This is to provide any new patient with complete information about what is involved in starting as a new patient with Renewed Vitality of Dallas.
At the beginning of your treatment, you will need at least two in-depth appointments with either Dr. Spurlock or one of our Nurse Practitioners, Roxana Cocos or Taylor Troup, which will be approximately 4 weeks apart. More complex diagnostics and treatment plans, such as Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, require three or more appointments.
Dr. Spurlock has patients that come to see him from all over the U.S. and, as a result, his schedule tends to be booked out quite far. To offer better service to more people, he has skilled and experienced Nurse Practitioners who work under him very closely. They are very highly trained and specially trained in the areas of hormone replacement therapy, thyroid treatment, our weight loss program, and the beginning treatment steps for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue.
Your labs will most likely be drawn right after your first appointment. If you have a menstrual cycle, your lab work should be done between the 19th and 21st day of your cycle (day 1 being the first day you start your cycle.)
You should find out from your insurance provider beforehand if they will cover the cost of your lab tests. (More information about this below). If you do not have insurance coverage for these, we have a special discount program (through Quest), which offers a significant reduction in cost. We have an on-site Quest Diagnostics lab in our Dallas office for your convenience or you may have your blood drawn at the lab of your choice.
As well, please know that getting your hormones well-balanced and stabilized with diminished symptoms takes quite some work. For the first year, you will be asked to come in every 3 months to check your levels and adjust them until we get everything just right. After that, follow-up appointments are needed to monitor and balance your levels, as well as for continuing prescriptions. Shifts in diet and exercise, stress levels, and other factors can affect your hormone levels. Continuing maintenance appointments will be every 6 months.
Preparations for your visit
Please make sure that you fill out the information required in the Patient Portal well before your appointment (see below).
To make your visit more relaxing, please bring the following to your appointment:
- Your picture ID and insurance card,
- List of medications and supplements you are currently taking (if you haven’t already listed these in the patient portal),
- A medical release for your records from a previous doctor if you would like your practitioner at Renewed Vitality to have them (you would contact your doctor’s office and ask them to send your records to us).
Any current labs or tests that have been drawn within the last month from another doctor or clinic must be sent ahead of your appointment at a minimum of two business days if you want these reviewed. If labs and tests are not received in advance, they will not be reviewed until the second visit. You can fax them to 214-389-1230 or scan and email them to info@renewedvitalitymd.com.
Please be sure to confirm all of your appointments with us. We need to confirm appointments so we can reschedule you if needed. We will contact you a week in advance of each of your appointments. We will start by giving you a phone call. If we don’t reach you by phone, we will send you an email and a text. You can confirm your appointment by either calling us at (214) 389-1234 or by responding to the email or text.
New Patient Information Patient Portal
We use an electronic medical records system that comes with a patient portal. You will receive an email inviting you to log onto the patient portal with a link inside immediately after making your appointment. Be sure to log in and set up your new password.
Your user name is your email address and you will be given your temporary password in an email after you book your appointment.
If you run into any difficulties in setting up your patient portal you can call our office for assistance.
In the menu, go to “Health” and click on “My Medical Profile”.
Please feel free to fill in all categories. We ask that you minimally complete the following sections at least 2 days prior to your visit:
- Personal Info
- Reason for Visit
- Symptoms
- Allergies
- Medications/Supplements
- Medical History
Completion of the in-depth medical history questionnaire is vital to the treatment process and will help us get to the root causes of the problems you are experiencing. The doctor or nurse practitioner will review the questionnaire with you, discuss possible causes of your symptoms, and determine the best treatment plan for you.
If you have a question, concern, or request for your practitioner at any time, you may message us through the patient portal. Please be aware if you have a request requiring the attention of a provider, it may take up to 2-3 business days to be completed. We will always strive to complete these requests as quickly as possible. Through the portal’s message system, we will be able to better track requests and ensure they are completed in a timely manner. If you request that something requiring the provider’s attention is completed that day, then you will be asked to pay a $25 fee. Exceptions to this will be left to the provider’s discretion.
Our Location:
We are located at 1702 North Collins Blvd., Suite 190, Richardson, Texas 75080.
Your First Appointment:
Your first appointment will include the following:
- An assessment of your symptoms, both what you are experiencing the day of your appointment and typical symptoms that affect you daily.
- Your health history.
- Your health goals.
- A focused physical examination.
- A recommendation for comprehensive laboratory testing personalized for your individual situation.
- A recommendation for building the foundation of your treatment plan, which may include some therapies that start immediately. We will provide you with clear guidance and walk you through the steps of your treatment process.
Our patients find that our providers listen and have an interest in their patients’ long-term health. You should allow a couple of hours for this first appointment, which will include 45 minutes to an hour with the provider. We trust you will find that going through this process of extensive examination and testing will be well worth your investment in time.
Comprehensive Lab-work after your First Appointment:
A comprehensive set of labs will be ordered after your first appointment. Before this, you should find out from your insurance provider if they will cover the cost of your lab tests. If you do not have insurance coverage for these, we have a special discount program (through Quest). We have an on-site Quest Diagnostics lab for your convenience or you may have your blood drawn at the lab of your choice.
If you plan on getting your lab work done immediately after your first appointment (same day), you will need to be fasting that day and follow the other directions below. You don’t have to do your labs on the same day. You can do them another morning. You can get your lab work done at the lab in our office, or you can get your labs drawn at a lab that is more convenient for you if you wish. You will need to follow the instructions below to prepare for your labs to be done on the day you get your labs.
In order to get your results back in time, please be sure to get your blood drawn at least three weeks before your appointment.
Your Second Appointment:
At your second appointment, the doctor or nurse practitioner will very thoroughly review all of your lab results with you and give you an interpretation of those lab results. From your personal lab results, symptoms, and history, the provider will give you your specific diagnosis and treatment plan to address deficiencies, imbalances, and other issues. Please be aware that our providers do not prescribe narcotic pain medication.
Specific Instructions for Your Lab Work:
If your appointment is early in the day, you have the option of getting your comprehensive set of labs done immediately after your appointment. We have a Quest Diagnostics lab right in our office.
If you don’t get your labs done the same day, you will be able to access your lab order through your patient portal when it is ready. It can be found in the documents section and printed or saved from there.
On the day of your blood draw, you will need to be fasting for 8 hours prior to your blood draw.
Make sure you do not take any thyroid medications, hormones, or any other medications (except for any that are life-sustaining) until after you get your blood drawn. You may bring these with you and take them immediately after the lab work is done.
For women with a menstrual cycle, you will need to schedule to get your blood drawn on Day 19-21 of your menstrual cycle (day 1 being the first day of your last period).
Please make sure you bring your ID and insurance information with you when you get your lab work done.
Future Appointments:
As well, please know that getting your hormones well-balanced and stabilized with diminished symptoms takes quite some work. For the first year, you will be asked to come in every 3 months to check your levels and adjust them until we get everything just right. After that, follow-up appointments are needed to monitor and balance your levels, as well as for continuing prescriptions. Shifts in diet and exercise, stress levels, and other factors can affect your hormone levels. Continuing care appointments will be at a minimum every 6 months.
Insurance Coverage
Dr. Spurlock and our nurse practitioners are not affiliated with any insurance networks. We are happy to supply you with an insurance form at your request for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.
First of all, no matter what type of insurance you have, your insurance will frequently be able to cover all or a majority of your lab work. Labs written from Renewed Vitality are typically covered the same as if they were written by your regular doctor which is 90 to 100%. You should however ask your insurance company how they cover the labs and which lab network is preferred. We will make sure that any labs ordered are done through this preferred provider.
If your insurance provider does not offer to cover a majority of the lab work or if it is being applied to your deductible we recommend that you use the discount program that we offer through Quest Diagnostics.
In terms of your office visit with the doctor or nurse practitioner, we are an out-of-network provider. The reason for this is that when a practice chooses to accept insurance, insurance companies tell the practice how much time they can spend with each patient, what illnesses and conditions they can treat, and how they can treat it. In order to get to the root cause of the problem and provide optimal treatment, we find we need more time with our patients and more treatment options than insurance companies are willing to work with.
If you have a PPO plan, it is possible that your insurance company will reimburse you for much of your office visit costs. This depends on your insurance company, what type of plan you have, and your deductibles. You will pay for the appointments at the time of service and we will provide you with the necessary papers to file for reimbursement with your insurance provider.
If you are on an HMO plan, most likely your insurance will not cover any of the costs of your office visits, but will likely cover all or a majority of your lab work.
To find out what your insurance will cover we encourage you to call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card and ask a few basic questions. First of all, tell them that you’re going to see an out-of-network provider. This means someone that is not on the insurance list of doctors. That said most PPO plans understand that people would prefer to see a doctor that they researched or that comes highly recommended from a friend. Ask your insurance company what the deductible is and what percent they will reimburse for the office visit with an out-of-network doctor or nurse practitioner.
When talking to your insurance customer service, tell them that your out-of-network provider is going to order very comprehensive lab work. Ask them specifically what percentage of the lab costs they will pay. If it is 90-100% you are better off using your insurance. If they will cover less than 75% you will be better off using the Renewed Vitality laboratory discount program. For your convenience, Renewed Vitality Dallas has a Quest Diagnostics Lab located right in our office.
Additional Payment Option
Care Credit is an option to assist in financing medical expenses.
Renewed Vitality participates in an interest-free Care Credit program. Care Credit is a separate company from Renewed Vitality. It can be used to pay for labs as well as any other services or products at Renewed Vitality.
For more information go to https://www.carecredit.com/
For more information about how the Care Credit Program works, go to “How it Works”. Or to apply for Care Credit, go to “Apply”. Under “Start your Application, search. by doctor’s last name and type “Spurlock” and we should come up as #1.
Just click the “Apply” button next to it and fill in the appropriate information. You will hear if you qualify very fast.
There are a few things we want to make sure you know about Care Credit:
- Any transaction must be at least $200.00 per transaction
- Zero interest if paid within 6 months (Renewed Vitality Only Offers the 6 months no interest)
- If you take over 6 months to pay it off, interest is charged, starting retroactively from the purchase date. You will need to contact care credit directly for more info, or to apply go to carecredit.com or call (800) 365-8295.
We offer a 6-month interest-free program.
Thank you again for choosing Renewed Vitality…
Where we use both natural and standard medical procedures, gathered from the latest research and medical literature, including methods that are 10-20 years ahead of what most doctors currently use. While medical outcomes can never be guaranteed, many of our patients begin to feel better within days or weeks of the first visit, and the vast majority of patients show significant improvement by the 4th visit when following our medically supervised, practical, and proven methods.
Please call us at 214-389-1234 if you have any further questions or concerns.