FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Depending on your healthcare needs, Driftless Health can serve as your primary healthcare clinic.

Primary and family medicine services may include preventive care, routine medical care, medication management, chronic-condition support, wellness counseling, health-risk reduction, evaluation of new symptoms, laboratory monitoring, and coordination with specialists or other healthcare services.

We also understand that some patients already have a primary care provider they trust. You may choose to use Driftless Health for integrative or functional medicine, wellness care, a particular health concern, or additional support while continuing your existing healthcare relationship.

Our goal is to develop the type of healthcare relationship that works best for you rather than requiring every patient to fit the same model of care.

Integrative medicine combines conventional medical evaluation and treatment with thoughtful attention to factors such as nutrition, movement, sleep, stress, prevention, lifestyle, environment, and other influences on health.

Functional medicine takes a deeper look at patterns and possible connections among symptoms, medical history, lifestyle, medications, supplements, laboratory findings, nutrition, sleep, stress, and environmental factors. The goal is to better understand the overall clinical picture and develop a practical, individualized plan.

At Driftless Health, integrative and functional medicine are not separate from conventional healthcare. Depending on your needs, your care may include medications, preventive services, laboratory testing, lifestyle recommendations, supplements, referrals, or a combination of approaches.

These approaches do not replace appropriate emergency care, hospital treatment, or specialty evaluation. When another type of care is needed, we will recommend it.

Not necessarily.

Laboratory testing may be recommended when we believe the results are reasonably likely to clarify your concerns or meaningfully influence your treatment plan. Depending on your needs, this may include routine laboratory testing as well as more specialized testing.

We often begin with the most clinically useful and practical options rather than automatically ordering extensive testing. Testing may be prioritized, completed in stages, or deferred depending on your symptoms, previous results, health goals, available time, and budget.

Supplements may also be discussed when clinically appropriate, but they are not required to receive integrative or functional medicine care. Before recommending supplements, we consider potential benefits, side effects, medication interactions, quality, evidence, cost, and your individual preferences.

Whenever possible, we will discuss the purpose, limitations, alternatives, and expected costs of testing or supplements before you decide how to proceed.

Functional medicine is generally better viewed as an ongoing process rather than a one-time appointment, particularly for complex, persistent, or long-standing health concerns.

Your first visit helps us understand your history, symptoms, previous testing, medications, supplements, lifestyle, healthcare experiences, and goals. From there, additional testing or recommendations may be developed.

Follow-up appointments allow us to review results, evaluate how you are responding, identify barriers, answer questions, and adjust your plan over time. For many patients, this process takes several months.

There is no required package or fixed number of appointments. The frequency of follow-up will depend on your needs, the complexity of your concerns, testing, treatment recommendations, progress, and available resources.

Functional medicine requires an active partnership. Patients pursuing comprehensive functional medicine care should be prepared to participate in recommended follow-up and work consistently with their care plan. No particular result or improvement can be guaranteed, but appropriate follow-up gives us the opportunity to evaluate what is helping and make thoughtful adjustments over time.

We want integrative and functional medicine care to be as financially approachable and practical as possible.

We understand that longer appointments, laboratory testing, supplements, and ongoing follow-up can involve meaningful costs and time. You do not need to complete every possible test or recommendation at once.

We will work with you to create a prioritized plan that considers your health goals, available time, and budget. This may include starting with lower-cost interventions, using routine laboratory testing before specialized testing, completing testing in stages, focusing first on the concerns most important to you, or spacing follow-up appointments when clinically appropriate.

We will also try to distinguish between recommendations that are more important to address now and those that may reasonably wait.

You remain involved in deciding which optional recommendations you choose to pursue. Our goal is to develop a plan that is medically appropriate, understandable, realistic, and sustainable for you.

Appointment length should reflect the amount and complexity of what you would like to address.

• Shorter Express or Focused Visits are generally appropriate for one straightforward concern, a simple follow-up, or a limited medical need.
• Longer visits are recommended when you are establishing primary care, addressing several concerns, reviewing a complex medical history, discussing extensive laboratory findings, developing a comprehensive wellness plan, or beginning integrative or functional medicine care.
• New patients establishing an ongoing healthcare relationship commonly benefit from a 60-minute or longer appointment. Patients pursuing a comprehensive functional medicine evaluation may benefit from a 90- or 120-minute visit depending on the complexity of their concerns.

A scheduled appointment length does not guarantee that every concern can be completely evaluated during that visit. Additional records, testing, referrals, or follow-up appointments may be needed.

Please contact us if you are unsure which appointment to schedule. We would rather help you select an appropriate visit than have you book an appointment that does not provide enough time for your needs.

Driftless Health is a direct cash-pay practice. We do not submit claims to commercial health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Patients pay Driftless Health directly for appointments and clinic services. This model allows us to offer transparent pricing and visit lengths based more directly on your healthcare needs rather than insurance billing requirements.

Patients with commercial insurance may independently ask their insurance plan whether a service is eligible for out-of-network reimbursement. Driftless Health cannot guarantee reimbursement or determine how an individual insurance plan will process a claim.

Special federal and state requirements may apply when a person enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid receives services from a cash-pay practice. Patients with Medicare or Medicaid should contact Driftless Health before scheduling so that we can determine whether the requested service can be provided and explain any applicable requirements.

Veterans are most welcome to receive care at Driftless Health on a self-pay basis. However, Driftless Health does not currently bill the VA or participate as an authorized VA Community Care provider. Veterans should not assume that the VA will reimburse care purchased directly from Driftless Health.

Outside laboratories, imaging centers, pharmacies, specialists, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations are separate from Driftless Health and may have their own billing, insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and VA participation policies.

Our visit prices are listed in advance and primarily depend on the time reserved for your appointment.

A one-time $50 new-patient fee applies to new-patient medical visits and to new patients scheduling laboratory services. For new-patient medical visits, the fee is included in the displayed price. The fee does not apply to stand-alone DOT medical examinations or sports and participation physicals.

A $35 deposit is required when scheduling most appointments. The deposit is applied toward the total cost of the completed visit and is not an additional charge.

Please provide at least 24 hours’ notice when canceling or rescheduling. The $35 deposit may be forfeited when an appointment is canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice or when a patient misses the appointment. A new deposit may be required before another appointment can be scheduled.

We understand that unexpected circumstances occur. Please contact Driftless Health as soon as possible when plans change. Depending on the circumstances, the deposit may be transferred to a rescheduled appointment or the forfeiture may be waived.

The appointment fee generally covers the professional services provided during the scheduled visit. Laboratory testing, point-of-care testing, procedures, medications, injections, supplements, imaging, specialty testing, medical supplies, extensive forms, and services provided by outside organizations may involve additional charges.

Whenever reasonably possible, known clinic charges will be discussed before the service is provided.

Yes.

Under federal law, patients who do not have health insurance or who do not plan to use health insurance to pay for their care have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges.

When qualifying care is scheduled sufficiently in advance, Driftless Health will provide an estimate within the timeframe required by federal law. You may also request a Good Faith Estimate before scheduling care.

The estimate is based on the information reasonably available at the time it is prepared. It is not a guarantee of the final cost because your healthcare needs may change after evaluation or additional services may become appropriate.

Services provided by outside laboratories, imaging facilities, pharmacies, specialists, hospitals, or other healthcare organizations may not be included in Driftless Health's estimate and may require separate estimates from those organizations.

If a bill from a provider or facility is at least $400 more than the amount listed for that provider or facility on your Good Faith Estimate, federal patient-provider dispute-resolution rights may apply.

Yes. Driftless Health uses OptiMantra as our secure electronic health record and patient portal.

The portal is an important part of how we provide care. Through OptiMantra, patients can complete intake and consent forms, review available visit notes and care plans, view laboratory results and other shared records, access documents, manage appointments, and securely communicate with the practice.

The portal is also the preferred way to communicate about nonurgent medical questions, medication requests, test results, follow-up concerns, and your ongoing care plan.

Some questions cannot safely or appropriately be handled through messaging alone. When a concern requires a detailed history, examination, diagnosis, treatment decision, medication change, or significant review of results, you may be asked to schedule an appointment.

Some notes, laboratory results, or outside records may not appear immediately while they are being completed, reviewed, or received.

Portal messages are reviewed during normal clinic operations and are not continuously monitored. Do not use the patient portal, email, voicemail, website contact forms, or social media for emergencies or concerns requiring an immediate response.

Yes. Telehealth is available for many services when it is clinically appropriate.

Telehealth may work well for certain follow-up appointments, medication discussions, laboratory reviews, wellness visits, integrative and functional medicine care, and concerns that can reasonably be evaluated without an in-person examination.  Patients must generally be physically located in Wisconsin at the time of the telehealth appointment. We may confirm your identity, physical location, contact information, and an emergency plan at the beginning of the visit.

Booking a telehealth appointment does not guarantee that a concern can be completely evaluated or treated remotely. Depending on what is identified, you may need an in-person examination, laboratory testing, imaging, urgent care evaluation, emergency care, or referral to another healthcare professional.

A telehealth visit may therefore result in a recommendation for additional in-person care.

Telehealth is not appropriate for medical emergencies.

Yes. Prescription medications and laboratory testing may be part of your care when they are clinically appropriate.

Medication decisions are based on your evaluation, health history, current medications, available records, examination findings, laboratory results, safety considerations, and clinical judgment. Scheduling or paying for an appointment does not guarantee that a particular medication will be prescribed or continued.

Some prescriptions may require an in-person examination, previous medical records, laboratory monitoring, medication agreements, or regular follow-up.

Controlled medications are prescribed only in limited circumstances when clinically appropriate. Driftless Health does not provide chronic opioid treatment, long-term benzodiazepine management, addiction medicine, or chronic pain management.

Driftless Health also offers selected in-office testing and specimen-collection services. Other laboratory tests may be completed through outside laboratories.

Patients may schedule eligible laboratory-only services, but specimen collection does not automatically include detailed interpretation of results or development of a treatment plan. A separate medical appointment may be required when results need to be reviewed in depth, a diagnosis needs to be made, or treatment needs to be changed.

Yes. Driftless Health offers both sports and participation physicals and Department of Transportation medical examinations.

For sports or participation physicals, please bring all required forms, a current medication list, corrective lenses when applicable, and relevant medical or specialist records. A sports physical is a focused evaluation for participation and does not replace a comprehensive preventive or primary care examination.

For DOT examinations, please bring photo identification, corrective lenses or hearing aids if used, a complete medication list, and any relevant medical documentation. Depending on your history, this may include sleep-apnea compliance information, cardiovascular records, diabetes documentation, specialist evaluations, or previous DOT records.

Completion of either type of physical does not guarantee clearance or certification. Additional testing, records, treatment, follow-up, or specialist evaluation may be required.

For DOT examinations, a determination may sometimes remain pending while additional information is obtained within the timeframe permitted by applicable federal requirements.

Driftless Health is located on the second floor of a historic building and the clinic is currently reached by stairs. If stairs or another aspect of the clinic creates an accessibility barrier, please contact us before scheduling. We will discuss your individual needs and available options, which may include telehealth or coordination with another appropriate setting depending on the care required.

Driftless Health is not an emergency department, urgent care center, or continuously monitored after-hours service. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency.

Do not use the patient portal, email, voicemail, website forms, text messaging, or social media for emergencies or concerns requiring an immediate response.

Driftless Health maintains patient information in accordance with applicable federal and Wisconsin privacy requirements. Our Notice of Privacy Practices explains how medical information may be used and disclosed and describes your rights regarding your health information. Our separate Website Privacy Policy explains how information submitted through the public website is handled.

Information on this website is provided for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Reading the website, submitting a contact form, or requesting an appointment does not by itself establish a patient-provider relationship.

Payment arrangements may be available for certain services when discussed with and approved by Driftless Health in advance.

Driftless Health uses integrated payments with our patient portal for electronic invoicing and payment management, with payments securely processed through our integrated payment processor. When an arrangement is approved, the total cost may be divided into scheduled payments.

The availability and terms of a payment arrangement will depend on the type of service, anticipated cost, course of care, and individual circumstances. Not every appointment, laboratory test, supplement, product, outside service, or existing account balance will qualify.

A payment arrangement does not reduce the total amount owed and does not automatically include future appointments, testing, treatments, products, or other services. Any additional charges will be discussed separately whenever reasonably possible.

We continue to explore cost-effective and accessible payment options to help patients access appropriate care. Please contact Driftless Health before your appointment or before payment is due if you have questions about available arrangements.