What to Expect…

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

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 Patient Information form if you haven’t already done so using the online patient registration system. The information on the form 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.

It’s a good idea to arrive 15 minutes early to complete the intake paperwork.

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 normally guarantee coverage or benefits, but supply information as best they can. This means the information about your benefits that we explain to you is only our best effort given in good faith based on the information your insurance company supplies. This means that deductible and co payment information can change from when you are seen to when the claim is actually processed. If this results in an overpayment on your part, we will promptly refund your payment.

Some insurance companies will require prior authorization or a referral. We will work with your physician’s office to complete these requests We will 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.

Sometimes your insurance company requires we have special forms or clinical notes from your physician in our files 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 required paperwork. You would be asked to 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 we are treating, you current activities, and your goals.

We may take photographs and/or videos of your condition 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.

We will educate you on the precautions when using the device or garment.

We will 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.

We thank you for your trust in making Saunders Prosthetic & Orthotics Group part of your health care team.