Other important maternity leave updates and details:
- All appointments during this time will be with Dr. Kari Zimmerman at Mountain Sage Medicine location 251 N Main Ave.
- All messages through the portal should be directed to Lisa and Dr. Zimmerman. Messages sent to Dr. Silapie will not be answered until after maternity leave.
Office hours while I am on maternity leave will be limited. Lisa will have reduced hours.
What this means for you:
- If you need prescription refills or supplements please plan ahead.
- It may take 1 week for your needs to be met.
- Your calls will be returned, but not right away.
I will have the wonderful Kari Zimmerman, ND covering for me each week on Tuesdays.
What this means for you:
- She will be able to help you with prescription refills and appointments while I am gone, but her hours at Mountain Sage Medicine in White Salmon will be very limited. Remember for prescription refills you need to contact the pharmacy first.
- If you want naturopathic care and routine follow up and accountability while I am on leave- she is your doc!
- If you need a prescription refill and you haven’t been seen for over 1 year, she will require a follow up visit.
- If you need a dose adjustment to a prescription refill she will require a follow up visit.
- If you are a new patient to MSM between Aug-Dec 2018, you will be working with Dr. Zimmerman.
- All questions regarding your treatment plan need to go directly to Dr. Zimmerman through the portal.
- If you need to be seen by Dr. Zimmerman at her Hood River office you will be charged as a new patient separate from Mountain Sage Medicine.
- We have done our best to maintain insurance coverage by Dr. Zimmerman while being seen at Mountain Sage Medicine. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies honor maternity leave. It is your responsibility to know if your visit will be covered. At this time medicaid will not be covered.
While Lisa can help you with supplements during this time, you may save time by ordering your professional grade supplements online.
What this means for you:
- Supplements can be arranged to be picked up on Tuesdays. Contact Lisa ahead of time to make sure what you want is in stock.
- No supplement orders will be made between Sept 2018 and Jan 2019
- Any supplement in stock will be 10% off.
- You can order your supplements online at:
1.) npscript.com. Go to “create and account” if you don’t have one. Access code: licorice
OR
After maternity leave the focus of my practice will be changing. I will no longer act as a primary care physician. As a small clinic, with limited hours I honestly cannot meet the requirements of a primary care physician. Primary care truly involves a full time doctor or doctors with a full time staff available to you 24/7. I have never been able to provide that. I love natural medicine and that is where I want to focus my energy. I am passionate about getting to the deeper roots of healing and breaking through the patterns that limit your health and wellbeing. I 100% believe in a team approach to health care. I have a naturopathic doctor, medical doctor, acupuncturist and other talented allied care practitioners on my personal healthcare team and each person serves me appropriately. For you to have the best care I want you to have a team. This change will help me be the best doctor I can be for you.
In 2019 I will no longer be accepting medicaid.
What this means for you:
- Most of you won’t be affected by this change.
- Some of you may need to change your insurance designation and select a new primary care physician (PCP). Please do so by the end of August 2018. If you need recommendations let us know.
- For some of you, your insurance may require referrals from your PCP to see me as a specialist. Every plan is different, know your plan. You can find a verification form here.
- I will not be your go-to for referrals to other specialists. I may make recommendations, but I will not be making formal referrals.
- I will not be your go-to for pharmaceutical prescriptions. This means that if you want pharmaceutical antibiotics, anti-depressants, cardiovascular medications etc. you will need to see your PCP. (Thyroid medication, bioidentical hormone replacement, and some compounded prescriptions will be the exceptions).
- If you want to address your concerns naturally- I’m your doc. With that said, sometimes pharmaceuticals are absolutely necessary and I will recommend accordingly.
- If you want to work on chronic conditions naturally and truly heal- I’m your doc.
We realize there are a lot of changes outlined above. Please call the office if you have any questions or concerns.
