First Appointment

The Initial Appointment lasts 1 hour and is conducted in person.  It consists of an in-depth interview focusing on your current symptoms, your medical history, lifestyle issues and dietary habits.  A focused physical examination is also performed.*  Typically, at the end of the first visit, bloodwork and other pertinent specialty testing will be ordered. 

*If you are female, it is recommended that you bring the report of your most recent gynecological exam/PAP smear, as we do not perform these exams in our office.  If you have not had a recent exam, we will be happy to refer you to a Gynecologist for this routine procedure.

Follow-Up Appointments

The First Follow-Up Appointment usually takes place 2 - 3 weeks after your Initial Appointment and lasts 45 minutes.  This visit is  conducted via telephone consultation, from the comfort of your own home.  At this time we will review your test results in detail and start you on a comprehensive treatment program.  The first follow-up visit will also include ample time for you to ask questions and gain a solid understanding of the treatment plan that has been designed for you. 

Subsequent (Routine) Follow-Up Appointments are generally 20 minutes in length and will be scheduled about every 2-6 months, based upon your individual healthcare needs. These appointments are also conducted by telephone.  For existing patients who are doing well on their treatment plan, we require a follow-up appointment every 6 months to renew prescriptions, check pertinent blood tests and allow an opportunity for fine-tuning.  

Brief Tune-Ups/Prescription Changes are sometimes necessary between appointments if a patient has a new symptom that arises or does not respond to her/his current regimen.  If the doctor needs to discuss these changes with the patient in detail, we will require that a formal Routine Follow-Up Appointment be scheduled by phone.  If changes are easy and straightforward and can be accomplished via a 5-10 minute phone call with our office staff or doctor, we will do so for a minimum charge (see below). 

Fee Information & Insurance Coverage

 Initial Appointment:  $390 

1st Comprehensive Follow-Up Appointment:  $330

Routine Follow-Up Appointment:  $180 

Annual Appointment:  $225

Brief Tune-Ups/Prescription Changes:  $90

(Lower fee structure is available for Youth under age 25)

 Due to the complex nature of Preventive & Restorative Medicine, which demands more lengthy and in-depth office visits than the standard 10-minute visit covered by most insurance plans, we are unable to offer direct billing to your insurance company. 

If you have a PPO insurance plan, however, we will provide you with an insurance super-bill, as a courtesy, that you may send to your PPO insurance provider for reimbursement for your visit.  Telephone appointments may or may not be covered by your insurance company, depending on your particular plan.

NOTE TO MEDICARE PATIENTS:  Please be aware that Dr. Arvantely has chosen to opt-out of Medicare; therefore, we cannot submit any claims for our services directly to Medicare for you, nor can we offer you a super-bill for your submittal to Medicare or to your supplemental insurance carrier.

Charges for all office visits and telephone consultations are due and payable at the time of service.  Checks, cash, VISA, MC, Amex and Discover are accepted.

Laboratory Fees

The cost of laboratory work and any other additional, pertinent specialty testing is not included in the cost of the office visit.  Most laboratories and radiology centers that we use do offer direct billing to your insurance company and to Medicare.  The level of coverage you will receive on your lab tests depends on your specific health insurance plan.  Your out-of-pocket costs for lab tests can range anywhere from zero to several hundred dollars, depending on your particular insurance coverage.  We encourage you to contact your insurance carrier before your first visit to ascertain what type of coverage you have on lab tests ordered by an out-of-network provider. 

Additional Paperwork Fees

The completion of additional paperwork at your request, on your behalf, is not typically part of our general operations and requires valuable time and attention from our doctor and staff.  We therefore bill for these services as follows:

Pre-Authorization for Prescription Drug Coverage:  $90

To Make an Appointment

Please call the office to schedule an appointment, at 949-660-1399.  We welcome your inquiries and we look forward to hearing from you!  Once you have decided on an appointment date and time, you will be asked for your credit card number in order to hold your reservation.  We will not charge your card until the date/time of the appointment. 

 To Prepare for Your Appointment

  1.  Log-In to our Patient Portal

When you make your initial appointment we will set up an account for you within our secure system.  You will then receive an email from "do-not-reply@waitingroomsolutions.com" containing a temporary username and password that will allow you to log-in to our Patient Portal.  You will be able to change your username and password once you have logged-in for the first time, by going to Account Information, under "MY HEALTH RECORD".  NOTE:  Since we will have already set up an account for you at the time you schedule your first appointment, you do not need to set up a new account from scratch.  Simply log in with the username and password provided in the email and "sign" the 3 permission attestations before inputting your health information. 

The Patient Portal is a secure, privacy-protected place for you to input your contact information, medical and surgical history, allergies, medications, family and social history, preferred pharmacy information and much more.  Doing so will take the place of having to fill out lengthy medical history forms in writing, and will assist the doctor in having all of your important health history entered into our system ahead of time.  When you have logged-in to the Patient Portal, click on "MY HEALTH RECORD" and input as much of the requested information as you can.  If you have questions about certain areas, leave them blank, and the doctor will review them with you.

If you cannot complete this information in advance, Dr. Arvantely will need to input it for you during your appointment time together.  This is OK, but it will likely shorten the amount of time available for you to discuss your current symptoms and concerns with the doctor.  We therefore cannot overemphasize the importance of accurately completing the information in "MY HEALTH RECORD" in advance of your appointment, to the best of your ability.  

2.  Bring Recent Test Results

 If you have had laboratory or other medical testing done within the past 12 months, you are encouraged to bring the results/reports with you to your initial appointment.  This may partially eliminate the need for us to order new tests for you, and thus may reduce your total cost for services.  Female patients are encouraged to bring copies of their most recent PAP Smear, Mammogram and Bone Density reports, if applicable.  Male patients are encouraged to bring a copy of their latest PSA (prostate screening) test, if available. 

3.  Bring Your Medications and Supplements

If you are already on a medication and/or supplement regimen, you are also encouraged to bring these medications/supplements with you to your first visit so they can be reviewed by Dr. Arvantely. 

4.  Note Our Cancellation Policy

We require at least 24 hours advance notice to cancel or change your appointment.  We ask this of our patients because lost appointment slots are very costly to us and take away valuable time from other patients who are waiting to see our doctors.  Failure to notify us within this timeframe will result in your credit card being charged for the full amount of your appointment.  There will be no exceptions.

 5.  Plan To Be On Time

In anticipation of your fist visit to the office, we request that you plan ahead, map out your driving route, and arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled appointment time.  We have reserved your appointment slot for you, and your late arrival will result in your loss of valuable time with Dr. Arvantely at the same cost to you.  We thank your for honoring your commitment to yourself and to your healtcare process by arriving on time!

If you have any questions, please call and we will be happy to assist you.  We look forward to meeting you and to serving you on your path to wellness!

Sincerely,

Catherine Arvantely, M.D. & Associates