FAQ

Legacy Medical Group believes each patient is more than a collection of symptoms. We seek to understand each patient’s history to create a personalized, holistic treatment plan that is designed to meet their health and wellness goals.

In today’s complex healthcare environments, communication gaps often occur. These gaps pose risk to patients and are unsettling to families. That is why Legacy Medical Group works tirelessly to coordinate care among team members at hospitals, primary care, specialist care, senior-living care, and home care. Coordinating care decisions with patients and their designated family members is central to our philosophy.

Risk of over-medication and adverse reactions exponentially increases in frail populations. Potential medication side effects can create fall risk for patients. That is why Legacy Medical Group will evaluate both the benefits and risks of medications and review your status every time we see you.

Appointment Reminders: Appointment reminder calls are made to patients one day prior to a visit. (When completing the New Patient History, patients and families designate who they would like to receive these calls.)

Visit Participation: If the patient would like family members to participate in the visits, they should communicate this desire to our office. We make every attempt to accommodate this goal. If family members are not able to attend in person, we can often conference call with family during the visit.

Pending the patient’s wishes, Legacy Medical Group will proactively update a family member after a visit and coordinate care adjustments.

Care Team Coordination: Legacy Medical Group strives to coordinate care with effective communication among all members of the care team. This includes coordination with physician specialists, nursing care, and other therapists.

Legacy Medical Group will be responsible for directly placing orders for care (laboratory, imaging, physical therapy, occupational therapy, home health, etc.) and strives to keep care-team nursing and specialists informed of status.

When a patient resides in a senior living community that provides nursing oversight, Legacy Medical Group clinicians strive to directly communicate with these team members — ideally on the same day as the visit.

a. To best understand a new patient’s health, Legacy Medical Group will seek medical history that includes both:

• New Patient History forms
• Medical records from previous physicians

b. With approximately the past 5 years of a patient’s treatment notes assembled, a Legacy Medical Group clinician will review this detailed history to attain a comprehensive patient background.

• Legacy Medical Group will request the patient’s medical records from previous doctors to understand reasons for prior care decisions.
• We seek to understand how current medical conditions were diagnosed and reasons for each prescribed medication.

c. A new patient’s first visit with their Legacy Medical Group physician is a Get Acquainted visit. Family members are encouraged to attend per the patient’s wishes.

• Our doctors will review their evaluation of the patient’s medical history with patients and family.
• Together, we will discuss the benefits and the risks associated with the patient’s current medications.
• Our clinicians will evaluate any need for services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or laboratory and imaging tests.
• A plan for care will be established.
• As we provide care, we will coordinate appropriate changes together to minimize the risk of side effects and complications that can compromise overall wellness.

We do not believe patients should need to wait for “Doctor Day” (a predetermined frequency that a given doctor has committed to the community building). We know that if a patient needs to wait many days or weeks for “Doctor Day,” their health can quickly deteriorate.

Our approach is to schedule visits that are unique to each patient’s individual needs. We strive for optimal timing to keep all our patients in the best possible health.

Consistent with this care approach, Legacy Medical Group is committed to a rapid response when urgent health issues arise. Our goal is to visit the patient within 24 hours for priority issues such as the following:

• Blood in urine and/or stool
• Patient fall
• Pain in a specific area
• Skin tears
• Fever
• Diarrhea/vomiting
• Shortness of breath
• Swelling of extremities
• Rashes
• Dehydration/lethargy/fatigue/confusion

Patients requesting a visit for a non-urgent issue are typically seen within 36 hours of the request. Follow-up visit frequency is determined through the treatment plan — specific to a patient’s needs.

Legacy Medical Group can collect blood, stool, and urine specimens at the same location as the physician’s visit — there is no need for the patient to make a separate trip. We place the laboratory testing orders and will inform you of the results.

Many imaging tests can also be provided without the patient needing to travel. Legacy Medical Group can coordinate these services with a mobile imaging company.

Test results are typically communicated via phone and discussed with the patient at their next visit.

Legacy Medical Group Medical Group has extensive experience with providing care in many independent, assisted, memory-care, and adult group homes as well as rehab facilities and hospitals. We can advise you on home care, hospice, private-duty nursing, elder-care attorneys, pharmacies, and other services.

We provide Alternate Placement Services to those individuals who are not able to remain in their current living environment. Choosing another residence can be a source of stress for patients and their families. Our Licensed Masters Level Clinical Social Worker has comprehensive knowledge that enables her to assess the patient’s needs both physically and cognitively to determine the appropriate setting. The social worker can provide the necessary advice and support to patients and families who are unsure of how to navigate this process.

248-650-1800