Before Your Appointment
Though we do take walk-in patients as our schedule allows, it is a good idea to make an appointment for your visit. We work very hard to keep wait times to a minimum and typically see patients just before or at their scheduled appointment times.
Some items, such as graduated compression garments, need to be measured and fit early in the day. This makes scheduling an appointment vital.
Please bring your photo identification, insurance cards, prescription, and current/prior orthotic or prosthetic devices when you come to your appointment.
At Your First Appointment
It’s a good idea to arrive 15 minutes early to complete the intake paperwork.
When we meet you for the first time, we will make copies of your photo identification and insurance card as well as asking for your prescription if it was not already sent to us by your physician.
We will ask you to complete the intake paperwork. The information on the forms is to help us learn more about you and your needs as well as to meet the compliance and regulatory requirements of CMS, accreditation agencies, and your insurance companies.
We will review our office policies and privacy standards with you. Please ask questions about anything you may not fully understand. On future visits we may ask you to review the information on file, verify your insurance information, and review the privacy standards. This is required every year and whenever your information changes.
Insurance and Benefits
Once your information is input into our secure patient management system, we will attempt to verify your insurance benefits.
Please understand that insurance companies do not guarantee coverage or benefits. The information about your benefits we explain is our best effort, provided in good faith, based on the information your insurance company supplies. Your financial responsibility can change when the claim is actually processed. If this results in an overpayment on your part, we will promptly refund your payment. If this results in an underpayment on your part, you will receive an invoice for the balance due.
Some insurance companies require a prior authorization or referral. We will work with your physician’s office to complete these requests, complete the required forms, and forward them to your physician for review, signature, and for them to forward to the insurance company. Typically, we complete this form and send it to your physician the same day you are seen. Sometimes it may take your physician’s office a few days to submit it to your insurance company. Occasionally your help is needed to prompt the physician’s office to complete the task.
Medicare and your insurance company require we have special forms and clinical notes from your physician in our files to meet their compliance requirements, before we provide care. We will work hard to obtain this information as quickly as the physician’s office will supply it.
You can always request we provide care prior to obtaining prior authorization or the required paperwork. You would be asked to sign an Advanced Beneficiary Notification and pay for the services at the time they are provided.
We will complete the intake process as quickly as possible.
Clinical Care
We want to provide you with the highest quality and most appropriate care as prescribed by your physician.
To do this, we will conduct an interview and examination appropriate for the condition and services prescribed. This typically includes asking about prior relevant medical history, allergies, prior treatment, the current condition, you current activities, and your goals.
We may take photographs or videos to throughly document the condition in the medical record as well as to establish baselines for improvement.
If our clinical findings suggest a clarification of the original prescription is needed, we will discuss this with your physician. We will discuss the devices or treatment that was prescribed by the physician with you, including the need for the care and treatment options.
We may take measurements or cast impressions. We may need to special order the item most appropriate for you.
When you are fit with the device or garments prescribed, we will verify the fit is appropriate. We will demonstrate how to put the device or garment on and how to take it off. We will instruct you on caring for the device or garment, precautions, and provide written instructions and warranty information as appropriate.
We will schedule a follow-up appointment to ensure the services we provided are accomplishing the treatment goals. We will answer any questions you may have, make any adjustments necessary, and provide additional education on application, use, care, maintenance, or precautions, as needed.
You do not have to wait for your scheduled follow-up appointment if a question or issue arises. Please call the office so we can see you sooner.