Preparing for your Visit
Confirm your Appointment
Confirm your appointment date and time a couple of days before your visit. We do call all our patients but if you have missed us, it’s always a good idea to make sure you got it right. Call us 423-654-7400 or email us necessary forms and sign consent forms prior to your visit. Returning patients could Log-in to the connect@psicha.com.
Prepare ahead
New patients could get a log-in here and get accustomed to our online patient portal to find all information relevant to their care. You could fill out necessary forms and sign consent forms prior to your visit. Returning patients could Log-in to the patient portal to see if all the information is updated. Please let us know if something is wrong or missing on the portal. For your convenience, we also offer the app for the portal that you can download for your mobile phone.
Check your Insurance Details
Check your insurance details to see if it's active. Check if you need to pay copay/coinsurance or if you have the deductible. It's the patient's sole responsibility to ensure that the insurance they carry works with the provider, pharmacy, and other services such as imaging centers. Insurance companies negotiate different rates with hundreds of hospitals, health systems, pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies, so at the time of your visit, we can only give you an estimate of what they might pay.
Set a goal for your visit
Please think over to decide What do you want to get out of the visit. Will this be a regular checkup, would you want to discuss a new issue, or would you want to discuss a big event in the near future.
Create an agenda for discussion
Quality is much more important than quantity when it comes to addressing medical concerns. Write down two or three things that are most important to discuss with the doctor. Dr Shantha might have his own points to discuss with you, so keep time for that.
Gather Your Supplies
If you have an agenda for discussing with Dr Shantha, make sure you come prepared with material that helps, for example you could keep a list of symptoms (Symptoms diary of what time of the day, how often and triggers) of the issue that most bothers you or you could keep a sleep diary if you suspect that you have a sleep disorder. Bring us a list of your current medication and dosage so it saves time filling out medication form everytime. You could save same list and take it to every doctors appointment as they would want to know the same information as well. You could also bring all your medications for Dr. Shantha to review and your test results of related issues.
On the day of your Appointment
In the Waiting Room
Check in with the front desk. If it's a first-time visit, arrive at least 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork if you haven't done it in advance. Even if you've been to the office before, the staff will usually want you to verify your address, phone number and insurance coverage. Be flexible. We do our best to keep wait times low and We all deserve to be seen on time but sometimes the Doctor might have to attend to an emergency or there might be patients who might need a longer time than anticipated. Bring your favorite time pass activity to spend your new found time.
In the Exam Room
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Set your Agenda
Set your agenda, but also listen to your doctor's. At the start of the visit let Dr Shantha know the two or three things you want to be sure to get to and make sure you listen to Dr Shantha's agenda and plan for you.
Focus on the doctor-patient conversation
More than the physical exam, blood tests, X-rays, and CT Scans, the doctor-patient conversation is the most powerful tool in medicine. Make sure the majority of your visit time is spent in direct communication. (Forms and paperwork should be relegated to the waiting room.)
Direct face to face conversation
Patients are unaware of the multitude and extent of documentation that physicians need to do while seeing a patient which is very time consuming and many physicians are seen typing right away into the system as they are talking to the patient, However Dr Shantha believes that direct, face to face communication is very crucial for patient care and while he's in the room with you he's listening to you carefully and making notes please do be respectful of his time as he needs additional time to document everything behind closed doors for every patient.
Wrapping up
If you feel an important question has been left unanswered, or especially if you don't understand something that was explained to you, don't be shy about bringing this up before the visit ends. Resist the temptation to squeeze in other concerns at the last minute. It is okay, though, to let Dr. Shantha know that there are a few things still on your mind. Ask if it's possible to set up a phone call, or if you can email follow-up questions through the patient portal
Don't leave until you know the plan
Take notes if you can. (Having a friend or family member there to take notes can also be helpful.) You will be given a short, printed summary of the visit when you leave. Please save this discharge summary and take it to your other doctor's visit. Collect any printed orders that you might need for follow up testing and make sure you know how you will be informed of test results and if (and when) you should come for a follow-up appointment. Since most prescriptions are sent electronically these days, check that we have the correct information for the pharmacy you prefer to use.