|
|
 |
|
What
To Expect On Your First Visit With Us:
Your first visit with us is usually to establish yourself with our office, but we often see new patients for a sick visit. There are several important issues
to remember when you present yourself for your
first visit. - Please
arrive early to fill out your paperwork, unless you have downloaded the forms or had them mailed/faxed to you so they could
be completed prior to arrival.
- We are a scheduled office and our success
in being on time depends on our patients' help and understanding with a scheduled process.
- Please bring all the medications you take to your first office visit; this includes supplements, vitamins, and herbal
medications. We may occasionally ask you to bring them to other appointments as well. Ensuring we have an accurate list of
what prescription and over-the-counter medications you take helps us to protect your health.
- Appointments are scheduled in time slots appropriate to your requested reason to be seen. Any other issues/questions present
the potential to run us behind schedule; as well as force the patient after you to wait. It also prevents us from adequately
taking care of your on-the-way-out question. We take your health seriously and each and every health issue deserves its own
work-up, and therefore, time to be evaluated.
- We schedule office visits for
acute, problem-focused, comprehensive physical exams, pap smear/well-woman visits, minor surgical procedures, and Osteopathic
Manipulative Treatment—to name a few. We do not do comprehensive physical exams and pap smear/well-women visits on the
first appointment. There is a reason for this. Dr. Dudley wants to gather information –both during her interview with
you- and from prior records prior to these types of visits. This helps her be more precise and complete in her exam with you.
IT
WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR ME TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR YOUR HEALTH IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR OWN BEST HEALTH INTERESTS IN MIND. ************************** Just because you don't get the answer or action you were hoping for does not mean I
wasn't listening. Consider whether you were coming to me for MY medical opinion or YOUR opinion reinforced. ***************************** Dr. Dudley's goal as your doctor is to help you improve your health. She believes that it
is easier to prevent ill health than to fix poor health. She asks probably more questions than other "providers"
ask when you see them. This is because she believes that a complete history is necessary to get all the facts and issues surrounding
your complaint. As she used to tell medical students when she taught medical school: "if you get a complete social history
you will know what all the patient's risk factors for disease are". Dr. Dudley cares deeply about her patients and their
health and loves to be a cheerleader, but can also be a nag if needed. She understands that her's is the easy task: she
tells you what you need to do to be healthy; you must do the work. Dr. Dudley is often asked for help in weight loss. There are many reasons why a patient is overweight; only one is
because of inability to control appetite. And that is the reason for the use of appetite suppressants. But often it just isn't
as easy as taking a pill. Patients should think about why they are overweight, and
then seek treatment for the cause of obesity. Think about the when, where, why, and with who you eat. Is is from boredom,
depression, or a coping mechanism for another problem? Is eating a hobby or a replacement for something else in your
life? Is it that your portion size of food is too large? Do you eat most of your daily food at the end of the day before you
go to bed, or get into the Lazy Boy to watch TV? What about exercise? Remember weight is often related to supply and demand.
Do you take in more in calories than you utililize in calories?
|
|
|
Your
Insurance Plan: IT’S YOUR INSURANCE PLAN Your insurance plan is a contract set up between you and the insurer. There
are so many insurance plan and types now that we no longer can tell you the parameters of your plan. - Please make sure Dr. Dudley is listed on your plan as a provider.
We are happy to see you, but if we are not a provider on your plan, be prepared to pay out of pocket for services in our office.
- As it is your insurance plan, it is your responsibility to know how it works. We feel your pain here, as
we also have insurance plans, and we know how confusing it can be. You need to acquaint yourself with what lab you can use,
what your co-pays and deductibles are, and how to access your system for referrals and prescriptions. We will facilitate whenever
we can. Please bring with you, or provide, a copy of your drug formulary when you need prescriptions. Dr. Dudley tries whenever
she can to comply with your formulary. Keep in mind that your insurance company provides insurance and Dr. Dudley provides
medical care. These are different goals.
|
|
|
Prescription
Refill Etiquette: This is a
constant source of irritation for both us and our patients. So here are some pointers to help
us help you with a minimum of annoyance for all parties included. - Please don’t wait until you take your last pill
or are on your last few days of the medicine (this relates to chronic maintenance medications) to contact us for a refill.
Don’t call on Friday afternoon or on the afternoon prior to a holiday. You’ll be unhappy and we’ll be frustrated.
This is because it takes time (variable) to get your request and act on it; especially if that request is coming from the
pharmacy.
- Keep in mind that Dr. Dudley usually gives a 3 month supply with one refill of maintenance
medications. Patients who have chronic diseases (such as Diabetes) need to be seen regularly, and so refills are planned by
us accordingly. We know your insurance company “allows” a year of refills, but our jobs differ: their job is to
provide your medications with a minimum of hassle for them. Our job is to take care of your health, and that means you need
to be seen regularly.
- You may need to be seen and/or have lab work prior to a refill.
- We
rarely fax in or call in refills; especially to mail off prescription plans. Exceptions to this rule are determined by Dr.
Dudley. Despite what they tell you, it takes time to deal with those phone-in plans, which takes our staff away from taking
care of the patients in our office. Our focus is on patient care not phone time on hold with pharmacies. These days there
are state and federal regulation regarding paper prescriptions that alter the ability to fax a prescription (highlights come
out which impede the ability to read what is on the paper). We prefer to give prescriptions for routine medications at the
time of the office visit.
|
|
|
"No
News Is Good News" - Not!
When we order a lab or diagnostic test on our patients, we contact you with the results
(via phone, email, or letter).
If
you don’t hear from us, you should contact us.
The usual procedure from other offices leaves you (the patient)
in the constant guessing frame of mind. Did they get the results? Are the results normal? Do I need to do something else? Often we find that "no
news" from us may may we didn't get the results from the facility where you were seen and the test was done. Even
in these days of technological advances, sometimes we don't get a test result that we ordered. You
-the patient- are the best "tickler file that we could have. So call us!
|
|
|
Holiday
and Conference Hours:
Thursday afternoons are Dr. Dudley's afternoon off.
Our holiday and
vacation schedules are listed here, so keep checking this area of the web site for information on when we are closed for meetings
and holidays.
|
|
|
Weight Loss Plan: We recognize that lifestyles create obesity and therefore, cannot be changed merely
with amphetamines and vitamins. Thus, our diet plan is comprehensive and includes changing the: who, when, why, where
and how you became overweight. It might include medications, but also includes an educational plan to help you succeed in
your quest to improve your weight and health. Contact the office, or schedule an appointment for details.
Billing Issues:
Our office manager--Debbie--is the best first point of contact for your billing and insurance questions.
|
|
|
|