Tab Page – Office Policies – Scheduling Appointments

Scheduling Appointments

• We are a “referral only” office.  We require a referral from your primary care physician.
• As soon as our office receives your referral, we will first verify your insurance benefits to make sure we are part of your insurance network. (Please look at “Insurance Networks” on the web site to see our network affiliation.)
• We request you forward a copy of your medical records prior to scheduling your initial appointment.  We will review your medical records before an appointment is given.  We reserve the right to NOT schedule an appointment – after reviewing your medical records, we may decide we will not be able to participate in your medical care.
• Our office staff will then contact you directly to schedule the initial appointment.
• We try to see patients within 2 weeks of receiving the referral, but sometimes new appointments can delayed upto 8-12 weeks.
• We normally see new patients on Thursdays, all day.
• If the appointment involves a Work-Comp issue, we must obtain a written approval from the WC adjuster prior to scheduling the appointment.
• We request ALL new patients to arrive at the office at least 1 hour BEFORE their scheduled appointment.
• This will ensure that all paperwork issues are completed before your scheduled appointment time. Otherwise, your consultation time will be delayed.
• Be prepared to spend 2-3 hours in the office as we conduct a very detailed neurological evaluation, consisting of:
  • (1) an initial evaluation with an upper level medical student or medical resident, followed by
  • (2) a prolonged private discussion (sometimes 45 min to 1 hour) between Dr. Athni and the student / resident, followed by
  • (3) another detailed assessment by Dr. Athni.