What to Expect at Your Consultation Appointment

If you have been referred to our office by your doctor or dentist, you are probably wondering about the care you will receive in our office. At Cumberland Surgical Arts we understand that there can be some apprehension when being referred to an oral surgeon, so we do everything we can to make your appointment with our office go smoothly. Continue reading to find out what to expect at your consultation appointment!

Scheduling Your Appointment

Upon calling the office to set up your consultation appointment, whether your referring office does this or you call in on your own, we will be more than happy to work with your availability and schedule your appointment when it is convenient for you. We will need all of the patient’s information (Name, Date of Birth, SSN, Insurance, Etc.) when making the appointment, so make sure you have all of that information on hand. Since we see patients for a variety of conditions that can be filed under both medical and dental insurance, please provide us with all of your insurance information. Two days prior to your appointment, your insurance will be verified and you will be made aware of any co-pays that may be associated with your appointment at this time, as a courtesy to you.

Before Your Appointment

Once your consultation is scheduled, you will receive an email with your new patient paperwork that we will need at your first appointment. If you are able to, please complete this paperwork prior to your appointment so that we are able to keep your time as scheduled. You will also be entered to win our basket of the month if your paperwork is completed when you arrive. Along with your new patient paperwork, you will also need to bring in the referral form that you receive from your referring healthcare provider, as well as your State-Issued photo ID, Insurance Cards, and Medication List.

A lot of the prep work for your appointment is done before you ever arrive. But, even with all of the behind-the-scenes work, we still have checks to complete after you have turned in your new patient paperwork. Completing it in its entirety is important and will help us get you back to a room promptly. For your safety, if you are unable to provide us with an accurate and thorough health history and medication list, we may have to reschedule your appointment to allow you time to gather that information.

Meeting with the Doctor

A member of our clinical team will review your paperwork with you, enter your full health history into our electronic medical records, and discuss your current medication list. While doing this, your vitals, such as blood pressure and pulse, will also be taken. If the reason for your visit requires an x-ray, we will happily take that image for the doctor to review. We welcome x-rays and diagnostic studies from other offices for comparative value, but we must have a current x-ray available to plan your surgery. After meeting with a clinical team member, the doctor will be in to discuss your condition, review your x-rays with you, and work with you to create a safe treatment plan to achieve your desired result based on your health needs.

Treatment Planning

Following our consultation with one of our doctors, you will be escorted to our treatment planning specialist to go over insurance benefits and financial obligations that will be associated with your procedure. She will present you with the deposit amount that will be collected on the day of your procedure. We work hard to estimate that deposit as close to your actual financial obligation after your insurance is applied. However, it is just an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. Some insurance plans require us to submit a predetermination before we can schedule your procedure. That process will be discussed in a future blog post, but it can take up to 4 weeks for a response from your insurance company from the date they receive our request for predetermination.

Please feel free to ask any questions about the process before leaving our office. Our treatment planning specialist will be more than happy to answer any additional questions that you may have. She will also be prepared to schedule your surgical appointment at this time, so please be sure to bring your schedule so that we are able to work a date and time out that will be good for you. If there is another person who has influence over if and when you can schedule your procedure, please bring them to this consultation appointment so their questions can be answered as well.

We hope this information will help explain what to expect. Please know that when you come to Cumberland Surgical Arts, you are coming to a trusted partner of your doctor or dentist, and we place the highest level of care on our patients. We look forward to meeting you.