What To Expect at Your First Visit
Prior to your visit, you can help us by completing and submitting your
New Patient Questionnaire. The questionnaire provides an opportunity to
communicate thoroughly your past medical history and that of your partner.
It also allows you to tell us, in your own words, about issues that you
want to address with us. We particularly appreciate having this insight
to your priorities. It is helpful to gather your medical records and provide
them to our office well in advance of your visit. If you have had an HSG
performed, it would be helpful for you to bring the CD or films if possible.
You can expect that your physician and nurse will have reviewed your questionnaire
and medical records in advance of your visit and be prepared to talk with
you about questions you have raised. Topics include past medical history,
allergies and medications (both prescription and over-the-counter supplements),
important lifestyle issues such as exercise, smoking, and nutrition; menstrual
history, pregnancy history, past hospitalizations and surgeries, prior
fertility testing and treatment.
Based on your chief concerns, your medical history and prior testing, and
the time of your menstrual cycle, you and your physician will plan the
timing for additional testing and discuss potential treatment options.
At times, we will take advantage of the timing of your new patient visit,
by suggesting that we draw blood or do a pelvic ultrasound on the day
of your new patient visit. We will explain when you can expect results
(sometimes within a day or two, sometimes 2-3 weeks away depending on
the testing needed), and what the implications are.
During your visit, you will meet several members of your patient care team.
Your team is comprised of your physician, nurse, and patient care coordinator.
Your patient care coordinator will assist with medical record requests,
appointment scheduling, and all non-clinical questions. We will have attempted
to confirm your insurance benefits prior to your appointment, this will
help us to understand when testing and treatment will be covered by insurance.
It is our goal to answer your questions and to provide a path that supports
your medical and emotional interests. Some patients will leave their new
patient visit with a plan for treatment; while others will leave with
a strategy for getting the answers they need in order to plan treatment
at their next consultation. Either way, you should leave your new patient
visit feeling cared for and clear about your next steps and points of contact.