Welcome to New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology. In this section,
you’ll find information to help you familiarize yourself with our
practice and what to expect during your visits. We hope this section
will help make your experience at NHOH as comfortable as possible.
Registration and Check-In
Each time you visit, you will need to check-in at the main
reception desk. Our registration staff will notify the appropriate
department of your arrival, ask you to sign a general consent to
bill for services and collect any co-payments as appropriate.
For your first visit, please make sure to have your insurance card
with you. After your initial visit, we will ask to see your
insurance card once a year to keep our medical records up-to-date or
anytime there is a change in your insurance coverage, we will need
to update your records.
What to bring: Bring your Insurance card,
Photo Identification and Medication list.
When to arrive: Arrive early. This does not ensure that you will be seen earlier,
but because of the lengthy nature of visits, punctuality will help
keep your appointment on schedule.
Late Policy If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, whether or not you will be
seen will depend on the urgency of your visit and the availability
of your physician.
Same Day/Unscheduled Appointments If you are not feeling well and would like to be seen, we do we do
allow some time in our schedule for add-ons (unscheduled
appointments added that day). Depending on the availability of the
physicians, you can be put in our schedule as an add-on.
Laboratory
Lab
visits are usually scheduled prior to your provider appointment or
any treatment. Providers need to evaluate your lab results to
discuss and make healthcare decisions with you at your visit. Our
offices in Hooksett and Concord are equipped with on-site
laboratories staffed by accredited medical technologists. We have
partnered with Elliot Hospital at our Hooksett office and Concord
Hospital at our Concord office to provide all laboratory services
and testing. This includes blood draws, sample analysis, result
reporting and billing services.
If you are scheduled for blood work, you will be asked to sign an
informed consent by the laboratory staff prior to your blood draw.
If you are a Medicare beneficiary, you will be required to complete
an additional health questionnaire in order to help identify
Medicare secondary payer situations.
At the beginning of your visit, a medical assistant
will greet you, take your vital signs, obtain height and weight, as
needed and take you to an exam room where you will be seen by a
physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. They will then
asses your current medical status, perform a physical examination,
review your treatment plan progress, and discuss the results of any
lab work or test results such as CT or PET scans.
If you have an emergency after hours, call our office
number. Our answering service will take a message and contact a
NHOH physician, who will return your call as soon as possible.
When you call after office hours, please have the following
information ready:
Your name
Your doctor's name
Telephone number where you
can be reached
Your diagnosis
Your chemotherapy
medication(s)
When you last had
chemotherapy
Your blood count card
What your concern or problem
is
Name and phone number of your
pharmacy
If your physician is not available, one of the other NHOH
physicians will return your call. If you do not get a call back
within 30 minutes, please call again.
Treatment Sessions
We want to ease any apprehension you may have about chemotherapy.
Our certified oncology nurses oversee the administration of
chemotherapy to patients in our treatment area. Our nursing staff
uses a team approach which means two nurses are assigned to each
patient to maximize patient safety.
Who to bring:
Please remember to refrain from bringing foods with strong odors.
Some of our patients experience nausea that can be irritated
by smelly food.
We ask that you refrain from cell phone use in the treatment area as
it can be an irritation or distraction to others around you. If your
cell phone needs to be on, please set it to vibrate.
Due to the extended nature of visits, we strongly recommend patients
bring a snack, something to read and/or a guest to make their visit
as comfortable as possible. We have limited snacks and drinks, as
well as some portable DVD players, but their availability is limited
so we advise you to bring your own food and entertainment.
Patients are always welcome to bring guests to their
appointments and treatments, but if you are bringing more than
one guest or small children, we ask that you let our staff know
in advance so that we may provide the necessary accommodations.
We provide identification arm bands for all our patients with
your name and your date of birth. We do this to ensure that all
our patients receive the correct treatment while in our office.
When coming in for treatment, we strongly urge our patients
to bring someone as a driving escort, especially for a first
treatment, or when a patient is weak or sedated. It is helpful
to bring a companion for teaching information. Teachings can be
a lot to take in for just a patient, and someone to listen or
take notes can help you get the most out of your teaching
session.
The treatment area tends to be chilly, so we advise you to
dress in layers. Pillows and blankets limited availability, we
encourage you to bring your own for your comfort during your
stay. Also, we advise you to wear a
button-down shirt if you are receiving VAD treatment.
Pharmacy
Our Concord and Hooksett offices have on-site pharmacies staffed by
certified pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Our pharmacists have
specialized training in preparation of chemotherapy and supportive
care drugs required for various treatment plans. Our pharmacists
work directly with the physicians and nursing staff to provide
consultation regarding drug interventions and any possible reactions
to chemotherapy to make treatment as effective as possible for our
patients.
Scheduling and Check-Out
Once
your visit is completed, your last stop will be at check-out. Our
scheduling staff will schedule your next appointment at NHOH as well
as any necessary tests or procedures with other providers.
