Frequently Asked Questions
How do I become a patient?
- If you're new to Forum Health Silver Spring, welcome! We invite you to book a complimentary discovery call to see how we can help you reach your health goals by clicking hereOur hours are Monday-Friday 9 AM—5 PM
What Forms of payment are accepted?
Our office accepts Cash, e-checks, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, Care Credit and the Advance Care Card. With CareCredit and Advance Care Card, you can finance 100% of your wellness program and there are no upfront costs, annual fees, or pre-payment penalties. They also offer reasonable interest rates.
Payment information is taken at the time of completing the online intake process since we immediately begin reviewing and processing your file. We do not accept insurance for payment; however, we will provide you with a properly coded itemized receipt (superbill) that includes the appropriate diagnostic and billing codes. Many insurance plans will cover part of the cost of office visits according to their out-of-network provider schedule and may cover some or all of the costs of diagnostic testing.
Do you accept Insurance?
Most procedures and preventative/wellness services are elective treatments and are not covered by traditional insurance plans. In addition, our testing is often extensive, far outside what the traditional insurance carrier will cover. We will provide you with a receipt/invoice. We are not affiliated with Medicare or Medicaid in any way.
Patient Portal
Easily message your providers through the Patient Portal by clicking here.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations made 72 hours or more before the scheduled appointment will be rescheduled and the payment method will not be charged until 48 hours before the new appointment. If an appointment is canceled less than 72 hours, refunds will not be provided.
If multiple appointments are cancelled, Proactive Wellness Centers may charge a cancellation fee of $100.
Where are you located?
What is your refund policy?
Payments for the initial visits that have occurred are not refundable. Generally, programs are non-cancellable for the stated term. In the event that our clinic cancels a program, none of the fees paid to the point of the cancellation are refundable. This is due to the fact that there is a significant amount of effort to create the individualized program, the initial prescriptions and provide services that are heavily front-loaded. Scheduled future payments will be cancelled if the clinic agrees to the cancellation.
How do refills for prescriptions and supplements work?
- Prescriptions at regular pharmacies (CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite Aid, etc.). For these prescriptions, please request your refills through the pharmacy at least 5 days before you require the medication. The pharmacy will use various automated mechanisms to request the refill from our office.
- Prescriptions at insurance-based compounding pharmacies (Leesburg Pharmacy, Bellevue Pharmacy). For these pharmacies, please request your refills through the pharmacy at least 7 days before you require the medication. The pharmacy will contact my office directly for the refill prescription and take your payment information directly.
- Prescriptions ordered from our online storeFor these medications, please place a new order or a reorder in the shopping cart for the item(s) that you need at least 7 days before you need the medication. Please do not contact the pharmacy as they will direct you back to the shopping cart. We have negotiated the special pricing for our patients by handling the ordering process entirely for them. For meds ordered through the shopping cart, patient’s are encouraged to use the automatic recurring order feature so that the meds will automatically be ordered on the required interval.
- Nutritional Supplements from our online storeFor these items, please place a new order or a reorder in the shopping cart for the item(s) that you need at least 5 days before you need the supplement. For supplements ordered through the shopping cart, patient’s are encouraged to use the automatic recurring order feature so that the items will automatically be ordered on the required interval.
How do I get a medically-coded invoice?
Our clinic does not take insurance as a form of payment for any services. However, we will work collaboratively with you to help you get partial reimbursements for treatment provided.
Our team will provide a medically-coded invoice that provides the necessary treatment codes (CPT) and diagnostic codes (ICD-9) required by insurance companies to determine your eligibility for reimbursement under the “out of network” portion of your plan.
If you're enrolled in an HMO or other “gatekeeper” type plan where you need a referral from your primary care physician, it's not likely you'll be able to get reimbursement for our services.
If you have a PPO or other “open” type of policy, you may receive partial reimbursement for some portion of our services. Beyond providing a medically-coded invoice, our clinic makes no promises of reimbursement of any particular amount for any service. This determination is made solely by your insurance company.
Patients should be aware that not all services rendered are eligible for medical invoices. For example, our providers spend time responding to patient inquires in our secure communication system and this is a part of what the program fees cover, but these services are not eligible for medical invoices. Accordingly, medical invoices (superbills) provided may be significantly less than what the patient paid in Program Fees. The medical invoices are intended to facilitate a partial reimbursement in cases where patients’ insurance provides out of network coverage.
Additionally, medical invoices are provided for services and procedures. For patients electing to use our cash-based pharmacy for compounded prescription medications, we cannot provide medically-coded invoices or claim forms for these purchases. Our cash-based pharmacy provides much lower prices and does do not participate in insurance.
If a patient prefers to use insurance, our physicians will move their prescription(s) to an insurance-based pharmacy who will provide the medical claim forms, but understand the prices are typically much higher. The patient may either pay the lower prices with our cash pharmacy and accept that neither our clinic or the pharmacy can provide medical claim forms or opt for the insurance-based pharmacy where they will pay the pharmacy directly and be able to get medical claim forms, with the understanding that the prices are generally considerably higher.
Further, from a practical perspective, patients will get little if any reimbursement for hormones and specialty medications even with a valid claim form as these medications do not fit the traditional reimbursement models.
How do I get medically-coded invoices for my visits?
Upon request, we will provide medically-coded invoices. Requests should be sent to our medical billing specialist at [email protected]. This is the most direct way to ensure your requests are being processed.
When will invoices be provided?
We will generally provide invoices by Friday of the week following your visit. If you have not received an invoice by Friday of the week following your visit, please send a follow up email to the same address as above. Items requiring escalation may be sent to [email protected].
Why do my invoice amounts not match what I paid?
The invoice amount for initial visits and non-program follow up visits will generally match the amount you paid. For program-based follow up visits, we have to follow a different procedure as insurance companies will not reimburse you for treatment that has not yet been provided. Thus for 90 day and annual programs, you will receive an invoice for each visit equal to our standard pricing for short and long visits, $225 and $325 at the time this document was created.
We will provide invoices in those amounts based on your actual visits until the invoice total is as close to the amount you paid for your program as possible. We have found that this process provides the maximum reimbursement possibility for our patients.
Contact information for additional questions?
Please contact Cherice Turner, Medical Billing Specialist, for additional questions at [email protected]
What are the 10 steps to optimal wellness at Forum Health Silver Spring
Below are ten steps to getting started with one of our treatment programs. All programs begin with a comprehensive initial assessment which ranges from $475 – $975 depending on the scope of the visit. We also offer mini consultations for $225 for patients that desire to spend approximately 30 minutes with Dr. Lawson in person prior to commencing with a treatment program. The $225 fee will be deducted from the initial assessment fee of $475 – $975 for patients that decide to come in for the comprehensive initial assessment.
Comprehensive Initial Assessment
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Connect - Call us at (240) 358-1326 to ask any unanswered questions.
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Set your initial appointment
Lab Tests -Our providers will develop and forward a lab requisition to you by email. With that lab requisition, go to your nearest Quest or LabCorp lab to have your blood drawn. Present the lab requisition and the lab will forward the results directly to our office. IMPORTANT: Please email the office at [email protected] when you have completed your lab tests.
Initial Appointment. Come to your initial appointment and plan to spend approximately 1 1/2 hours with our provider to review your lab results. We'll discuss preliminary findings and any specialized tests that may be required. At the end of this visit, our provider will discuss a customized treatment plan which may include a 12-Month Health Assurance Plan that incorporates bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and an intensive 12-week Metabolic Rejuvenation Program designed to help patients overcome weight loss resistance and achieve their health goals quickly.
- Supplements and Prescriptions - Order supplements and prescription medications as necessary. All supplements and most specialized/compounded prescriptions are available through our online wellness store at www.proactivestore.com. For standard prescriptions and specialized prescriptions that are covered by insurance, you will deal directly with the pharmacy to provide your insurance and co-pay information.
Specialized Testing - When indicated by lab results, our providers may recommend specialized testing including food sensitivity testing, toxic metals testing and/or nutritional deficiency testing.
Patient Notebook – Take control of your health care! When commencing a treatment program, patients are provided with a personalized notebook with placeholders for your specific treatment plan, lab results, educational materials and other information. We also encourage and support the use of personal health records, such as Google Health or Microsoft Health Vault to further enable patients to take control of their health care.
- Maintenance and Monitoring - All of our maintenance programs include follow-up visits to monitor and adjust your prescriptions and supplement recommendations depending on your body’s particular response to the therapies we employ. This component is the only way our providers can help you achieve the optimal health you deserve. Between visits, patients on the maintenance program have email and phone access to our providers if issues or questions arise. The first follow up visit is typically within 4 weeks for a 12-month programs and the following week for 12-week programs.
How can we help you achieve your health goals?
Our programs are all about reversing and slowing the aging process, preventing disease and treating chronically ill patients. We utilize a three-pronged approach:
We equip you with the knowledge required to take charge of your health and achieve optimal well-being.
We focus on disease prevention by providing a thorough evaluation using comprehensive diagnostics and the information provided on the your health history form. And finally, we work with you to implement a rejuvenation program that consists of various science-based treatments that reduce cellular degeneration, promote tissue regeneration and healing as well as slowing down the aging process.
- Implement a rejuvenation program consisting of science-based treatments
We do not replace the role of the family physician, but instead work with your primary care physician, other medical professionals to provide the optimum in integrated care. We consider each and every individual as physiologically unique, and we do not subscribe to a “one size fits all” approach.
Our programs focus on a customized approach to address risk factors that, if avoided or modified, could have beneficial effects for reducing the incidence of and premature mortality from the leading chronic conditions.
Our vision is to provide the latest in scientifically-validated therapies for reversing the aging process, preventing chronic disease and optimizing health. Following are the nine key elements of our diagnostic and treatment programs that help patients reverse and slow the symptoms of aging.
- Comprehensive intimal assessment
- Specialized testing
- Detoxification programs
- Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy
- A functional medicine approach
- Nutritional supplements and medical-grade foods
- Nutrition plans
- High touch delivery through annual programs
- Chronic disease treatment
If you are coming to us for the Bredesen Protocol/ReCODE, then you will get your own personalized “Cognoscopy”. The cognoscopy will answer all of the following questions:
- Where do you stand today with respect to cognitive decline and chronic health issues?
- What markers or lifestyle factors that are risk indicators for cognitive decline and chronic health issues are not optimal?
- Which is your risk profile for each of Bredesen’s six types of Alzheimer’s disease?
- What can you do to change this risk profile?
The Cognoscopy will answer all of these questions and more as it includes cognitive function testing that is age-normalized, a very thorough review of more than 50 lab-based markers for chronic disease and onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a risk assessment for each of the six types of AD, diagnosis of each area that is not optimal, recommendations for additional testing and a clinical plan to get you on the path to optimizing health and reversing mild cognitive decline if you have it.
I still have some questions, is there someone I can talk to?
Yes, please send an email to [email protected] or call (240) 358-1326.
