After years of practice, I have realized the best way for me to be thorough and efficient is to see all prospective new patients in a consultation process. I have designed this consultation to serve two purposes: First, to get a thorough and collaborative insight into your history and current state, and second, to be able to give you informed feedback about your difficulties and evidence based suggestions for treatment.
Our consultation consists of several steps. After you make your initial appointment, the first step is filling out a patient intake packet. You can either obtain the patient packet on my website Ninapesantemd.com, or if you do not have access to a computer, I am happy to mail the materials. I ask you to provide information regarding your medical history, your current symptoms, treatment goals, and complete traditional psychiatric screening questionnaires. Also, if possible, I would like to see any laboratory work that you have had done in the last few years. You can either have your doctor’s office send the results to me or enclose copies with your packet.
It is vital that you return your completed packet to me a minimum of one week prior to our appointment. On my day off, I spend an hour to review every page of your information, make notes, and think about lines of inquiry and diagnostic tests. In essence, your completed packet empowers me to be careful and focused so I can concentrate during our face-to-face time on the most important issues that emerged from reviewing your paperwork and what we discuss in our session.
During your first consultation appointment, we will meet from 70 to 90 minutes. Occasionally, depending only on how complicated you are, we may need to schedule further evaluation sessions. I routinely like to order blood work based on your history and paperwork. Often I will ask you to fill out additional questionnaires or read materials based on what has emerged during our first session(s). The average number of sessions is two. To wrap up the consultation process, I will share my thoughts on diagnostic issues, educate as needed, and suggest treatment options.
At the end of the consultation, we will decide if we feel it is wise for us to work together to implement treatment recommendations. On rare occasions, I will uncover a medical problem during the course of our discussions and realize this needs to be addressed first (for example, sleep apnea). This is an unusual outcome because I often spot the problem in our screening paperwork and contact you. If we do find a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, I will help you with any referrals. The vast majority of patients who participate in my consultation process become active patients.
If you are interested in entering into a healing journey, please call my office at (607) 754-3646 and leave your name, contact number, and permission to leave a message on your phone if you are not available. Should we decide to schedule an appointment, I will call you and provide a password allowing you to download the new patient intake forms, print them off, and get started. Again, if using a computer/printer is not an option, I will be happy to mail the material to you.
