Getting Ready for Appointment
Getting Ready for Your Appointment
A Little Preparation Makes Your Visit Easier
Welcome to Valley Foot Care! We value your time and want your visit to be comfortable, efficient, and focused on your foot health.
Preparing a few things before your appointment allows our team to complete your registration more efficiently, minimize delays, and give your doctor more time to focus on your concerns.
Before Your Appointment
Please review our Your Visit Preparation Checklist below to help you get ready for your visit.
While not every item applies to every patient, bringing the information relevant to your care helps us make the most of your appointment.
Your Visit Preparation Checklist
Complete Registration Before You Arrive
Using the Patient Portal
We recommend registering for the patient portal and completing your new-patient forms before your visit. You can access the portal through the Patient Portal Login button on our website. Completing the requested information in advance supports a smoother check-in and gives our clinical team more time to review the information you provide.
If You Prefer Paper Forms
New patients who choose not to use the patient portal should plan to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled appointment time. This allows enough time to complete new-patient paperwork, verify insurance and identification, and become registered with the practice before the clinical visit begins.
Directions and Parking at Metro Medical Plaza
Metro Medical Plaza is located on Peoria Avenue, west of Interstate 17. Parking is available on both the east and west sides of the building, with accessible parking and building access available from both locations.
Recommended parking and entrance: The most convenient parking for Valley Foot Care is generally in the northeast portion of the parking lot. From there, enter through the smaller hallway located just north of the main entrance on the east side of the plaza.
Bring Accurate Medical and Contact Information
Your foot and ankle health may be affected by other medical conditions and treatments. Accurate information helps your podiatrist coordinate care with the rest of your healthcare team and make safer treatment decisions.
- Primary care provider: full name and current phone number.
- Treating specialists: names, specialties, and current phone numbers.
- Medications: the complete name, dose, and frequency for every prescription medication, over-the-counter medication, vitamin, and supplement you take.
- Allergies and reactions: identify the substance and describe what happened, such as rash, swelling, stomach upset, breathing difficulty, or another reaction. This information helps us avoid medications or materials that may place you at risk.
- Pharmacy: the current pharmacy name, street address, and phone number so prescriptions can be routed correctly.
Bring Relevant Reports and Records
Imaging and Laboratory Reports
If you recently had X-rays, an MRI, a CT scan, an ultrasound, a vascular study, nerve testing, or relevant laboratory work, download the written report from the radiology or healthcare portal and print it for review. A printed report can help your doctor understand prior findings, reduce delays, and avoid unnecessary repeat testing when appropriate.
Please do not bring imaging discs. Our office may not be able to open, download, or view images stored on a disc. The written radiology report is the most useful item to bring unless our team has given you different instructions in advance.
Recent Hospitalizations and Foot Wounds
If you are being seen for a diabetic foot ulcer, infection, wound, or concern following a recent hospitalization, request a hospital discharge summary directly from the hospital 1 to 2 weeks before your appointment. This gives the hospital time to process the request and gives you time to receive the record before your visit.
A discharge summary is not the same as discharge instructions. The discharge summary is the clinical record that typically describes the hospitalization, diagnoses, important test results, consultations, procedures, treatments, medication changes, and follow-up plan. Discharge instructions are the shorter patient-facing directions provided when you leave the hospital.
When available, also bring relevant wound-care orders, culture results, vascular test reports, operative reports, and a list of antibiotics or other treatments recently used.
Preparing for Orthotic and Biomechanical Evaluations
If you are being evaluated for custom orthotics, arch supports, gait concerns, or foot mechanics, bring any old or current orthotics with you, even if they were made elsewhere or did not work well. Reviewing them can help your doctor identify what was helpful, what was uncomfortable, and what may need to be changed.
- Bring the shoes in which you most often experience symptoms or plan to use the devices.
- Bring athletic, work, or specialty footwear if it is relevant to the problem being evaluated.
- Be ready to explain where discomfort occurred, how long you wore prior devices, and what activities improved or worsened your symptoms.
Preparing for a Second Opinion or Consultation
Please tell our scheduling team in advance if you are seeking a second opinion, independent medical evaluation, or detailed consultation. These visits require additional review and discussion. Bring the written reports from prior imaging, laboratory testing, procedures, and treatments, along with a brief timeline of your symptoms and care. This helps your doctor understand what has already been considered and allows the visit to stay focused on the questions you want answered.
If You Cannot Keep Your Appointment
If you know that you will not be able to attend your appointment, please call our office immediately at (602) 938-8400. Early notice allows us to offer the appointment to another patient who may be waiting for care.
Our office requires at least two days’ notice before a missed appointment. We understand that unexpected circumstances can arise. If two days’ notice is not possible, please contact us as soon as you know that you cannot attend and provide an absolute minimum of 24 hours’ notice. Timely communication is an important part of a respectful relationship between our patients and practice.
How Much Time Should You Allow
Initial visits require time for registration, a medical history, examination, discussion, and development of an appropriate treatment plan. Please make transportation, work, and personal arrangements with the following general time frames in mind:
Please allow additional time when testing may be needed. Many foot and ankle conditions require imaging studies, diagnostic ultrasound, or other testing during or in connection with the visit. These services may extend the total time you spend at the office beyond the scheduled appointment and check-in time. Please consider this possibility when planning transportation, work, caregiving, and other commitments.
Help Us Focus on What Matters Most to You
Before the appointment, consider writing down your main concern, when it began, what makes it better or worse, treatments you have tried, and the questions you most want answered. If you have several concerns, identify the most important one first. Your doctor will work with you to address as much as is medically appropriate during the scheduled visit and plan follow-up when additional time or evaluation is needed.
We Look Forward to Caring for You
Preparation is one of the simplest ways to make your appointment more efficient and productive. By completing registration, bringing accurate medication and provider information, and gathering relevant records in advance, you help our team spend more of your visit listening, examining, explaining options, and building a treatment plan that fits your needs.
Questions before your appointment? Call (602) 938-8400 or visit www.onyourfeetaz.com