Below are some Tips for your first visit and all the visits thereafter

Your First Visit
Your first visit is usually used to establish care.  
This means we need to learn all we can about your health so we can treat you appropriately.
There are a lot of "firsts" on the first visit so we treat them a little differently:
  1. If possible, please visit the office prior to scheduling your first appointment to fill out paperwork.   If you have insurance, we will have time to verify your coverage without making you wait.   If you are coming from another clinic, we need to get your permission to request your records.   In some cases, we may also want to send you for some testing prior to your first visit.  If you can't come in prior to you visit, please arrive thirty minutes before your schedule time to allow time to process your information.
  2. Bring your medications (in original containers if possible) to your visit, including vitamins or other supplements.  We need these to verify that you are taking what you think you are taking, to verify that you are taking what you need to be taking, and to accurately record into our software what you are actually taking.   You may be wondering, as many do, why we are so strict on this.   Simple answer: experience.   So many things get caught when eyes are put on the medication.   Nine out of ten times, a list or just your word would be fine, but if you were the 1 in 10 where we discover that you have the wrong dose or the wrong medication or an important medication is missing, you will be very glad we checked. This is too important to overlook.
  3. If you miss your first appointment and do not call ahead of time to notify us, your appointment will not be rescheduled. If you can't make your appointment, please give us a call.  It only takes a minute and you can leave a message.
  4. Arrive 30 minutes early to your first appointment.   There will likely be more papers for you to fill out or questions to resolve prior to seeing a provider.   If you are late, you may have to be rescheduled.   If you are more than 15 minutes late and you don't call us, your visit will be considered a no-show.

All Visits
We try very hard to see each patient on time.   As unpredictable as medicine is, we do our best to manage ourselves to follow our schedule.   However, to do that, we need your help.  Here are things we ask of you on every visit:
  1. Arrive at least 10 minutes before your scheduled time so that we can address any pre-appointment items (change of insurance, change of address, policy updates, request of records, etc, etc).
  2. If it is a regular check-up or a hospital follow-up, bring all you medications.   It is a pain, we know.  You just won't believe how many things are caught be reviewing the actual bottles. 
  3. If you have several things you need to discuss with the provider,  please tell us when you make the appointment so we can schedule accordingly.   Usual visits are fifteen minutes.  If you need more time, we will be happy to accommodate you if we can plan.   If the provider can't address all your issues in your appointment time, she may ask you to set up an additional appointment so that the next patient can be seen on time.
  4. No shows...   What is a no-show?   It is when you have an appointment, receive a reminder call and confirm, and then don't show up and don't call.   The other way to no-show is to ask for an appointment ASAP (like today or tomorrow), we give you an appointment, and then you don't show up and don't call.     If you are a no-show twice, we will continue to see you as a walk-in patient.

Hospitalizations / Emergency Room    
  • If you have a medical emergency, always call 911 or go directly to an Emergency Room.    When you can, call us at 956-447-8377 to let us know what is going on so we can manage your continued care.  Medicine has changed in recent years.  If our patients use the Emergency Room for non-emergent issues, the clinic is penalized so we ask that our patients call us.   If your issue can be resolved in a clinic setting during our hours of operation, we will ask that you seek treatment in the clinic.
  • If you have a medical concern that you feel is non-emergent, please call us at 956-447-8377.  You can reach a provider here 24 hours a day.  Many medical issues can be resolved more conveniently in the office and a much lower cost than an Emergency Room. Our providers can also quickly assess if the medical issue warrants a trip to the ER.  
  • Bottom line:  Please Call us.