Free 15-minute Consultation
Once you contact Maine Natural Medicine, we will attempt to answer your questions about how the clinic works, the services we offer, and attempt to make sure that you have all the information you need to decide to embark on your health journey with us. If you like, you can schedule a 15 minute consultation with Dr. Sachsman either in person or by phone. Some patients find this brief meeting helpful to determine if they are ready to schedule their initial visit.
Paperwork
Once you schedule your initial appointment, we will provide you with new patient paperwork. Our administrative staff can either email, fax or mail this to you, or you can fill it out on the website. For security reasons, the electronic version does not have a credit card authorization form, so we will contact you to get your credit card number in advance of your appointment.
We ask that you fill the new patient paperwork out and have it back to us at least two days prior to your appointment. That gives us time to have you entered into our computer system and have the paperwork for the doctor at the time of your appointment, avoiding any delays during your appointment time. However, should this cause a hardship, you can simply bring the forms in with you, but we ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment.
First Office Visit
During your initial visit, Dr. Sachsman will go over your intake paperwork with you, gather information on the history of your illness, review previous lab work done, develop a clear picture of your current symptoms, and previous treatments and therapies you have done. She will also go over your diet and the medications and supplements that you are taking. The extent of physical exam provided will be determined on an individual basis.
Once Dr. Sachsman feels that she has all the information she needs, she will share her clinical impressions of your case, and make suggestions to address your specific health concerns. If she feels that lab work is necessary, she will outline what tests she would like to run and the process for completing them.
Finally, Dr. Sachsman will work with you to create a plan for your beginning stages of treatment. This may include dietary modifications, lifestyle factors, herbs and/or other supplements, medications, referrals and/or ozone treatments. Although some comprehensive treatment regimens depend on lab results being completed, she will typically get you started on a plan to support your health goals at your initial visit.
Follow-up Appointments
Follow-up visits are anywhere from 2-4 weeks after the initial visit, depending on pending lab work. These visits are shorter—typically 45-60 minutes. During your follow-up appointment, the doctor will ask you how you have been feeling since the previous visit; how things might have changed with the treatment plan; and an outline of what symptoms are better, which are worse/new symptoms, and which are unchanged. Lifestyle, diet, supplementation and lab results will be thoroughly reviewed at every appointment. Having lists prepared for the doctor is tremendously helpful—medication/supplement lists, symptom lists and a list of questions you may have for her.
Proper follow-up is a very important aspect of your treatment. Proper follow-up allows us to monitor your progress and change therapies as necessary to ensure that your progression towards health is as quick and smooth as possible. As your health improves, you will need less frequent follow-ups.