you will take home and perform at home and mail directly to the lab to process. If you have recent lab results (within the last 3 months), the practitioner will be more than happy to review them to see if she can make a recommendation based on the results. Blood draws and I.V.’s are performed by appointment only, so that there is minimal wait time for our patients.
Parental Responsibility for Pediatric Patients:
Parents are responsible for their children’s safety, behavior, and whereabouts at all times while in the clinic. Clinic staff is unable to monitor or supervise children during appointments. In situations of separation or divorce, additional treatment consents may apply for the non-custodial parent, and both parents may be required to attend appointments, either in person or over the phone.
Appointment Times:
We offer appointments in many different time increments to meet your needs. We will estimate the amount of time needed for your appointments, but if the appointment runs longer or shorter than the estimate, the charge for the appointment is adjusted accordingly on a prorated basis. Please arrive a few minutes early for your appointments for any additional paperwork. We know that your time is valuable, and we appreciate your efforts to come to your appointments on time to help us stay on schedule, and likewise, we do our best to stay on schedule whenever possible while still providing good care to every patient.
Office Environment:
We strive for a toxin-free office for the health of our patients and staff, and request that you refrain from wearing perfume or any other scented products (including scented deodorants and lotions) when you come for your appointments.
NOTICE TO PATIENTS OPEN PAYMENTS DATABASE:
For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospital be made available to the public. You may search this federal database for payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals by visiting this website: https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/