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PATIENT INFORMATION
The information is designed to inform you concerning my
practice, my office procedures and the serviced rendered. An
allergist is a doctor who has taken special training in the handling
of illnesses caused by an allergic reaction of the body. Theses
illnesses include asthma, hay fever (seasonal and year round),
eczema, hives drug reactions, insect stings, etc. The illnesses
treated in this office are limited to those due to allergies an
asthma
It is the desire of the clinic to provide you with the finest
allergy care available. We try to do this in a friendly and
efficient manner at a cost that is both fair and reasonable. We
would appreciate any suggestions you may have to improve our
services.
YOUR PHYSICIAN
David T. Plaxico, M.D. is a physician with subspecialty training in
the evaluation and treatment of allergic diseases and asthma. He is
a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology and
a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is an Associate
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Mercer Medical School in
Macon. Dr. Plaxico is a member of the American Academy of Allergy ,
Asthma & Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma &
Immunology , the Southeastern Allergy Society, the Allergy &&
Immunology Society of Georgia, plus the Bibb County Medical
Association. Dr. Plaxico has also served as a Board of Directors for
the American Lung Association. He is also a regional teaching
consultant for several pharmaceutical companies.
APPOINTMENTS
OFFICE HOURS: Regular office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday (excluding Wednesday afternoons). It is the
policy of this office to see patients by appointments only.
Appointments may be made by calling this office between the hours of
8:30 a.m. to 5: 00 p.m. By utilizing a strict appointment system,
the doctor can allocate his time and provide more efficient service
while cutting down on your waiting time.
In any busy MD’s day, there are frequent unexpected occurrences that
may cause him to run behind schedule. We do respect your time and
regret delays. We will do our utmost to stay on schedule and expect
you to be punctual for you appointment. Occasionally, emergencies
arise that make it necessary to reschedule appointments. We are sure
you will understand if it does occur. Remember that someday the
medial emergency could be a member of your family and you will
expect to receive prompt and immediate care.
If you cannot keep an appointment, reasonable notice should be given
to this office. This is particularly true for your initial visit
when you will be given a 60 to 90 minute appointment. Give at lest a
24 HOUR NOTICE. This allows us to reschedule that time for
someone else who needs to see the doctor.
YOUR INITIAL VISIT
Most patients come to this office by referral from their Internist,
Pediatrician, Family physician or other specialist. The most
important tool of the allergist is the complete and detailed
history, physical exam and preliminary laboratory work. Much of the
first visit will be taken up by the history. Areas that will be
covered include a chronological process of the systems, medication
use and their results, and any suspicious causes that might exist. A
detailed environmental survey both at home and at work will be made.
WHY ALL THE QUESTIONS?
You will be asked to complete several forms during your initial
evaluation. The patient information slip contains important
information as a necessary part of your care. Your address and phone
number are needed for prescriptions. Information concerning your
occupations and age is likewise important for it has a direct
bearing upon your health and physical status. All information given
us is strictly confidential and wil be divulged to no one without
your written permission. Information concerning your past medical
health is extremely important for a complete understanding of your
medical problems; this includes a list of medical problems
previously or currently treated by other physicians whether or not
they have a direct bearing on your allergic problem. It is
particularly important that we obtain a list of all medications
currently being taken or recently prescribed. These should be
brought with you at the time of your visit. PLEASE FILL OUT THE
ALLERGY QUESTIONNAIRE FORM WITH AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE AND BRING
IT WITH YOU AT YOUR INITIAL VISIT.
SKIN TESTS
In most cases, allergy tests will be needed to confirm the cause of
the illness that were suggested in the history. This can usually be
accomplished in two or three visits. There are two basic kinds of
skin tests:
PRICK TEST: Performed on the arms or the back,
INTRADERMAL TEST: Performed on the arms.
The number of tests vary from the individual, depending on the
particular type problem and the history. If your child is to be
tested, we will be happy to demonstrate each type of test on the
parent if so desired. Antihistamines and decongestants (medical
treatment of hay fever) should not be taken within 72 hours prior to
having skin tests performed. IT IS UNNECESSARY (AND SOMETIME
DANGEROUS) TO STOP OTHER MEDICATIONS YOU MAY BE TAKING, particularly
those for asthma. If you have any question about what drugs may or
may not be taken prior to skin testing, it is best to check with us
before discontinuing them.
PATCH TEST: for evaluation of chronic dermatitis, itching or hives
is also available. These patch tests can be performed from patient
provided items or standard patch testing antigens.
LAB AND X-RAY
Some laboratory work is done in this office. There are full x-ray
and laboratory facilities in the area. Health Insurance will be
billed for these services.
PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTING
Patients with asthma and other respiratory problems will receive a
complete pulmonary function testing during their evaluation. This
may include spirometry (breathing test) before and after an inhaled
bronchodilator or after exercise. These tests serve as a useful
baseline with which to follow your progress. These are performed in
this office and may be completed on your first visit.
FINAL CONFERENCE
After you have completed your initial history and physical exam and
all skin tests a laboratory data, a summation conference will be
done. At this time I will review your evaluation, and make
recommendation for treatment. A summary of this conference will be
sent to you and your referring physician.
POLICY ON CHILDREN
Children should be properly prepared for their medical appointment.
You should tell them that some tests may be necessary, but please
leave any further instructions and preparation to us. We will take
every precaution to avoid causing significant discomfort in our
young patients, but we will be firm if the situation demands. PLEASE
DO NOT BRING OTHER CHILDREN IN YOUR FAMILY UNLESS ABSOLUTELY
NECESSARY. If feasible, BOTH PARENTS are encouraged to accompany the
child on at least the initial visit.
ALLERGY SHOTS (IMMUNOTHERAPY)
If it is necessary for you to take allergy shots, your program will
be outlined at the time of your final conference. These are usually
required once per week for the first few months. Once your
maintenance dose is reached, the interval will be increased to two
three or four weeks. The lenth of the immunotherapy program varies,
but one should anticipate a four year program. You may receive these
injections in this office or we will send you extract to your
personal physician to administer. THE INJECTIONS MUST BE GIVEN BY A
MEDICALLY TRAINED PERSON. It is necessary to remain in the office 20
minutes after your injection and have your arm checked for any local
reaction before leaving. A schedule of hours that allergy injections
are given is posted at the office. You may receive a printed copy of
this from the receptionist. NO INJECTIONS WILL BE GIVEN IN THIS
OFFICE UNLESS A PHYSICIAN IS PRESENT IN THE BUILDING.
TELEPHONE CALLS AND EMERGENCIES
A great misunderstanding among patients is that telephone
conversations and consultations don’t take up much of the MD’s time.
However, this is the most common cause of a physician running behind
schedule. We request that you use discretion in you phone calls for
this reason. Please furnish the secretary with all the necessary
information concerning the reason for your call and indicate whether
routine or emergency. Our office and nursing staff can answer
most questions. If they can not, they will take a message to be
relayed to the doctor. We will return urgent calls as soon as
possible – YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
After hours and on weekends our office phones will be placed on an
answering service. The doctor will check in at regular intervals and
if necessary will return you call. PLEASE NOTE THAT NIGHT AND
WEEKENDS ARE FOR URGENT SITUATIONS ONLY. Since this is a solo
practice, it would be unrealistic to expect one physician to be
available 24 hours a day, seven day a week. There will be periods
when Dr. Plaxico will have other responsibilities and commitments.
IT IS MANDATORY, THEREFORE, THAT ALL PATIENTS SEEN IN THIS PRACTICE
HAVE A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN (INTERNIST, PEDIATRICIAN, FAMILY
PRACTITIONER, ETC). If you do not have a regular physician, we will
be happy to refer you to any one of a number of excellent physicians
in our community. If you can not reach Dr. Plaxico and the situation
is urgent, it is imperative that you seek medical care from your
primary care physician or local emergency room. At times, it may be
difficult to know which physician to contact during a particular
problem. We advise you always contact your primary care physician
first. If he or she feel that it is necessary for me to be
consulted, then please call.
PRESCRIPTIONS
Most allergy medications will be marked so that you can refill them
as needed by simply calling your pharmacist and requesting the
refill. Prescription refills will be done only during office
hours so that your chart may be reviewed. Please furnish the
secretary with your pharmacy telephone number. All prescriptions
from this clinic will be marked “label”. Be sure that your
pharmacist complies with this request. In addition, we have asked
your physician not to substitute generic drugs when specific name
brands have been ordered. Please notify me if you find substitutions
have been made in your prescriptions.
FEES
The fees that we charge for an allergic workup are based on a
regional average. Since the amount of work involved in each allergic
workup varies considerably with each patient, a precise estimate is
impossible. Hover, after the first visit and estimate may be given.
This office is happy to discuss at any time any questions concerning
our charges. PAYMENT FOR EACH OFFICE VISIT IS REQUIRED AT THE TIME
OF THE INITIAL EVALUATION. We also appreciate established
patients paying on the date that services are rendered. This effort
by you will help us in a keeping our expenses down and ultimately
the cost of medical care to you, the patient. In any case, payment
is expected within thirty days of receipt of your monthly statement.
If you are unable to pay the bill in full, contact our office
(743-7803) and they will assist you in any way they can.
INSURANCE
We do take direct insurance payments, after authorization of payment
to the physician by the patient. At each visit you will receive a
copy of the charges rendered. After the completion of the initial
visit, a summary of all charges will be filed with your insurance
agent, fill out the part that you are responsible for and then send
the form to our office for further processing. We are participants
for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, State Merit and Medicare. We do accept
major bank credit cards. Any portion of your charges not paid
through your insurance company will be your responsibility.
PROBLEMS WITH BILLING
Check your statement when you receive it. Try as we might, we are
only human and do make mistakes. If there is a problem or error on
your statement, we ask that you please notify our office (743-7803)
immediately. The more promptly you let us know of a mistake on your
account, the more promptly we can set it right.
NOTE: There will be a charge on any returned check and the amount of
the check will be added back to your account.
OUR PROMISE TO YOU
This clinic exists to provide conscientious specialized care to
patients suffering from allergy and asthma. Our goal is to give you
the most expert and up-to-date evaluation possible, and to teach you
about any process we may diagnose so that you might be better able
to control your destiny. In summary, we are willing to expend any
amount of time and effort necessary to insure you will being. We
really care.
David T. Plaxico, M.D.
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