What to expect on your visit

We are looking forward to your visit with us. Most likely, you were referred to us by an internet search or a family doctor. Even so, we realize that you probably had a choice of several endocrinologists. We really appreciate your choosing us.

If you have not already scheduled, download and plug-in prior to your Visit
You should notice that we are a fully electronic practice which satisfies our patients' demand for transparency and efficiency in health care delivery. We provide Better Medicine by use of electronic communication systems such as the required Healow App,  Patient Portal and Telemedicine visits and Chat to provide excellent care. Please view our instructional videos on our YouTube channel for details on how to use our services.

The online New Patient Packet must be completed in order to schedule an appointment.   Our patients schedule their own appointment via real-time scheduling 24 hours per day.  Please remember to schedule with the doctor with whom you intend to remain as no doctor-switching is allowed.  Please then become familiar your patient portal as it is the primary form of communication with our office.  Our Youtube channel can show you how to use certain digital features of the office. Please remember that all patients are required to have a separate primary care doctor. If you desire a sooner appointment than what is available on real-time scheduling please send a patient portal message with details of your request or chat with us at https://chat.houstonendocrine.com/ to request placement on a wait list.  We do strongly prefer all your records be sent ahead of your visit.  If you have notes, labs or imaging from other facilities which you think will be important to your care (see the p.s. at bottom of this page), please upload from your desktop computer or fax to 713.795.0855.  Simply bringing the notes to your initial visit will only reduce the time spent with the physician.  

Insurance Verification
Before your first visit we may perform a complimentary insurance benefit verification designed to help you better understand what can and cannot be billed to your insurance company. Please note that some patients will require a PCP referral based on the type of insurance.  You can contact our billing department via a secure SMS messaging system. Once we have investigated your benefits, our billing department may contact you via SMS and explain what we have learned. Although we make the best attempt to obtain accurate information from your insurance company, there will be times when the information we are provided conflicts with how the insurance company processes the claims. Therefore, we cannot accept liability for inaccurate information and encourage you to verify our findings with your health plan or employer.  We might not be able to give you detailed information about what you may owe until you arrive for your appointment.

Confirming your appointment
All patients whose appointments are scheduled more than 15 days in advance should receive an SMS text message several days prior to the scheduled appointment. You must confirm your appointment with a 'yes' reply to the SMS text. If you did not receive this message you will need to contact us via the chat system to confirm your appointment.  If we do not receive a confirmation your appointment will be automatically canceled 4 days prior to the scheduled appointment date.

Getting to us (office visits)
We have two locations. The Katy office has simple, fast and free surface lot. If you are coming to our medical center location, we realize parking in the medical center is time consuming.  Please try not to be a late arrival. We have a small efficient office, and our physicians try to run on time. Here are our frequently asked questions. 

Arrival in the office Waiting Room (office visits)
After you arrive on time you will check in for your visit via a paperless Paperless Electronic Kiosk with fast QR check-in (video) which will take your credit card or debit card payment, scan your insurance card, and ask a few required clinical questions for the doctor. Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes prior to your appointment to allow time for check-in at our kiosk because there are several questions you will be asked about your health by the physicians via the kiosk.  We prefer payment via credit card or debit card at the kiosks, but cash is accepted by the front desk staff. 

Meeting as a televisit
You should receive an SMS message with the link to the doctor's virtual waiting room. You should use a device with microphone and camera. Once in the waiting room, there may be a wait and there are instructions for how and when to contact the doctor if waiting too long. The visit will be a live video visit once the doctor connects with you. Technology support and troubleshooting details can be seen on www.houstontelevisit.com. 

The Physician Visit
When you come to see the staff and Physicians of Houston Thyroid and Endocrine Specialists, we strive to treat you like an important individual, not just a number. We have magazines and other reading material in the waiting room and guest wi-fi access is available.  We will take the time to listen to your concerns and find out about your symptoms. We will likely run a series of blood tests to both identify your endocrine condition and rule out more serious concerns. In many cases the doctor may perform a thyroid ultrasound themselves during your visit. As soon as we have an accurate diagnosis, we may prescribe medicine, testing, or other treatment aimed to get you feeling better. You will receive clear verbal and written instructions from your physician about medications, future testing  (blood work, imaging tests, procedures) and how/when you should follow up to discuss the results. We strongly encourage all our patients to use the Patient Portal as the primary way to communicate with our practice. The portal can allow you to send messages to the doctor, make or change appointments, refill medications, view your medical history, and view your lab results. Please ask our staff for your patient portal password prior to leaving.

After the visit
If any testing (blood/urine  testing, imaging testing, etc) is ordered by the doctor, then a patient must schedule an office visit or televisit with the physician to review those results. The doctor will only review the results with you at a scheduled appointment.  Since there are many normal-abnormal levels and abnormal-normal levels in the field of endocrinology, you should not be reassured by your lab testing showing results in the "normal range".  If testing is done without a scheduled appointment to review results, then a patient may not receive an interpretation of the results and there may be an interruption in medication refills.  

We realize that it is our responsibility to keep up with the latest developments in our field so that we can give you the best care possible.


Sincerely,
Fareed Elhaj MD
Medhavi Jogi MD
Katie Spence CDE


p.s Please bring these items with you to your first visit and preferably upload fax them to us prior to your visit:

  • All patients: All current medications, a copy of your most recent blood work and relevant testing, a current insurance card, and name/address/phone number for your preferred local and mail-order pharmacy. If you have health insurance, these are the insurances accepted. It is your responsibility to confirm that you insurance is accepted. If you are referred by another doctor please make sure that physician has sent us their records about you so we understand what questions need to be answered.
  • Hyperthyroidism or Hypothyroidism: any previous thyroid scan and uptake, last two most recent thyroid blood testing, your thyroid pill bottles, and any thyroid ultrasound report.
  • Thyroid Nodules: Previous thyroid ultrasound report if available, any thyroid blood testing (TSH) within the last 90 days
  • Known Thyroid Cancer: Thyroid FNA biopsy cytopathology report, final surgical pathology reports, the surgery operative report, all radioactive iodine treatment reports, whole body scan reports, all thyroglobulin blood test results, any thyroid ultrasound reports. 
  • Pituitary Diseases: The most recent MRI-pituitary reports and the one from prior to any pituitary surgery, any pituitary labs and ACTH stimulation testing, surgical operative reports, final surgical pathology reports, radiation therapy notes, visual field examination notes from your ophthalmologist, and any endocrinologists' notes. 
  • Adrenal Disease: The most recent imaging tests on the adrenal glands (CT or MRI) and any adrenal and kidney blood testing. 
  • Diabetes Mellitus: If taking insulin you must bring your glucometer for download. Any recent hemoglobinA1c and kidney testing. Written blood glucose values are not acceptable.
  • If needed, complete a Release of Information Form and fax to your other physicians (not to us).
  • If you think your old records will be important in our decisions, then the only way to guarantee we receive your records in a timely manner is if you physically obtain them from your other physician yourself and bring to your clinic visit with us. If a fax request is sent then we usually do not receive this information from your other physician for at least 4-6 weeks.
Subpages (1): Plan ahead
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