Your first visit
How long to allow#
Fill this in: the length of a first appointment, and how much of it is paperwork, examination and conversation. Allow for the whole visit rather than the time in the chair; patients plan the rest of the day on this number.
Fill this in: how early, and why — a form, identification, an insurance check. If the form can be completed in advance, link to it here so the first ten minutes are not spent writing.
You will be asked about past treatment, conditions, allergies, medication and anything you are worried about. What to bring lists what makes this part quick and accurate.
Fill this in: what an examination involves in your practice, what equipment is used, whether anything is uncomfortable, and whether images or tests are usually taken on the first visit.
We explain what we saw, in ordinary words, and you can ask for it again in different words as many times as you like. Treatments explained covers the same ground slowly and at home.
Any recommended treatment is described with its alternatives, including doing nothing, and with what each one costs — see Payment and insurance. Nothing is started at a first visit without your agreement.
If there is a next appointment, book it before you leave. That is when the time you want is still free.
What you go home with#
Fill this in: what a patient leaves with — a written plan, an estimate, aftercare instructions, a prescription, a follow-up date. Saying it here means nobody realises in the car park that they were expecting something.
If you did not understand something, say so before you leave. Nobody minds explaining twice, and everybody minds a treatment being agreed to that was not fully understood.
If you are anxious#
Tell us at the start rather than enduring it. Say here what you can do — a longer appointment, breaks, explaining before each step, a quieter time of day. Most of this costs nothing and only happens if somebody knows.
Registering#
Fill this in: whether new patients have to register, what that requires, and whether there is a waiting list. If there is, say roughly how long.