What To Expect

At CalSpine MD, Dr. Ball focuses on patient-centered care and pays diligent attention to details specific to each individual patient. He prides himself on taking the extra time with his patients to learn all of the important and relevant information about them.

In his practice, Dr. Ball sees all types of patients in various stages of presurgical and postsurgical recovery phases. Many patients may be treated non-operatively, while others are in the process of preparing for their first surgery. Then there are those patients who have had surgical procedures done elsewhere and come to CalSpine MD for Second Opinions.

What to Bring to Your First Appointment

Registration Process and Check-In. As part of your registration process, please provide our administrative staff with the following

Completed New Patient Packet.
Photo Identification or Driver’s License.
Updated personal information.
Updated insurance card.
Updated list of medications with dosages and how often they are taken per day.
List of primary care doctors, cardiologists, referring doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists, including addresses and phone numbers.

For industrial patient consults (work-related injury consults), please bring

Information about your Primary Treating Physician (PTP), as well as any information about the workers’ compensation carrier, nurse case managers, and/or adjustors.

Information about your referring care-providers, including telephone, fax, and address is needed so that all copies of our visits can be sent to all of your care-providers to keep them informed about your care.

Medical Records. Please bring copies of all pertinent medical records from prior physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc. These are helpful to give Dr. Ball an accurate and complete picture of your medical history.

Please provide copies of imaging studies, including MRI Scans, CT Scans, and X-rays, done within a year of your appointment. They should be brought in on a CD or actual sheets of films. Also, please provide a copy of the official report from the radiologist or doctor who performed the study or test.

If you have had previous spine surgery, please bring a copy of your Operative Report, which provides detail of your surgery.

Having all of the records readily available will help the efficiency of our clinical consultations and prevent delays in seeing all of the day’s patients in a timely manner.

What to Expect During Your Appointment

New Patient Visits. During your appointment, Dr. Hieu Ball will ask you questions about your medical history, the medications you are taking (if any), and will perform a complete physical exam. Digital imaging may be ordered for you if you haven’t had any done in the last year,

Follow-Up Visits. Dr. Ball will conduct all follow-up visits. If you had tests done during your initial visit, Dr. Ball will review those results with you. He’ll also spend time discussing his plan of care and treatment recommendations.

Notice of Unexpected Delays

Schedule Delays. While we strive to maintain a manageable patient schedule that respects your valuable time during our clinical consultation days, there are times we might run behind. Occasionally, some patient encounters require unanticipated additional time to review an MRI properly or thoroughly answer questions leading up to a surgical procedure.