Hours:

Monday 10AM – 6PM - La Jolla/UTC
Tuesday 10AM – 6PM - Rancho San Diego/Spring Valley Office
Wednesday 10AM – 6PM - La Jolla/UTC
Thursday 10AM – 7PM - La Jolla/UTC
Friday 9AM – 3PM - La Jolla/UTC

Office visits are by appointment only.

Fees and Payment:

• $295 for a comprehensive, holistic first office visit, which is typically 75 minutes.
• $175 for new pediatric patients, lasting 45 minutes.
• Physical medicine appointments range from $50-$150, depending on the treatment.
• Follow up, acute care, and pediatric appointments run from $50-$125, depending on complexity and time spent in the appointment.
• Payment is due at the time of service. Please discuss any fee questions with Dr. Handwerger before your appointment so you can know what to expect.
  
• You may pay with Visa, MasterCard, cash and check.
• These fees do not cover lab testing, although Dr. Handwerger uses labs that PPO insurance can cover, depending on individual plans.
  
• Dr. Handwerger does not take insurance. However, a "Superbill" will be provided after every visit for you to submit for out-of-network reimbursement. See Insurance below.
  
• Free 10 minute telephone consultations are available for new patients. This will give you time to see if naturopathic medicine is appropriate for your condition and if you and Dr. Handwerger will work well together, but will not involve any actual treatment. To set up an appointment for a phone consultation, please contact Dr. Handwerger.
  

Appointments:

• First appointment: It is recommended that all initial paperwork be completed, signed, and received by our office preferably 2 business days prior to your scheduled appointment. You may fax or email these forms, but the originals will need to be delivered on the day of your appointment.
• Please check in 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. Please do not wear any scented products, as many of our patients are chemically sensitive. These include lotions, cologne, perfume, hair spray, etc.
• Follow-up consults may be scheduled in 15, 30, 45, or 60-minute blocks of time depending on your needs and the cost ranges from $50-$250
• All consultations are charged for the actual time used, not the time blocked.
• Any research requested by the patient are billable services and will be charged at the hourly rate.

Cancellations:

• If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, you must notify us a minimum of 24 hours prior to your scheduled time, or you will be charged for the missed appointment.
• If your appointment is on Monday, please notify our office no later than noon on the previous Thursday.
• As a courtesy, our office will send you an email and call you to confirm your appointment 2 business days in advance.

Prescription Requests:

Prescriptions refills on already established medications from an original pharmacy carrying that prescription are performed at no charge. However, requests for a new prescription or a change in prescription type or transfer to a different pharmacy may incur a $25 prescription handling charge.

Phone Consultations:

• Please call at the time of your scheduled consultation.
• All appointments are scheduled for the Pacific Standard Time zone.

Medical Letters:

Medical letters to schools, insurance companies, disability, etc. are a billable service. If these items are requested there may be an additional charge based on the time involved at the hourly rate per doctor to complete your request.

Questions and Follow-up:

You may email or call Dr. Handwerger with follow-up questions. Questions must be brief and concise. The office staff and/or clinic physician will determine if a phone or office consult is needed to answer your question(s). Otherwise, a member of our office staff will respond to your inquiry. When leaving a voice mail message, please be brief and concise, and always include your name and phone number, including the area code.

Please Note: We try to accommodate questions regarding treatment clarification at no charge. Simply put, if you have a quick question about a supplement or diagnostic test we recommended or a therapy reaction you may be experiencing, then by all means contact us. However, if the response to a question you submit requires doctor research and/or review, you may be billed for the time involved at the doctor’s hourly rate.

Follow-up Consultations:

• We generally recommend that all patients minimally have an office consultation every 3 months.
• If prescription medication is being provided for yourself or your child, a office consultation is required in the following manner:
  • Every 3 to 6 months – Southern California region
  • Every 6 to 12 months – Central and N. California, Out of State.
• The reason for these office visits is for the doctor to physically see you or your child and provide a physical examination.

Insurance

Dr. Handwerger does not take insurance. A “Superbill” receipt (form detailing diagnostic codes and fees) can be provided to you after each visit. This receipt can be submitted to your insurance carrier for out-of-network reimbursement. Some services may not be covered by certain health insurance plans. It is your responsibility to know what your insurance plan covers. We are not responsible for unpaid claims by your insurance company for services we provide. IHS does not accept insurance liens, assignments, or any reimbursement from your insurance carrier.

IHS is a non-participating Medicare, Medi-Cal, Champus, and Tri-Care provider.