New Patients

We kindly ask that you arrive at the office at least 30 minutes before your appointment time (or sooner if requested by the office staff) to complete a series of documents that will assist us with your care. A new patient packet will include requests for your personal information, such as name and address, insurance information, a financial form, HIPPA form, and perthaps other consent forms to share information with your insurance company and your other physician(s). You should remember to bring your insurance cards as well as a photo ID such as a driver’s license. Additionally, you will be asked to provide some medical information including your chief concern(s). past medical and surgical history, current medication, medication allergies, and similar information to assist the office staff and physician with your care. Many Allergy Partners locations offer these documents online via out Patient Portal, and you can complete these forms in a secure, online fashion prior to your appointment.

Once this documentation has been completed and reviewed by our staff, you will be called back from the waiting room by a nurse or medical assistant to review your medical history and obtain your “vital signs” that include your height, weight, blood pressure, temperature heart rate, respiratory rate and possibly your oxygen saturation. All of this information is entered into our electronic medical records computer system by our staff to allow us to share this information with your primary care physician, referring physicians, and even you via our Patient Portal. You will then be escorted to an “exam room” by our staff before being seen by the physician.

The physician will take a detailed history with you, and then perform a physical exam that generally consists of listening to your heart and lungs with a stethoscope visualizing your eyes/ears/nose/throat with an otoscope and ophthaimoscope, inspecting your skin and possibly evaluating other parts of your body depending upon your concerns and other medical conditions. These exams are generally painless and take but a few minutes to perform.

The physician may then order specific test, such as spirometry (i.e.breathing test), skin testing,patch testing, or laboratory studies, based upon your past history and chief concerns. Skin testing is a relatively painless procedure that identifies allergies and takes approximately 30-60 minutes to complete. While not painful, skin testing can cause some itchiness of your skin if you have significant allergies. Here is a video with a brief overview of what to expect with skin testing:

Spirometry is used to assess your airway and requires breathing into special device connected to a computer. Spirometry is frequently ordered if you have a history of coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, asthma, or other airway disease. Some of these procedures, such as skin testing or patch testing may not be performed on your initial visit due to insurance or your medical condition, and you may be rescheduled for another appointment. Your physician will review any performed test results with you during this initial visit, and then offer treatment recommendations.

To make the very most of your visit, it is very important that you provide accurate and detailed information both before and during your office visit. We kindly request that you wear comfortable and loose clothing for the visit that will allow for a full examination of your back, chest, arms, and legs, especially if you are going to be skin tested for allergies. It is also very important that you refrain from taking any antihistamine medications for approximately 1 week before your appointment, as these medications can interfere with allergy skin testing. A complete list of antihistamine medications can be obtained from your Allergy Partners office prior to the office visit, but include common medications such as Allegra (fexofenadine), Claritin (loratadine), Zyrtec (ceterizine), Benadryl (diphenhydramine), and over the counter medications that contain “allergy medicine”, such as some cold and cough syrups. If you are uncertain about your medications please call our office to speak with our clinical staff. We generally want you to continue your other medications, especially for asthma, diabetes, or other serious conditions.

Your initial office visit will generally take approximately 2-3 hours from the time of your appointment, but may vary depending upon your past medical history, chief concerns, procedures performed, and recommendations by our physician. During this time, your Allergy Partners physician will work with you to develop a treatment plan that best suits you and your concerns. You will be provided with a “Clinical Visit Summary” at the end of your appointment that will detail our evaluation of your condition and include your diagnosis, medications prescribed, and other recommendations.

Allergy Partners looks forward to seeing you for your initial office visit and to make your experience a pleasant and informative one. If you cannot keep your scheduled appointment, we kindly request that you contact the office at your earliest convince so we can reschedule for a time more convenient for you. There may be a fee for missed appointments (No Call/No Show fees), and this can be avoided with a quick phone call to our staff.

Allergy Partners is always trying to improve our quality of service and we welcome any feedback from your office visit and how we may make your experience more pleasant.