Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Clinic accepting new patients?

Yes, we are able to schedule most new appointments within 1-3 weeks, depending on urgency of care.

The Doctor is not a Pediatric Endocrinologist and therefore is not licensed to treat children.

Communicating with our Providers:

Dr. Lewy-Alterbaum always welcomes your questions and will address your concerns just bear in mind that our practice Endocrine Partners maintains strict privacy rules according to HIPAA guidelines. Our providers cannot practice medicine via e-mail. Email or fax may not be used for discussing medical problems or making emergency prescription requests. Patients should have a primary care provider to address concerns in the event that our providers are not immediately available. If you need to speak with a provider, it is always best to make an appointment by calling the front desk staff. If you don’t need an appointment and would like to speak to the doctor please leave a message with the front desk and the doctor will call you when available. If your condition requires immediate attention please call 911.

Prescription Refills:

All prescriptions will be called in within 48-72 hours. refills may be called to the front desk staff. Please leave the name and telephone number of the pharmacy of choice. If a patient has missed a follow-up appointment, the patient may need to make an appointment in order to receive refills.

E-prescribing Capabilities:

The Practice uses e-prescribing capabilities, which allows reliable tracking and easy refilling for most all of our prescriptions. Our staff is happy to call your prescription to your Pharmacy of choice, please assist us by providing the name and telephone number of your preferred pharmacy.

Test Results:

The office has online access to retrieve test results from Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp. If our providers ordered the tests, the labs will send the results directly to us. If a patient chooses another laboratory, then it is the patient's responsibility to ensure that the laboratory staff sends the results to us in a timely manner.

The patient will need to make a follow-up appointment to discuss test results. Test results are not discussed over the phone, even if they are normal. At this time, the patient may ask the doctor any questions related to care in the context of these new results.

Failure to Cancel and Missed Appointments:

Our practice makes every effort to accommodate all patients and we know nowadays we all live very busy lives, this is why our Clinic's calendar automatically sends e-mail and automated phone reminders (cell phone numbers are used first) of scheduled appointments. Please make sure you provide the Clinic with a working e-mail address and a preferred telephone number. If a patient needs to cancel an appointment for Monday, we would prefer that it is done by Friday, however, we will accept cancellations left on the answering machine by Sunday.

Failure to cancel an appointment will incur a $50.00 fee. Exceptions must be discussed with Practice Manager.

Medical Records:

Our providers are specialized, usually evaluating a patient's medical care after they have been referred from a primary care provider. In order for our physician to have a total picture of your health; it is necessary to collect as much information about your previous medical care. Please make sure to have your file transferred or copied and sent to us PRIOR to the visit. It is patient's responsibility to contact other doctors' offices to have these records released, electronically is preferred and/or faxed to the Clinic. Even, if the patient is coming without a referral, it is very helpful to have records of previous medical care PRIOR to the visit.

Some doctor's offices may require the patient to sign a "release of records" form. It is the patient's responsibility to authorize release of these records and have them faxed.

Our fax number is: 954-967-0778. Usually other doctors' offices will fax records within the same day. Please advise the referring Doctor that your records need to be at our offices prior to your appointment date.

Medical Release Letter:

If the patient needs an official letter to have medical records transferred to the Clinic prior to the visit, this form letter can be used. Medical Release Form

Medical Records Transfer Policy:

The Clinic requires a Medical Record Form for each patient record release or transfer. There is a $1 per page fee for medical records that are printed for patients to pick up. There is no fee for medical records released or transferred to your doctor's office of choice via fax or electronically.

What to expect on your first visit:

Check In: New Patient Survey, Photo ID and Insurance Cards, Email address, Emergency contact, Best contact information, including email and telephones numbers, Hippa form and Release of information form.
Vital signs: Weight, BMI, Height, Blood Pressure, Temperature Summary and brief discussion of Medical History Discussion of your symptoms and reason for visit.
Physical Exam
Treatment Plan: Fit to your specific case.
Tests Results: Blood/Laboratory, Imaging, Scans, Ultrasound as needed. Prescription Medications: Oral, Injected, Topical
Lifestyle changes: Nutrition, Exercise, Emotional support tailored to your specific health need.
Monitoring Progress: As needed according to your needs and specific situation. Our goal is to create the most well-rounded experience for each patient in order to optimize their endocrinologic health.

Will I need a follow up visit:

For most patients with endocrinology disorders, the answer is yes, although the frequency of such visits will vary by the condition and patient. Once the endocrinology problem has been treated successfully and no longer requires active monitoring by an Endocrinologist, the patient is typically discharged to the care of his or hers primary provider.