Since 1997 my wife Bonnie Gintis, DO and I have practiced Osteopathy together in Santa Cruz County. We work in concert to provide you with excellent health care and offer a personalized approach to your experience in our office.
Our office is only one mile from our house and we feel as though the office is an extension of our home. We run the office ourselves, without an office manager or receptionist. We enjoy having direct contact with our patients When you arrive at our office, if I am seeing another patient, please have a seat, have a cup of tea, and relax.
Usually when I am with a patient, Bonnie will be at the front desk. We stagger our schedule so that I often assist her patients at the front desk while she is seeing patients. We believe that this arrangement provides you with a higher level of service, and more personalized care. We welcome you to our practice and hope you enjoy the warm, relaxed atmosphere we have created in our office.
What To Expect From Your First Office Visit
- Your history will be thoroughly reviewed. We believe that the taking in of a patient’s history is an important part of the healing process. This interview will include an in-depth assessment of your current health concerns as well as past health issues.
- A detailed physical exam will be performed that may include a traditional medical evaluation as well as a comprehensive Osteopathic examination.
- We will discuss your diagnosis and unique circumstances, and formulate a specific treatment plan.
- Unless your condition is very complex, most initial office visits end with an Osteopathic Treatment.
- If you have copies of previous medical records, lab tests, X-Rays, CAT scans, MRI's or other tests that are relevant to your situation, please bring them with you. Please do not have records sent from other physician’s offices until it is decided that they would be valuable.
What To Expect From Follow-up Office Visits
- Customized exercise prescriptions, nutritional counseling, or other issues may be discussed.
- If you have developed a new medical problem that requires an updated history and physical exam, we may not have time for an Osteopathic Treatment during that office visit.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing to your appointments, or bring clothes with you, and come a few minutes early to change. Sweatpants and a T-shirt would be a good choice. It can be difficult to work on you if you are wearing tight blue jeans, turtlenecks, restrictive clothing, dangling jewelry, or if you come to your visit with wet hair. In consideration of those with allergies, please do not wear perfume or scented oils on the day of your visit.
Phone Access and Messages
We have an answering machine that accepts messages 24 hours a day when the office is closed, or when we are temporarily away from the phone. Please always leave us your phone number, (even if you think we already have it) and the best times to reach you. Messages are only answered when the office is open. When you call the office during business hours and reach the answering machine, you must know that we commonly return messages within 30 minutes.
Urgencies and Emergencies
If you have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room. We do not provide medical care on weekends, evenings, or at times when the office is closed. We do not carry a beeper or office cell phone for after hours contact. We are not affiliated with any hospitals and therefore cannot provide in-patient care. It is important that you have a Primary Care Provider (PCP) for emergency problems, or those requiring hospitalization. We will be glad to consult with your physician by phone, whenever possible, in reference to any of your medical problems. We believe in a team approach to healthcare.
The office is fully wheelchair accessible. Please let us know in advance if you will be in need of any assistance when you arrive here.
We have created this office to facilitate your healing.
We look forward to helping you achieve your highest expression of Health.
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