Frequently Asked Questions
Answered by Dr. Stewart
After 25 years of doing Family Practice, why is Dr. Stewart just
doing diabetes and lipid care?
What insurances will
you take?
Will there be any extra fees to be a patient here?
What
are Virtual Visits?
I
am used to sending Dr. Stewart emails with questions and requests.
Will I be able to continue doing this?
If Dr. Stewart will have no employees, how will I schedule an
appointment?
Why
doesn't Dr. Stewart hire some help?
What will I do if Dr. Stewart goes on vacation?
What hours will the clinic be open?
How
far ahead can I schedule an appointment?
Q: After 25 years of doing Family
Practice, why is Dr. Stewart just doing diabetes and lipid care?
A: I very much enjoy the breadth and diversity of Family Practice, but
I have found that I particularly enjoy the challenge of taking care
of patients with diabetes and lipid problems. The problem is, these patients usually have a host of other problems, and they require much more attention than the average healthy adult. To provide the quality of care I would like to provide, including the availability to see patients as often as they should be seen for both their chronic disease management as well as acute illness needs, I can not realistically maintain a panel of more than about 800 patients. In fact, I will probably not sign up more than 600 patients until I am sure I can handle the volume.
As of June, 2007, somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 patients considered me
their "primary care physician." The reality is that the majority of
these patients may not have seen me more than once every few years, and
when they were ill, they usually ended up seeing one of my associates
at Swedish Physicians Pine Lake. Because my schedule was often booked
out for weeks to months at a time, they are not able to easily
schedule routine health screening visits, and often would have some of
their needs neglected because of the limited time available during
the visits they were able to schedule. At this point in my life, I
choose to provide superb care to a limited number of patients rather
than inadequate care to a large number.
Q: What insurances will you take?
A:
Since early 2015, I havel not been contracted with any insurance plans.
Your monthly subscription fee covers all of the care I provide,
except for lab tests and injectables, which I will provide at my
cost.
Q: Will there be any extra fees to be a patient here?
A: Although Sammamish
Diabetes and Lipid Clinic is organized like a "Concierge"
practice, where patients may pay thousands of dollars each year in order to remain patients, our membership fee is only $65.00 a month. This is the fee for each member of a family. We do not charge any additional per-visit fees for Dr. Stewart's time or expertise, but we may charge for in-house lab tests, injectibles, or unusual supplies at our cost. There is no additional charge for phone, email, SKYPE, or FaceTime visits.
And, there is no charge for use of our patient portal.
Q: What are Virtual Visits?
A: An example of a virtual visit would be a follow-up visit for
hypertension, where the patient has had a change in medication and
needs to report current blood pressure readings and side effects of
medication, but does not need to be physically present with the
doctor. Another example of a virtual visit might be a
follow-up of a patient with depression who is stable, but needs to
check in for a medication refill. Or, a patient with diabetes
who needs to review blood sugar results and side effects between his
regularly scheduled diabetes visits. Currently,
virtual visits are not covered benefits by many insurance
companies, but they might prove to be a much more efficient way of
dealing with some medical problems than to have a patient take time
off of work for an encounter that does not require a physical
examination by the doctor.
Q: I am used to sending Dr. Stewart emails with questions and requests. Will I be able to continue doing this?
A:
Because email is
not secure, Federal privacy laws discourage its use for medical
problems. Patients can ask any questions they wish via email
without penalty, but HIPPA encourages physicians to respond to
patients in a secure way, to minimize the risk of
private medical information becoming public. Consequently, responses
to emailed medical questions from patients will be available through
the secure internet gateway, rather than with unencrypted email, unless the patients sign a HIPPA waiver form that authorizes the use of email.
Q:
If Dr. Stewart will have no employees, how will I schedule an
appointment?
A: The easiest way to schedule an appointment will be on-line from this web Site.
Go to the Patients Only
page, then click on Click
Here for Appointment. Phone calls to schedule appointments will also be possible, but will usually go to the answering machine. They will be returned by Dr. Stewart when he is between patients.
Q: Why doesn't Dr. Stewart hire some help?
A:
As a micropractice, Dr. Stewart practices "solo-solo," with no employees. This means that Dr. Stewart will handle prescription refills himself, and will room patients himself. His wife, Eva, who is a
retired Nurse Practitioner and Certified Physicians Assistant usually is there to greet patients when they arrive,
update their insurance information, and answer the phone. Although hiring a receptionist and medical assistant would
make patient flow more efficient, it would also require that Dr. Stewart see more patients every day to pay their
salaries and benefits. With finite numbers of hours in a day, this would mean shorter visits with patients, and less time
with the doctor.
Q: What will I do if Dr. Stewart goes on vacation?
A:
Medical emergencies should generate
a 911 phone call. Dr. Stewart's cell phone will be listed on the
answering machine when he will be out of town but within reach
of cell phones. In the event that he is at
a location where no cell phone access is possible, we recommend the use of the urgent care clinics operated by Overlake Hospital on East Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, by Bartells, or on Redmond Way across from Bear Creek Shopping Center, unless the patient feels an Emergency Room visit is necessary.
Q:
What days will the clinic be open?
A: We
will be open for scheduled visits on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
and Thursdays. If patients have an urgent need to be seen
on other days, will do our best to
accommodate them.
Dr. Stewart is available outside of scheduled hours by cell
phone or SKYPE.
Q:
How far ahead can I schedule an appointment?
A: Using AppointmentQuest, we have set up appointment
scheduling up to 6 months in advance. Because there will be a
limited number of patients in the practice, appointment scheduling
should be much easier than it has been in the past. If you wish to
schedule an appointment further out than 6 months, please email Dr.
Stewart, and he will set up a time further out for you.
office phone:
no longer available