Before your visit

· Please note that we usually schedule 15 minutes for follow-up or urgent care appointments such as blood pressure checks, sore throats, or rashes, and 30 minutes for complete physicals.  If you have a concern that is more complicated, such as chest pain, dizziness, or new headaches, or have multiple minor issues, please let us know over the phone so that we can schedule 30 or even 45 minutes.

· If you need an appointment urgently, please tell us.  We can usually squeeze you in that same day.  Please be patient, though, since you may have to wait a little bit when you arrive.

· If you have many questions or topics, please write a list so that we don’t leave anything out.  We would like to make sure we take care of all of your concerns.

· If your insurance has changed, please call us to make sure we are still in-network.  We would not want you to have any unpleasant financial surprises.  If we are out-of-network, we can usually make some arrangements beforehand.

· Please check your insurance benefits to see if services such as physicals or labs are covered.  Again, we would not want you to have any unpleasant financial surprises.

· Please let us know if you have any special needs, e.g. you must get back to your office on time after your appointment, or you need an early appointment because you will be fasting for the lab that day.  We will try to make the best arrangements possible for you.

 

Bring to your visit:

· All of your medications in their original bottles, if you do not know them by name and dosage.

· Your blood pressure machine, if you are interested in checking its accuracy.

· Logs of your blood pressure readings, fingerstick readings, diet diary, or anything else we are working to improve together.

· Any old records or any notes from other physicians that you would like me to have.

· Your insurance card and/or ID, if you are a new patient or if anything has changed.

· Your co-pay and/or any outstanding balance, if you have one.

 

During your visit

· Please start with the topic that is the most life-threatening (relatively speaking), or if no issues are life-threatening, then the topic that is the most important to you.  It may sound intuitive, but I would really like to defer an insomnia or cholesterol discussion if you’ve been having chest pains or trouble breathing.

· If we do not explain something well, or we unintentionally use too many technical words, please stop us and ask us to explain again.  We want to make sure you understand what we mean.

· If you would like to take notes, please don’t be shy.  Ask us for paper and pens if you need them.

· If you are scheduled for a complete physical, but you bring up several urgent or active issues, we may focus on those issues and ask you to reschedule your physical for a later date.  We hope you won’t mind this; we just want to make sure we take care of those issues adequately.

 

After your visit

· If you need a follow-up appointment, making it before you leave our office is the most efficient way to do so.  This way, you won’t forget to call us back to make it, and you’ll get the best choice of appointment times.

· If you forget anything after you’ve left, please do not hesitate to call us.

 

Other phone tips

· Please tell the receptionist what your specific question or issue is when you call.  They may be able to get you an answer right away, or at least put it on the top of the stack if it is more urgent.  Often, Dr. Lee has enough time between patients to scan the messages and ask the receptionists to convey the answers, but not enough time to start an unknown phone conversation.  Messages such as “this patient just needs to talk to the doctor” usually get pushed to the end of the day or sometimes even the next day.  We wouldn’t want you to wait all day if all you needed was a referral to a dermatologist, or just needed to know whether you can take an over-the-counter allergy medication with your blood pressure pills.  In general, any issue that is too complicated to sum up into a question is probably best handled in person, so please schedule an appointment.

· If you think you are just beginning to come down with something right before a weekend or holiday, please call us earlier rather than wait for symptoms to worsen.  We can usually squeeze urgent patients in the same day.  After Dr. Lee has examined you, she can teach you about symptoms to watch for and how to handle them; she may even give you a prescription and tell you only to start the medication under specific circumstances.  We want to take care of your needs.  We would much rather stay late on a Friday and know you are fine, than have you suffer over the weekend needlessly.

 

If you have other tips that were helpful to you in dealing with our office, or with doctors’ offices in general, please share them with us by emailing admin@donnaleemd.com.

Making the most of your visits

(Some insider tips)

Donna Lee, M.D.

3005 Silver Creek Road

Suite 158

San Jose, CA 95121

408-270-3877

Donna Lee, M.D.

Internal Medicine and Aesthetic Medicine