Care FAQ
What ages do you treat?
Dr. Litov is presently seeing adults only. Ages 18 to 120.
She will make a few exceptions for adolescents aged 15 to 18, but on a case by case basis. Please schedule free consult to have a conversation with her about this and options.
How many visits are usually needed to get better?
The number of visits vary depending upon how complex or chronic the health issue is.
A minimum of two visits to get started. Additional visits are usually needed with serious health and chronic health conditions to achieve optimal functioning and health. For new patients, my experience has taught me that optimal outcome for a persons medical care is to have an initial appointment, thorough evaluation and treatment with at least one follow-up to ensure the initial plan is working and to adjust as needed.
More detail can be discussed at a free phone consult.
Should I keep my primary care provider and other medical providers?
Yes! Although Dr. Litov has practiced as a primary care physician, she now serves as an medical specialist, to be utilized in conjunction with other providers, in order to optimize your health.
It is important that you have a Primary Care Provider on your health care team. You should be seen by them annually, for physical exams, and to stay established for acute and urgent care needs. Please maintain care with your other specialists as well. We believe a team approach to care is vital for an individual’s optimal health and wellbeing.
Do you provide Primary Care? Do you provide acute care?
Dr. Litov and does not provide primary care at this time. She is providing specialty medical care. Acute and/or urgent care are NOT available through our clinic. Those with acute or urgent health concerns should see their primary care provider or go to an urgent care facility or an emergency room, if needed.
What do I do if I have an urgent medical issue? Is Dr. Litov available outside of office ours?
If you have an emergency, please call 911. Please contact your primary care provider and/or urgent care for non-emergency urgent or acute care needs. Dr. Litov is not on-call after hours. She recommends going to urgent care or the ER if the issue cannot wait until office hours for a response.
Is there a number I can call for mental health emergency?
Yes. If you are feeling suicidal or in need of someone to talk with, there you can call
https://www.crisistextline.org/
In addition, if you are feeling suicidal, you can go to an emergency room and tell them so and ask for help.
Do you treat other conditions not listed on the website?
Yes! There are many conditions Dr. Litov has experience and success with, that are not listed. Please reach out via the Contact Page and ask if she has experience and works with your specific health issue, or you can schedule a 15 minute complementary phone consult and discuss at that time.
What conditions do you NOT treat?
Dr. Litov does NOT treat cancer, asthma, and Type 1 diabetes. With those conditions, she/we strongly recommend that people with those conditions follow up with their respective specialists (Oncologist, Pulmonologist, Endocrinologist) and Primary Care Providers. She also does not treat pregnant women. She recommends prenatal care through a woman’s OB/GYN and a midwife team. Dr. Litov works with women and men to optimize their health and fertility prior to conceiving, but she discontinues her medical care for the woman as soon as she becomes pregnant. Dr. Litov also does not work with women who are nursing because many herbs, supplements and medications transmit through breast milk to the baby and for nursing mom’s, she is happy to refer to providers who specialize in working with nursing mom’s and infants. There are some other conditions that she does not treat as well. The best thing is to ask the office directly via the Contact page.
Can you prescribe Conventional Drugs, Medicines and Treatments?
Yes, Washington and California only.
Most patients I treat are interested in using a minimal amount of pharmaceutical drugs as possible, while maintaining their health and well-being, so pharmaceuticals is only a part of what treatments I can offer. I believe pharmaceuticals have an important place in health care and will utilize pharmaceuticals when indicated. But since I have so many more things in my expertise and toolbox to treat disease, I have much more ability to treat without pharmaceuticals, or using a lower dosage of pharmaceuticals.
Please note, some people need to be on pharmaceutical medications for life, for instance, thyroid medication for those that have a thyroid removed, or insulin for Type 1 diabetics, anti-psychotics for schizophrenics, etc. There are numerous other examples. I will not remove or recommend removing life-saving medications such as these. If there are side effects that are troublesome, we can work together to find remedies for the side effects so you can remain on these life-saving drugs.
Sometimes, a pharmaceutical is indicated, but it is out of the my (Dr. Litov) comfort level.. In those circumstances, I will refer to the appropriate specialist. For instance, I believe all new prescriptions for antipsychotics or bipolar, etc would be best prescribed by a psychiatrist, although I can provide refills under the approval of patients psychiatrist.
Many people come to my office to wean off drugs. I will evaluate the situation with the patient and determine what is appropriate and if so, will create a plan.
Please note, I, Dr. Litov, do NOT prescribe controlled substances (i.e. oxycontin, benzodiazepines, Adderall, etc.) but will refer when indicated and appropriate.
Do I need to go off of medications or discontinue other treatments?
No!
Each person is evaluated for their present state of health and healthcare, including medications. Many people come to Dr. Litov to wean themselves off of drugs or because they had a bad reaction to medication. She evaluates each patient and determines, with the patient, what plan of action is appropriate. Sometimes that means continuing the same medication or transferring to another. Sometimes it means decreasing or discontinuing one or more of their present medications. As a persons health improves, sometimes, they are able to begin decreasing or eliminating some of their pharmaceutical medications.
Why are you predominantly using telehealth?
Please see my Telehealth page for more information.
Also, I would like to state that I have some patients who need to have appointments by phone rather than video. Honestly, some people don’t have access to video-telehealth (whether because of geography, internet strength or technology), and phone is a better option. This is why I offer phone consults. Telehealth is important for at least some visits but I will work with where a patient/person is at.
Do you bill insurance? Is there a way to get reimbursed by HSA or Health insurance plan?
I do NOT bill insurance directly, but we can give you a detailed receipt with diagnosis and office visit codes (ICD-10 and CPT codes respectively) for you to be able to submit to your insurance or HSA/FSA plan for reimbursement. Please contact your HSA/FSA manager and/or your insurance plan to determine how might be the best way to get your care covered. There are numerous reasons why I choose to be an ‘out-of-network’ provider. A couple of examples:
- Insurance companies are increasingly guiding care plans and the scope of assistance they will cover. Due to the intensive nature of our work we often fall outside of covered services.
- I am considered an ‘out-of-network provider’ for many insurance companies. Many insurance plans at least partially cover ‘out-of-network’ providers.
Are labs and imaging covered by insurance?
This is between you, your insurance company and Diagnostic Lab/imaging companies. All labs/imaging facilities I use can bill insurance. Most FSA/HSA’s cover CLIA approved labs. Please check the requirements of your HSA. Most also have cash pay options as well. I often encourage patients pay specialty labs up front and then submit for reimbursement. This usually saves money for the patient, especially since most insurance companies are covering fewer and fewer labs these days.
Are there discounted labs if I pay out of pocket?
Yes! For specialty labs, I usually have you pay the lab directly so you can get a heavily discounted rate. For conventional labs, if insurance will not cover, I have contracted to be able to get heavily discounted labs from LabCorp. You can also go through places like Ulta Labs or Direct Labs and order many of your own labs at a moderately discounted rate.