Welcome to THRIVE GYNECOLOGY!
We’re honored that you’ve chosen us to care for your gynecologic health, and look forward to meeting you. Our goal is to work with patients to provide world-class treatment that meets your individual needs – whether you are deciding on a possible surgery or procedure, or focusing on personal health and wellness.
In order to make your first appointment as productive and efficient as possible, we have enclosed some forms for you to complete, and a copy of our office policies which will answer many of the questions you may have about our practice.
Preparing For Your First Visit
Prior Records
If you are coming for a surgical consult for endometriosis, fibroids, other uterine abnormalities, or ovarian cysts, or for colposcopy (procedure for evaluation of an abnormal Pap smear), we request that you send us a copy of any pertinent records PRIOR TO YOUR APPOINTMENT. Please call your prior healthcare provider or the hospital where the procedure was performed and ask them for copies of any pelvic ultrasound or MRI reports, or operative reports or pathology reports from surgery.
Note that records sent by fax are often never received on our end, or may not be sent in time for your appointment. Therefore, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU OBTAIN A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS FOR YOURSELF, AND BRING THEM WITH YOU to your first appointment – particularly if you are traveling a long distance for your appointment. This minimizes the possibility that you may need to return for another appointment because records were not received.
IF YOU HAVE POSSIBLE INVASIVE BOWEL, URETERAL, OR DIAPHRAGMATIC ENDOMETRIOSIS, OR UTERINE FIBROIDS, DR. TANG WILL PERFORM A FREE RECORD REVIEW BEFORE SCHEDULING. These cases may require referral to the local academic medical center for safety, due to their medical or surgical complexity. If Dr. Tang is unable to provide the care you need, she will reach out to the minimally invasive Gyn surgeons at Lankenau Medical Center / Main Line Health to facilitate getting you an appointment with them.
We do not need ALL prior records, only:
- Prior operative reports, pathology reports, and photos from prior gynecologic surgeries
- Prior Gyn imaging studies (pelvic ultrasound or MRI)
- Prior Pap smear report if abnormal, and/or prior colposcopy / LEEP records
Possible Examinations
- If you are coming for a consultation for pelvic pain or abnormal periods, we will recommend imaging with a pelvic ultrasound. If you have had a recent ultrasound or MRI within the past 6 months, please bring a copy of your imaging report (and a disc with images, if you have one) with you to the appointment.
- If you have not had a pelvic ultrasound, we can perform one at the time of your visit for your convenience, and would be able to discuss the results with you immediately. If you prefer to use in-network radiology facilities, we can provide a prescription for you, but you would need to return for a follow-up appointment afterwards to discuss the results and any needed follow-up.
- If you have never had a pelvic exam or pelvic procedures such as colposcopy or IUD insertion before, or if you have concerns about pain with pelvic exams, please let us know. We will always work with you to ensure your utmost comfort, and will discuss all tests and pain control options with you before anything is performed.
- If you are scheduling an annual exam, please avoid the use of lubricants or other intravaginal gels or creams for 24 hrs prior to your appointment, in case a Pap smear needs to be performed.
- You do not need to reschedule for a period, as long as period bleeding is not heavy. However, heavy vaginal bleeding can affect the results of Pap smears, or Dr. Tang’s ability to see clearly during a colposcopy or hysteroscopy, so if you are bleeding heavily you may need to reschedule these types of appointments.
Signing up for communication systems
Please let us know your preference for communication (text, email, phone call) and sign up for the Spruce app, which is our text messaging communication system, which you can use to request appointments, check in about surgery scheduling or paperwork, and which we may use to send urgent updates such as weather-related closures. You can sign up for Spruce at the following link:
spruce.care/thrivegynecologypc
You may also use the Elation patient portal to send refill requests, and we will send test results to you through the portal.
Office Policies And Procedures
Office Hours And After-hours Emergencies
Our office is open Monday-Thursday 8:00A to 4:00P, and Friday 8:00A to 3:00P. We are closed for lunch from 12:00-1:00P daily, but can be reached for urgent medical needs.
Dr. Tang is available “after hours” for MEDICAL EMERGENCIES ONLY. As Dr. Tang is on call for her patients essentially 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, we ask patients to please respectfully limit after hours calls to true medical emergencies. For appointments, prescription refills, test results, minor concerns such as vaginitis, or non-emergent questions, please call during regular business hours.
If you are experiencing severe symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, stroke-like symptoms, severe pain that cannot be managed with over the counter medications, vomiting and unable to keep down liquids, please immediately call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Please note that Dr. Tang does not prescribe opioid / narcotic pain medications over the phone. If you are experiencing severe pain that is not relieved by over the counter medications or prescriptions that Dr. Tang has already provided, please proceed to the nearest emergency room.
Appointments
Annual Exams
Annual Gyn exams are for preventative care, including Pap smear and breast cancer screening, birth control, and routine health and wellness. They do not usually include management of problems such as pelvic pain, abnormal periods, irregular bleeding, or other concerning symptoms. In order to ensure enough time for the doctor to properly address these issues, please let the staff know when scheduling if you are having other symptoms or concerns that you would like to discuss with Dr. Tang. We will then book the appointment as a Problem Visit, which is a much longer appointment time slot. We can happily take care of routine care needs like Pap smears during Problem Visits as well.
IUD or Nexplanon Insertions
Because Dr. Tang will usually need to counsel you about the risks and alternatives of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods like IUDs and Nexplanon, and if you’re using your insurance benefits to cover the cost of the device, we may need to first obtain the device through a specialty pharmacy, we are usually not able to insert an IUD or Nexplanon at the time of someone’s first visit at Thrive.
Results
Routine Results (normal Pap smear, mammogram, normal pathology results, normal cultures):
Normal or straightforward results will be sent to you through your patient portal. Please ensure that you sign up for the portal as soon as possible.
Complex Results (hormone testing, pathology results that require explanation or follow-up
treatment, imaging obtained for evaluation of pain or abnormal bleeding):
We will discuss these results with you at a separate follow-up appointment in order to ensure that there is adequate time for Dr. Tang to explain the results, answer your questions, and discuss options for follow-up or treatment. If a physical exam is not required, we can schedule a Telemedicine appointment for discussion of results. (Note: Telemedicine is only possible for patients who are located in Pennsylvania due to licensure laws).
Cancellation Policy
In order to be respectful of the needs of all of our patients to schedule appointments as soon as possible, please call our office ASAP if you are unable to attend an appointment. This will allow us to offer the appointment time to another patient who may be waiting to be seen. If it is necessary for you to cancel or reschedule your appointment, we ask that you call at least 48 hours in advance, unless it is an emergency.
We request a credit card on file to hold office appointments, and patients who “no show” (do not come to their appointment, without first calling to cancel / reschedule) will be charged a $50 no-show fee. After 2 no-shows, or 3 reschedules in a row without coming to an appointment, we will no longer allow rescheduling.
Surgery Scheduling And Cancellation
For surgery scheduling, we require payment in full at least 2 weeks before your scheduled surgery in order to hold the surgical date. Surgeries are often scheduled months in advance due to limited OR time for all surgeons, so last minute cancellations are a lost resource and an inconvenience to fellow patients who have been waiting for their surgeries. If you must cancel or reschedule due to an emergency, as above please call us ASAP so that we can try to offer another patient the surgical spot. For cancellations less than 2 weeks before surgery without a valid medical or other emergent reason (i.e. simply due to changing your mind about surgery), the surgical fee will not be refunded. Therefore please only schedule surgery after you have taken the time to consider your options and are certain about proceeding. These cancellation policies are to ensure that all patients can get in for care as soon as possible, without wasted appointment or surgery slots.
Prescription Refills
- Please allow up to 2 business days for refill requests. The after hours line is only for medical emergencies, so please request any necessary refills during business hours before your prescription runs out.
- Patients of Dr. Tang with ongoing prescription such as birth control or hormone replacement therapy will be given with enough refills to last at least one year, you should be able to simply call your pharmacy for refills. If it has not yet been one year and your pharmacy says there are no refills, ask them to look through all prescriptions, because oftentimes they are looking at an old prescription. This will almost always resolve the issue.
- If you have not been seen by Dr. Tang for more than a year, we ask that you make an appointment for an annual Gyn exam or problem visit for ongoing refills. This allows Dr. Tang to make sure that your health is unchanged and that the prescription is still what you require. We can prescribe a one-month supply of your medication to last you until your appointment. We regret that we can only refill long-term medications for patients who will continue to see Dr. Tang for ongoing care, so if you will be changing practices for routine Gyn visits, your regular gynecologist will provide refills.
- We do not refill antibiotics or narcotic pain medication over the phone. Any patients who may have a persistent infection or severe persistent pain would need to be seen for evaluation for your safety. Any patients requiring ongoing narcotic refills would need to do so with a primary care doctor or pain specialist under the terms of a patient contract.
Completion Of Forms / Letters
- Please allow up to 5 business days for completion of requested forms / letters for surgery, i.e. FMLA or short-term disability forms
- Dr. Tang does not write for FMLA or short-term disability for non-surgical absences
Payment And Insurance
- Thrive Gynecology is out of network with all insurance plans. Please see the No Surprise Billing Act disclosure and consent that will be provided to you separately. We will therefore collect payment for office visits on the day of service, and for surgeries two weeks or more before your surgical date. If you have out of network benefits through your insurance, we are happy to assist you in submitting superbills (receipts with medical codes) to your insurance plan in order for you to be reimbursed for some of the costs of treatment. We have partnered with Reimbursify to help you look up your benefits and submit superbills, however we cannot guarantee that you will have out of network coverage or be reimbursed. We strongly encourage you to call your insurance before your visit to inquire about your plan benefits.
- Medicare does not allow reimbursement for out of network care, therefore patients with Medicare would be seen as cash pay and superbills cannot be sent. Please see the separate Medicare consent. We are unable to see patients with Medicaid / state insurance due to state regulations.
If you would like to pay by payment plan for surgery, we accept CareCredit, which is a credit card for medical expenses that allows you to pay in installments over 6 months. CareCredit charges a 5% transaction fee which would be added to the surgical fee.
Communication With Staff
- Thrive Gynecology is a small private practice whose goal is to provide you with the care and respect that you deserve. Our staff are committed to being welcoming, kind, and professional to all patients, and we would ask that they are treated respectfully in return. Any verbal or physical abuse of staff will not be tolerated and would result in dismissal from the practice.
- We try to return all calls or non-urgent messages as soon as possible within 1 business day. If we are serving other patients, we may not be able to respond immediately. However, if you have a medically urgent issue, the phone tree and Spruce messaging app will have options to request an immediate call-back when needed.
- The patient portal is used mostly for sending routine test results. Dr. Tang is unable to diagnose any symptoms you may be having, or have a detailed discussion of treatment options over the portal. If you are experiencing bothersome symptoms, or have medical questions that you’d like to discuss, please schedule an appointment so that you can be evaluated and Dr. Tang can fully answer any questions.