What can I expect from the initial nutrition consult?
Much of our first session will be spent getting to know your health status, eating habits and nutrition concerns for you and/or your child. We’ll discuss what you hope to achieve through nutrition counseling and together come up with personalized goals, as well as discuss our recommendations for getting you to them. Depending on what you need and how much time we have, we may provide meal planning strategies, food suggestions to meet your nutrition goals, nutrition education, supplement and/or lab testing recommendations. Lastly, we’ll make a plan for follow-up appointments. Sustainable changes are a marathon and not a sprint and we find the most success with our clients when we build on goals over time. Every nutrition situation and concern is unique and if you have particular questions regarding yours, schedule a free discovery call with us by using our online scheduler.
How do I prepare for my initial nutrition consult?
Once you have scheduled your initial nutrition consult (either by calling or using our online scheduler) you’ll receive an email from NW Pediatric and Family Nutrition that invites you to the portal in Simple Practice, electronic medical record system. We do need you to sign all the consent forms, complete the intake form and upload an insurance card ideally 72 hours before your first appointment in order to provide us enough time to review.
Other helpful (but not required) information to bring with you includes the report from your most recent doctor’s visit, pediatric growth charts, any recent lab results, 3-day food log, and bottles of nutrition supplements regularly taken. You can ask your child’s pediatrician to fax us medical records and growth charts to 844-657-6439.
Will health insurance cover nutrition counseling?
Many health insurance plans cover nutrition counseling, either as treatment of a health problem or as part of your preventative health benefits, and often at no cost to you. It is your responsibility to verify what your plan does or does not cover, and what your portion of the cost will be. We do offer a script to use when calling to check benefits to make sure you’re asking the right questions. If your insurance plan doesn’t have a nutrition benefit, we do offer a self-pay rate that needs to be paid the day of service. Feel free to ask about packages to receive a larger discount. View our insurance and rates page for more information on the insurance companies we’re contracted with.
I’m not in Portland or Vancouver… can I still work with you?
Yes! We offer virtual appointments (also called telehealth or telemedicine) where we meet online, similar to Skype but in a secure HIPAA approved virtual conference room. Be sure to check your benefits if you are interested in telehealth services. We are licensed to provide telehealth services in OR, WA, CA, AZ, CO, MI, MO, NJ, TX & VA. We do have a Portland office we see clients 1-2 days/a week, so in-person options are available.