Our Speech and voice Specialist Jan Potter Reed schedules one hour for each appointment, which we find to be adequate in most cases. We ask that you arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your appointment time in order to register and, if needed, complete any insurance forms. We also ask that you make sure that, if required, you have a referral for both your evaluation and for any therapy recommended. The specific CPT codes are 92524, 92520, and 92507.
If English is not your primary language, it is helpful if you bring someone with you to help you converse. The University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System provides interpreters for many languages. However, it is most helpful if you notify us of the need for such services when you make the appointment.
To make the most of your evaluation time, please bring all available and relevant records from any previous voice therapy you may have had. If you are participating in singing lessons or voice/ acting coaching, a brief note from your teacher(s) about current status is also helpful. If you have seen an ear, nose, and throat doctor outside UIC, please bring records from these visits as well. You will need to send your health care providers a Records Release Authorization to have copies of your records sent directly to us. We can fax you a copy of the form, or you can download it here.
For some insurance carriers, we must submit the evaluation for authorization before we are able to start therapy. Please check your coverage in advance so that you will be aware of any delays caused by this requirement.
Please wear comfortable clothing for your evaluation and therapy sessions. To fully evaluate your voice, we will look at your posture, respiration, and assess your body mechanics as you use your voice. For these things, we may ask you to move, sit, lie down, or otherwise demonstrate how you use your voice in a variety of situations. Computerized measurements of various aspects of your voice may be taken for later comparison. These measurements are not invasive.
After the evaluation is completed, you will receive information about how to care for your voice. This information will be personalized for your vocal needs. You will also receive an outline of your therapy plan and be given an opportunity to ask questions.
As for the evaluation, we ask you to dress comfortably and in a way that allows movement. Usually, a course of voice therapy requires between 4 and 8 visits. We structure the timing of these visits to allow you time to incorporate new voice habits into your daily routine.
Voice therapy requires commitment to attend therapy sessions and change some behaviors as they pertain to your voice. You will be given certain exercises to do at home, at work, or socially. Exercises will be designed with your specific needs in mind and in a way that they will interrupt your routine as little as possible. In some cases, you may be asked to bring family members or other individuals important to your voice to therapy appointments.
It is your right to choose not to have your records or any information about your visit shared with anyone, including referring practitioners. Please notify us if you do not want your referring providers contacted by our office. If you want us to work in cooperation with other providers, you will first be asked to sign a release of information.
Our practice protects oral, written and electronic health information throughout the office. We will not sell your health information to anyone. We have many internal policies and procedures designed to control and protect the privacy and security of your health information. We train all of our employees to protect your information through internal policies and procedures, which are evaluated and updated for compliance with applicable law.
Because we do not double-book appointments to allow ample time for your voice evaluation and therapy, we may charge you for missed appointments and those not cancelled with adequate notice.
You are asked to give 48 (business) hours’ notice; you may be charged for any appointment not cancelled within 24 (business) hours. For example, if you have an appointment on Monday at 1 PM, a cancellation on the previous Friday before 1 PM is requested to avoid a potential late cancellation fee.
Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge full consultation fees to you if you fail to keep your appointment without calling and for those cancellations provided with less than 2 hours’ notice. If you fail to keep an appointment or cancel less than 2 hours in advance, we may ask for a credit card deposit if appointments for subsequent visits are made.