Initial Consultation
Your first face-to-face experience with the Asheville Heart team will probably be for an initial consultation.
You may have been referred by a cardiologist or other physician, or you may have decided to consult one of our world-class surgeons for a second opinion. You may be one of the increasingly-frequent patients who has checked out the SCS database and been impressed by Asheville Heart’s high outcomes scores for your particular procedure, or you may have found us online and been intrigued by what we have to offer. Whatever the case, your treatment is very important to us and we want you to have the best possible experience.
You will be invited to call our Asheville office at (828) 258-1122 to make an appointment with one of our surgeons. Directions to our office can be found here.
Here are some important documents you will need:
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Any existing medical records, reports and test results provided by your referring physician (these may already have been sent ahead – please check with our office staff when you call for an appointment).
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A New Patient Form. You can click here to download the form <LINK NEEDED> and complete it before your visit. This will save some time at your appointment.
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A list of questions or concerns to discuss with the surgeon. If you check the clinical pages of this website, you will find detailed explanations of some common procedures and expected outcomes. Feel free to ask the surgeon for clarification if necessary.
- Your medical insurance card (if applicable) or form of payment.
During your initial consultation, the surgeon may ask about your symptoms, lifestyle, family history and any other information that he feels will help him to assess the best options for your care. He will discuss in detail the treatment options available to you and help you to make the most appropriate choices for your particular situation.
If (as we hope), you decided to trust your medical care to the Asheville Heart team, we will begin making arrangements for your surgical treatment, including arranging the date for your surgery. The day before the surgery, you will make your first visit to nearby Mission Hospital, where most of your clinical care will take place.