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New Patients 

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Do I need to be referred to your clinic? 

Yes. PDEC requires a referral and appropriate diagnostic testing to be scheduled. 

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Appointment Times 

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How long is a typical appointment? 

A typical first-time consultation will last about 40 minutes.

A typical follow-up appointment will last 20 minutes.

A typical injection appointment will last 20 minutes. 

A typical lab appointment will last 15 minutes. 

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Insurance and Costs 

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Will my private medical insurance cover the costs?

PDEC appointments and MOST treatments are covered by most insurance providers. The process of obtaining reimbursement varies from plan to plan. PDEC will verify your insurance eligibility before you come in.

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Will Medicare cover the costs?

Yes. Most PDEC treatments are eligible for reimbursement by Medicare.

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Diabetic Patients

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Will a steroid injection cause my blood sugars to rise? 

Yes. One typical side effect of steroid injections is an increase in blood glucose levels. 

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What should my blood sugar be? 

The ADA recommends a blood glucose range of 80-130 before meals and less than 180 about 2 hours after a meal. This range should place your A1c under 7. 

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Why does it matter if my blood sugar is 120 or 200? 

When your blood sugar levels are high, it can cause damage to your veins and arteries. This damage could lead to complications later such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, neuropathies, and vision problems, etc.  

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Does your office take sharps disposals? 

No. But you can contact your pharmacy, the local fire department, or the police department to see if they accept sharps disposal. Washington County Resources

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Oregon Metro has a list of places that have sharps disposal programs. 

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Additionally, Repatha has a sharps program for those patients who use that medication. 

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Clinical Trials

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What clinical trials are currently in progress? 

Currently, we are not participating in any clinical trials. Our doctors and patients have been contributing to Research endeavors for over 25 years. All potential studies are thoroughly reviewed in advance by our physicians for safety and relevance. Patients who want to participate are carefully screened and monitored by doctors and our dedicated Research staff.

 

What is a clinical trial and why is it needed?

Researchers constantly look for better or new ways of treating illness and disease. Discoveries cannot be put into general use until controlled testing has been done on actual patients.

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What clinical trials have been conducted at PDEC?

Our patients helped test human insulin, which is now widely used as the standard of care for patients with diabetes. We also participated in trials for statins, which have achieved dramatic cholesterol-lowering results. Recent studies include testing of inhaled insulin as well as sensor devices for insulin pumps.

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Why would a patient want to participate in a clinical trial? 

Patients have told us that they welcome the opportunity to help themselves and …more importantly…to potentially help others for generations to come. A new drug may reduce pain or improve quality of life. All clinical trial patients receive a great deal of personal medical attention. There is also reimbursement for travel and participation expenses.

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