Welcome, New Patients! We are so excited to meet you and see how we can help you breathe, sleep, and live better. This page is for questions that often arise regarding a new patient consultation. We hope that this helps!
FAQs for New Patients
How Do I Schedule a New Patient Appointment?
You can either call our office at 512-255-8070 OR submit a contact submission form requesting an appointment on our website (https://tejas-ent.com/contact-us). Once you submit your appointment request, our scheduling operator will call you within 24 hours to get you scheduled. When scheduling an appointment, a credit or debit card is required to be kept on file as a method of payment for no-show, late, or cancellation without 48 hours notice. Your credit or debit card information will be kept confidential and secure.
Who Will I Be Seeing at My Appointment?
All new patients are scheduled with one of our amazing nurse practitioners. Dr. Tamez only sees established patients unless there is an emergent case.
Do the Providers Speak Spanish?
Dr. Tamez is the only Provider at Tejas ENT that is fluent in both Spanish and English. If a patient is scheduled with any other Provider, they must bring someone with them to their appointment that can translate.
What Do I Need to Bring to My Consultation?
- Insurance Card(s)
- ID
- Method of Payment – Credit Card (American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover) Debit Card or Check; NO CASH ACCEPTED
What Forms of Insurance are Accepted?
We accept most commercial policies.
These are the policies that we do NOT accept:
- Wellcare
- BCBS TX MEDICAID
- Cigna (Local plus plan)
- Aetna Managed Choice Plan
- Aetna Whole Health Plan (yellow card)
- Tricare West
- Medicaid
- Sendero
- Amerigroup (Only accept Amerigroup through Wellmed)
- Ambetter TX Balance C32 94% Value
- UHC STAR PLUS
Does Tejas Accept Cash as a Form of Payment?
Tejas is cashless. Only credit cards, debit cards, and checks will be acceptable methods of payment.
Will I Get Billed for my Consultation or Do I Have to Pay Up Front?
We collect in full up front and try to avoid billing patients. Please come to your appointment prepared to pay the cost of your office visit charge as well as any additional costs from what is done during the appointment based on the recommendation of the Provider as to what is needed (endoscopy, fiberoptic, wax removal, or CT scan – these costs will be relayed to you before you even go back for your appointment). The prices presented to you at your appointment are estimates based off of your insurance benefits and final determination will be made once the claim is processed. If there is an outstanding balance based on this final claim from insurance, then you will be billed that remaining amount.
How Long is the Consultation Going to be?
Patients can expect to be at our office anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, depending on type of visit. Each visit varies as testing may be involved in addition to the consult. Dr. Tamez and the mid-level providers care deeply about the patient experience at Tejas ENT and pride themselves in taking a truly holistic and comprehensive approach to our patients’ health in all regards. Dr. Tamez and his team are proud to prioritize extra time in each patient’s visit to thoroughly discuss a patient’s overall health to not only combat the issue at hand, but to educate and set up our patients for the best whole-body health.
What Time Should I Arrive for My Appointment?
If you have completed the paperwork ahead of time via the patient portal (MyMedicalLocker), then you only have to arrive 10-15 minutes early to your appointment.
You must arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to your appointment time if you have NOT completed the New Patient Paperwork via the patient portal (MyMedicalLocker). Arriving 30 minutes early to fill out the paperwork in office is Tejas protocol. If you arrive past the 30 minute mark before your appointment, we will have to reschedule you.
Will I Get an Email or Text Reminder Regarding My Appointment Date and Time?
You will receive text reminders a few days prior to your appointment with the date and time of your appointment. The text message will ask for you to confirm or cancel your appointment – please respond with your decision. If you do not respond to the text with your status, then our office will call you a day prior to your appointment to confirm if you will make it or not.
Is There a Cancellation Fee?
We ask for patients to give us at least 24 hours notice before their appointment to notify us if they have to cancel or reschedule. A cancellation fee is only applied if a patient does not show up to their appointment without letting us know of cancellation. The No-Show fee is $100.
How Do I Get Connected to MyMedicalLocker Portal?
You will get connected to the patient portal while you are on the phone with the Scheduling Operator when scheduling your New Patient Appointment. The Scheduling Operator will get you connected to the portal by texting you a token number to your cell phone. If you do not have a cell phone, then you will have to arrive 30 minutes early to your appointment to fill out the paperwork in office on one of our tablets.
Can I Get Connected to the Portal Through Email Instead of Text Message?
Unfortunately, the most efficient way to get a patient connected to the portal is only via text message. We are unable to get a patient connected to the portal via email.
How Do I Access MyMedicalLocker Once I Set It Up with the Scheduler?
You can access the portal on your phone (touch screen), tablet, computer, and laptop via MyMedicalLocker.com. The Scheduling Operator will guide you through all of the steps to get you connected to the portal while you are on the phone with them.
Steps on How to Log-In :
- Click on this link https://www.mymedicallocker.com/mml/login.html OR Type in MyMedicalLocker.com into your search engine on either your phone, tablet, or computer/laptop.
- Username is ALWAYS going to be the cell phone number that you got connected with. Do not add hyphen symbols, just type the cell phone numbers as is.
- Password is what you created when getting connected to the portal with the scheduler. If you forgot your password, it will guide you through the steps to reset it once you click “Forgot Password.”
- Once you submit your Username and Password, you will then be led into the Patient Portal Dashboard.
How Do I Reset My Password if I Forgot it?
- Click on “Forgot Password”
- Enter your cell phone number with no dashes
- Check off “I’m not a robot”
- Click on “Reset Password”
- You will receive a text with a token. Type the token in the “Token” box
- Create and type in your new password (x2)
- Click on “Change Password” and you will be redirected to the login screen
- Log in using your new password
**Can only get set up to your portal while on the phone with Scheduler; DO NOT CREATE AN ACCOUNT ON MYMEDICALLOCKER WITHOUT GETTING CONNECTED THROUGH OUR PRACTICE**
How Do I Fill Out the Patient Paperwork on MyMedicalLocker Portal?
The New Patient Paperwork will be listed as “1 New Form” in the portal dashboard once you are logged in. You will click on the form and complete it page by page until you get to the very end. Keep an eye out for the required fields indicated by little red asterisk symbols. You will know that you have completed all of the paperwork when you see the “Submit Form” button. In order to solidify that you have completed the paperwork, make sure that you click “Submit Form.” That is a critical step, so make sure you click it. Once you click that button, it will state that you have successfully completed the paperwork.
Can I Print Out the Paperwork Instead of Connecting to the Portal?
No. The only way to complete the paperwork is via the MyMedicalLocker Patient Portal. If you do not want to get connected to the portal, you could just fill out the paperwork on one of Tejas’ tablets 30 minutes prior to your appointment time.
Do I Have to Fill Out Portal (MyMedicalLocker) Paperwork Before Every Appointment?
No. You will receive automated text messages from our office to confirm or cancel your appointment. Within the text reminder, it will notify you to connect to MyMedicalLocker Portal and fill out the paperwork if you have not already : THIS IS DIRECTED TOWARDS NEW PATIENTS. However, if you have not been seen in our office for over 2 years, you will have to update your information via the patient paperwork. If you have already completed the paperwork, but some of your information (address, insurance, phone number, etc.) has changed, please call our office to relay your updated information.
When Will My Prescription(s) Be Ready?
Please allow 24 hours (from your appointment) for your prescription to be sent to your Pharmacy. Once the prescription is sent, your pharmacy will notify you when it is ready for pick up.