First visit
Your first visit, from the door to the car
No form asks about your health. Your doctor asks you in person.
Park beside the door and come in. The front desk checks your name and your cards, and a chair with arms is waiting. Then you meet your doctor.
The doctor listens first, then watches you stand, sit and walk, and checks your spine and joints with light touch. She tells you what she found and what she does not know yet, and what she suggests. You leave with a written plan and a written statement of cost.
If you use a cane or walker, or need extra time, tell us when you book and we plan for it.
What to bring
A short list
Your cards
Your Medicare card and any other insurance card, and a photo ID.
Your doctors
The names of the doctors you see, so we can write to them if you want us to.
What helps you read and hear
Your glasses and any hearing aids.
Comfortable clothes
Clothes you can move in. You stay dressed.
A companion, if you like
A spouse, a daughter or a son is welcome in the room.
Your questions
Write them down, or ask them when you call.
In the room
What we will and will not do
We will
Explain each step before we do it
Stop whenever you ask
Give you the plan and the cost on paper
Send you to a physician first when your symptoms call for it
We will not
Rush you or ask you to decide on the spot
Take an x-ray unless it is medically necessary
Promise a result or a number of visits
Pick a morning that suits you
Call, or send a note. We will call back to find a time.