- Where are your clinic locations?
- What days/hours are you available for an appointment?
- What’s the best location for you to receive treatment care?
- What is the cancellation policy?
- Does my insurance cover medical massage services?
- Does my insurance require me to have a prescription for medical massage services?
- When I contact this clinic by texting, can you provide me with directions to the clinic? Will you confirm my appointment beforehand?
Where are your clinic locations?
I’m located at 4 convenient Seattle locations. Most of my professional work is offered on the south end of Seattle in Burien or White Center/West Seattle. Another day of the week I work in NE Seattle (Maple Leaf area) two half days a week and at the Vashon location (5 mins from downtown Vashon).
What days/hours are you available for an appointment?
I work Tuesdays through Saturdays. Sundays & Mondays are my weekend time off. I value my personal time to recharge from my busy work week. Later evening calls, Sundays or Mondays, I may not answer my phone calls or return text messages.
Clinic Hours of Operation:
Mondays: Vashon (some Mondays I offer afternoon appts)
Tuesdays: NE Seattle. Zip code 98115. Hours: 12-6 pm
Wednesdays: South end of West Seattle/White Center. Zip code 98106. 12-6pm
Thursdays: Vashon. 1-6 pm
Fridays : Burien Downtown clinic. Zip code 98106. 10-6 pm
Saturdays: South end of West Seattle/White Center. Zip code 98106. 10-5pm
What’s the best location for you to receive treatment care?
All appointments are set up by texting Kris at 206-370-2600. Do not leave phone messages. There is no auto scheduling option. Appointment availability depends on time of day. Are you only available evenings, after work? Then Saturdays has more open appointments for those working during the week. Many of my regulars seek those prime appt times from 4 to 6 pm. Weekday afternoons always has more availability. Are you in acute pain? If so, we would try to see you sooner than later. You will decide what clinic location is closest to your place of work or home and when there are openings.
****If my schedule is busy, it may take 7-10 days to get you on the schedule.
What is the cancellation policy?
Its becoming more challenging with our busy urban lives, to get everything managed in our time schedule, and that includes medical appointments for self care. You may not have control of all of these influences with your on the go lifestyle. The more looking ahead in planning health care services at this clinic, the better off in creating a win-win solution for both parties, you as the client and us as the health care therapist.
Keep in mind short cancellation notice with your acupuncturist/ massage therapist means wasted and unpaid time on my part. You’ve reserved that appointment time. I am unable to put anyone else in that one hour time slot, when you give short notice. It’s more respectful of my time if you can provide 3 -5 days notice, when your plans need to change. There are many valid reasons for rescheduling or discontinuing medical treatment care at this clinic. Its much more equitable for both parties to be given as much notification as possible. Short notice for these clinic & most professional clinics is 24 to 48 hours. When short notifications or no shows reoccur more than a couple of times with cancellations, its evaluated & decided whether you are unreliable in your time commitments. It may be that you find another therapist that allows for more losses.
You’ve made a commitment with setting up your appointment. When you don’t follow through, it is a loss of income of $100 with my clinic expenses. You will be charged $50 for a missed appointment, with less than 48 hours notice.
Your appointments will be confirmed the day before in a text.
Does my insurance cover medical massage services?
My medical biller, Debra can research your insurance plan by phone & sometimes by texting her. She is a busy woman who works with other health care workers. If you get a message, try calling 1 or 2 times. There are several common questions that she’ll ask you and help you understand what your individual benefits are for both massage & acupuncture. Do you have a deductible to pay off? Are you a co pay or co-share? Evicore requires pre authorization. Most Premera plans require a prescription for medical massage, but not for acupuncture services. You can call Debra during business hours at Puget Sound Medical Billing at 206- 434-6317. You’ll find more information to insurance questions by going to the Insurance & Costs section.
Your 1st appointment will be longer. Instead of the usual hour appointment, please allow 75 mins (20-30 mins will be focused on a health assessment, previous injuries & surgeries, your health concerns & expectations, lifestyle factors that interrelate to your pain patterns or fatigue).
It is not this clinic’s procedure, to have you immediately get on the table & begin massaging. Dealing with injuries, whether they are acute or chronic requires more sifting through about your body, stress levels, what your health care regime is, whether you are getting chiropractic or physical therapy and what’s worked for you and what’s not. Car accidents may require more evaluation time. Palpation diagnosis for surgeries, scar tissue, nerve impinchments & post operative acute care all require some discernment in approaching.
*** This extra 20-30 minutes taken during your new patient assessment is billed under acupuncture services, as an initial consultation. This process is done for all massage & acupuncture new patients. It is never covered under medical massage services. If you have a Boeing plan, there is no coverage for an initial new patient assessment and may need to be paid out of pocket for the 20 min evaluation.
Does my insurance require me to have a prescription for medical massage services?
For the most part, 95% of patients seeking medical massage services or acupuncture, a script is NOT required. The few exceptions to this if you have Premera insurance. No script is need for acupuncture, but needed with most Premera plans for massage services. Evicore often requires pre authorization and a new condition, after your first 6 treatments. Some insurance companies and personal car accidents may require more chart noting. Other plans require much less.
When I contact this clinic by texting, can you provide me with directions to the clinic? Will you confirm my appointment beforehand?
Yes we will do both to orientate you to getting to each of the clinics. As a small business, Kris does not have a receptionist to answer your calls immediately, but she will get back to you within the day with setting up an appointment and orientating you as to where you will be visiting, parking & what to prepare for in coming.
