We require that records from a referring provider, either PCP or another specialist, are on hand before scheduling a new patient appointment. If we do not have the required documents when a patient makes an appointment, we will request that they be sent before an appointment is scheduled.

If your insurance requires a referral from a primary care physician at the time of service, this will need to be in place by your appointment date. If we do not have a valid referral for your appointment date, your appointment will be rescheduled.

New patient paperwork must be completed prior to your new patient appointment, which includes demographics, medical history (including allergies, medications surgeries, etc), HIPAA forms, authorization to release medical records, and more. These help our providers paint a full picture of your health history in order to assist in your diagnosis and treatment.

This paperwork will be texted and emailed to you with a link one week before your appointment date. It is NOT currently available on our patient portal.

If you do not have your paperwork complete upon check-in, you may be asked to reschedule to avoid causing a delay in the provider’s schedule.

LSARA follows a Care Team model. In most cases, you will see both the doctor and their APC (Advanced Practicing Clinician) which is a fancy, all-encompassing term for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants that are part of your Care Team. Your appointment is scheduled for 45 minutes.

The APC will start the appointment by reviewing your paperwork, doing a physical examination, and reviewing your history and symptoms. This portion of the appointment will take about 30 minutes.

The last 15 minutes of the appointment, the doctor will join the visit and the APC will bring them up to speed on your case.

At this point, the care team will likely order lab tests, imaging, and any other testing they feel is appropriate to help make a diagnosis.

Reaching a diagnosis, or determining if another specialist is needed outside rheumatology, may take several visits.