--NEW PATIENT INFORMATION AND RATES
Dr. Friedman is a full-time research doctor, and his private practice is a little different than the nine to five doctor. HIS PRIVATE PRACTICE IS WEDNESDAY EVENINGS ONLY. Dr. Friedman’s rate is $450 per hour, and most appointments last one hour. He will provide a dictation of his visit to all new patients that takes 5-10 minutes and will charge the patient for that time. His office does not accept insurance or process insurance claims, but he will give you a superbill to send to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Diagnostic testing, most of which is covered by insurance companies, will begin that night after your consultation in his office with a blood draw. Dr. Friedman will provide you with a detailed dictation,copies of all laboratory and imaging results, relevant articles to read and a detailed treatment plan approximately two weeks after the initial visit. Dr. Friedman accepts cash or checks, but NO CREDIT CARDS.
**We highly recommend you purchase refundable airline tickets, as sometimes last-minute changes in the schedule occur. We try to do everything we can to notify our patients immediately.**
Dr. Friedman requires a $50 deposit for all patients prior to scheduling new and follow up appointments. Phone appointments must be paid in full at least 4 days before the "phone appointment" If Dr. Friedman recommends procedures for the patient when they come to L.A., such as MRI’s or CT’s, and the testing requires pre-certification from the insurance company, the $50 will be used to pay for this service. Should the patient not require pre-certification, the full $50 deposit will be deducted from their consultation fee. Those who suspect Cushing’s or are diagnosed with Cushing’s, will most likely have to pay the pre-certification fee.
To pay the $50 deposit, go to our website at www.goodhormonehealth.com and look to the left. Click on “contact us.” You will be at a webpage that has the PayPal logo. Click on that and follow the instructions for payment. IMPORTANT!!: EMAIL THE RECEIPT TO appointments@goodhormonehealth.com, THAT IS CONFIRMATION OF YOUR APPOINTMENT. The deadline for PayPal receipts for initial appointments is the Friday before the Wednesday night clinic, at 5:00 P.M., PST. If we don’t receive the deposit by then, the appointment will be forfeited.
Please note we have a cancellation policy of 24 hours. If a patient cancels the appointment less than 24 hours before the appointment, the patient will be charged $50.00.
FOR OUT-OF-TOWNERS who suspect they have Cushing’s disease: Dr. Friedman will want you to have three imaging procedures done at Cedar Sinai Medical Center, take two 24-hour urine tests, and drop the specimens off at one of several Esoterix labs. He also suggests you seek the advice of an eye doctor, who specializes in Cushing’s disease patients. We will be sending you an information sheet on this “medical itinerary.” We suggest you schedule your flight home for late afternoon, or early Saturday evening. Bear in mind LAX is an international airport (delays due to terrorist pre-cautions), and a heavy-traffic drive from the Mid-Wilshire area; give yourself plenty of time. You want to keep your stress level to a minimum!
As of May 1, 2007, Dr. Friedman's clinic moved to 1125 South Beverly Drive, Ste. 730, between Whitworth and West Pico, in west Los Angeles, near Cedars Sinai Medical Center. For out of town patients: be sure not to confuse Beverly Drive with Beverly Boulevard. There is a buzzer to ring to get into the office; please be patient with it -- sometimes the doctors don't hear it on first try. Paid parking under the building closes after 6:00 PM, but the 5:30 PM patients can get out after closing time. There is also free metered parking on the street after 6:00 PM; the neighborhood is safe at night. There is no phone number to call at the last minute, so be sure of these directions!
Once you are an established patient of Dr. Friedman, you can continue treatment through Sunday night phone consultations, if you live outside Southern California. (Most phone appointments are $120 for 20 minutes; payable through PayPal on our website.) All established patients can continue treatment through email, fax, and follow-up visits (usually a half hour) at the office. A $50 deposit is required to secure a follow-up appointment. Dr. Friedman may call patients from his car on Friday nights between 5:30PM to 7:30PM. These calls cost $90.00 for 15 min.
Dr. Friedman gives patients three free emails after the initial visit. If a patient faxes or emails excessively, or his or her emails or fax require a labor-intensive response, the patient will be charged, as would the client of other professionals like lawyers and accountants.
There are also additional fees for disability paperwork, correspondence to other parties from Dr. Friedman on behalf of the patient, and faxing or copying charts. Faxing, copying and composing letters will cost from $25 to $150, depending on the job. Disability paperwork is charged at $150 an hour. Upon receipt of the initial paperwork, Dr. Friedman's staff assesses how many hours the job will take, then charges the patient accordingly. If the job takes less time than the staff predicted, we refund the balance; if more, we ask for the balance. We try to be conservative with our hourly estimate.
We are happy to provide superbills for any of the above services to send to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.
-MEDSORT REGISTRATION
To keep track of your medications and their changes, Dr. Friedman asks that patients register with MedSort, an online medication list management system. To register, go to www.MEDSort.com. Once you are registered with MEDSort, please input your medications and in the future, note any changes. Registration and maintenance of your MEDSort file is very easy and will prevent medication errors. Thank you!
--HOW LONG SHOULD I STAY IN L.A.?
We recommend out-of-town patients stay in L.A. for three to four days; a list of hotels and directions is on our website at www.goodhormonehealth.com. Our office is in west Los Angeles, near Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
--CAN I SEND MY RECORDS AHEAD OF TIME?
DO NOT send your records ahead of time, Dr. Friedman does not have a place for them, and they may get lost.
--WHAT ELSE SHOULD I BRING?
My Checklist for Dr. Friedman’s Appointment
1. A tape recorder. Dr. Friedman packs a lot of information into the consultation. He talks to patients as though they are medical professionals, and some patients miss some of his information.
2. Your pharmacy name and number.
3. Your health insurance card.
4. If you like, a list of all meds and vitamins.
5. If you are a possible Cushings patient, pictures of weight and body change.
6. Your records, lab results and films related to your hormonal problem.
Patients should keep their cell phones on the night of the clinic visit, in case they need to be contacted.
--RESPONSE TIME FROM OUR OFFICE
Lastly, Dr. Friedman is a full-time researcher, and part-time practitioner. Therefore his practitioner office staff is part-time. Sometimes phone calls and emails don't get answered on the same day, but we guarantee we will get back to you. Dr. Friedman waits two weeks after the appointment to receive all test results, and then emails his diagnosis and treatment plan. Sometimes these emails get stuck in the spam folder, so beware! Other email responses from Dr. Friedman typically take 1 - 2 weeks. And, of course, Dr. Friedman does have a pager that patients can use for medical emergencies.
We recommend to patients that once they become an established patient of Dr. Friedman’s, to select a local doctor, who understands your illness, and Dr. Friedman’s practice, and will work in concert with Dr. Friedman’s treatment plan for you. We give this recommendation to local L.A. patients as well. A local doctor, who is on your side, will probably be more readily available for your immediate needs, such as a refill on a common sleeping pill prescription, or a requisition for a routine blood test. Dr. Friedman is always happy to work with other doctors.
Thank you for contacting our office. Our 24/7 voice mail is 310-335-0327. Please use mail@goodhormonehealth.com for appointment issues, lab requests, pharmacy refills and other questions for Dr. Friedman. Appropriate emails will be forwarded to Dr. Friedman. Please only use mail@goodhormonehealth.com to contact Dr. Friedman, as he will not respond to emails to other addresses.
Sincerely,
Dr. Friedman's Office |
