The Consultation Process

Posted on August 8, 2009 at 4:06 pm

When a patient first comes to my office they’ll fill out a health history questionnaire or hopefully they’ll bring that with them, which you can download from this website. Before meeting with me they will usually view a personally-prepared PowerPoint presentation about the procedure or procedures that they’re interested in. I will then meet with them, do a full examination, go over their history, and talk to them about their desires and what they want for outcomes. We’ll also take photographs and very often do computer imaging on those photographs to show them what the possibilities may be for their particular procedure. After my time with them is finished they’ll meet with my patient care coordinator and go over costs, scheduling, and other administrative things that need to be taken care of. I will very often then see my patients for a second consultation before their surgery. This usually takes place about two weeks beforehand after they’ve received a very comprehensive booklet that gives them even more information about the procedure. That gives them time to ask questions again and to review our goals so that we know we’re on the same page before we ever start.