Second Opinion Consults - FAQ

A. The 2nd Opinion Consult provides individual time for you with Dr. Vliet to review your symptoms, medical history, concerns, and questions. Dr. Vliet will then recommend testing and treatment approaches for the problems you have described. You will receive a written summary of these suggestions to take to your own health professionals to discuss what you would like to try. You have the benefit of Dr. Vliet’s expertise and clinical experience gleaned from over 25 years of successful evaluation and treatment of women with hormonally-related mood and physical problems. For those who are not able to travel, this Consult has the advantage of being possible to do by phone.

Q. How does the 2nd Opinion Consult differ from a New Patient Comprehensive Appointment?

A. Due to various state regulations, there are significant differences in the procedures and protocols between the “2nd Opinion Consult Only” and becoming a patient of Dr. Vliet’s medical practice. A key difference is the way prescriptions are handled: since the 2nd Opinion Consult is usually by phone, and is not the same as a full evaluation needed to become a patient, Dr. Vliet cannot prescribe ANY medications for you. All prescriptions would have to done by your own physicians. For women who become established patients of Dr. Vliet’s medical practice and who have had comprehensive in-person evaluations in one of her offices, Dr. Vliet is able to oversee and manage an integrated approach that includes providing the medication prescriptions needed to implement the treatment plan. For established patients, Dr. Vliet also orders the necessary labs and diagnostic tests needed to monitor treatment appropriately.

Q. How long will the consult be?

A. There are two options to give you flexibility in price and time so you can choose which better meets your needs:

• Option I is for one hour with Dr. Vliet to review information you send, discuss your questions, recommend tests and/or treatment options for you to consider, and provide a written summary of those suggestions.

• Option II is for one and a half hours. This allows for more detailed review of your medical records prior to the consult, and a longer time for discussion with Dr. Vliet to answer your questions and explain treatment options to help you more fully understand pros and cons of various approaches.

With either of these two options, you may schedule follow up consultation appointments for 30 to 60 minutes if you find that you have additional questions to discuss, or you want to explore other approaches to treatment if something you have tried doesn’t seem to be working as expected.

Q. How will the 2nd Opinion Consult take place?

A. The 2nd Opinion consult can be by phone, or you may choose to come in person. If you have the consult by phone, you would call Dr. Vliet’s dedicated consult line at the appointed time, and it would be just like sitting down and talking to her about your health concerns and questions. A few states, such as California, do not allow their residents to have out-of-state second opinions by phone. In this case, you would have to come in person to one of Dr. Vliet’s offices for your Second Opinion Consult.

Q. Will there be blood tests or other tests I have to do before the consult?

A. Since you will not be a formally “established patient” of Dr. Vliet’s practice, there will be no specific tests that can be ordered prior to the appointment. You may, however, choose to provide recent blood tests (within the past 3-6 months) or any other tests that you think may be relevant to questions you want to discuss at your consult. We will ask you to provide a brief history of your concerns, or other relevant information, in advance of your consult so Dr. Vliet can make better use of the time available to answer your questions.

Q. How long is the waiting time to get an appointment for the 2nd Opinion Consult?

A. We are usually able to schedule these consults in 2-3 weeks from the time you return your Second Opinion packet of forms. Consults can sometimes be arranged sooner if there are openings.

Q. How do I begin the process of making an appointment?

A. To request a more detailed information package, or to schedule your appointment, or ask additional questions, contact our Scheduling Coordinator directly: Telephone: 520-797-9131 Email: Info@herplace.com   or Fax: 520-797-2948

Q. How much are the consults and how do I pay for them?

A. Payment for the 2nd Opinion consults must be in advance, because of the committed block of time for you on Dr. Vliet’s patient schedule. Payment may be by credit card, cashier’s check, money order or cash. You will be provided a statement that you may use as a receipt for tax purposes, or for submission to your insurance company if your plan covers second opinion consults. The cost for a one-hour consult with written summary is $895.00. The cost for a 90-minute consult with written summary is $1,095.00.  You may wish to visit our "Services" page for a more detailed explanation of our pricing policies. 

Q. Are there other resources to learn more about Dr. Vliet’s work and approaches?

A.  Yes, Dr. Vliet has many educational resources for the “savvy woman” who wants to take charge of her health with medically sound, cutting edge, research-based information to guide her!

• Surf Dr. Vliet’s website, www.HERPlace.com.  Read more on her philosophy, her treatment ideas, her concept of critical women’s health issues, and the free articles and booklets she has written.

• Listen to Dr. Vliet’s archived Blog Talk Radio shows – go to www.herplace.com and click on Archived Shows for the list of topics available, then click on Listen. OR, go to www.BlogTalkRadio.com/drvliet and the latest show starts to play automatically.

• Read Dr. Vliet’s women’s health books, available at www.Amazon.com, major bookstores, or through our office. Here’s a list:

• Screaming to Be Heard: Hormone Connections Women Suspect and Doctors Ignore, Revised Ed., M. Evans, 2001.
• Women, Weight and Hormones: Are Your Hormones Making You Fat? M. Evans, 2001 o It’s My Ovaries,Stupid! Scribner, 2003
• The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Testosterone, HER Place Press, 2005
• The Savvy Woman’s Guide to PCOS, HER Place Press, 2006
• The Savvy Woman’s Health Guide series: It’s My Ovaries, Stupid! Revised Edition, 2007

Q. I may want to become an established patient of Dr. Vliet’s in the future – is that possible?

A. Yes, this is possible. This is a separate professional relationship, governed by different regulations, so you would need to follow our established polices and procedures for becoming a patient of the medical practice. In order for Dr. Vliet to provide any prescriptions for medications, you would first have to be seen and evaluated in person in one of the medical offices to comply with state regulations. All regular patients for whom Dr. Vliet handles medication prescriptions are required to be seen in person at least once a year. The steps for becoming a New Patient are outlined in a separate Yellow Packet of information. You may request this from our office at any time.