Neurosurgery & Spine

We want to set you up for success by figuring out the best initial treatment plan for you. To do so, every appointment request is reviewed by one of our physicians or practitioners before an appointment is scheduled.

Since our goal is to make sure your appointment with us is as effective as possible, we might request more medical records or imaging, or we may suggest conservative treatments such as physical therapy before we establish your care with our practice.

Our physicians and practitioners spend much of their time in surgery so the review process could take several days.

New Patients: You must have a referral and imaging performed within the last twelve months.

Previous patients: If you have not been seen by us for more than three years, you must have a referral and imaging performed within the last twelve months.

You are welcome to call our office during business hours, M-F 8:30– 4:30PM. Our phones are closed from 12:00-1:00 for lunch.

Use MyChart Messaging! Our phones can be extremely busy, so another option is to send us a message through your MyChart. You can find out how to activate MyChart Messaging at our MyChart Info Page.

Please note, no matter what method you choose, we request that you limit your contact to one call or MyChart message per 24-hour period. Reaching out repeatedly on the same day, especially about the same concern, can cause confusion and a delay in our response.

Due to the urgent nature of our practice, clinical appointments and scheduled surgeries are sometimes rescheduled or delayed when our on-call physicians and practitioners are needed at the hospital for an emergency case.

Many insurance companies require patients to try physical therapy, steroid injections, or other conservative measures before authorizing a surgical intervention. So, the first step to scheduling a surgery is to obtain a prior authorization from your insurance company.

Patients must often stop using tobacco before we can perform surgery. If your prior authorization is denied due to tobacco use, the insurance company may require you to wait six months before requesting another authorization.

We will give you an up-to-date list of medications that need to be paused prior to surgery with your pre-op instructions. Please review the specific medication instructions from your physicians or practitioner.

Our office offers pain medication management for a limited time after surgery. We can’t prescribe pain medication for a longer term, or prior to your surgery. For pain management concerns outside of this window, we suggest you contact your primary care physician.

We process refill requests during business hours, Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. When requesting medication refills from us, please give our office a minimum of 48 hours to process your request. Please only send one refill request per 48-hour period. Multiple requests may cause a delay in your refill.

Our office is happy to help you complete short-term Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Paid Leave Oregon/Washington (PLO/PLW) requests.

We charge a $25 fee to complete the paperwork, and we request a ten-day turnaround period. Please note, we cannot start a request until your surgery has been scheduled.

Unfortunately, we can’t help with long term disability claims. For these, please work with your primary care doctor.