Frequently Asked Questions
The questions our office is asked most often, grouped by subject. Anything specific to this practice that is still marked as a placeholder will be confirmed before launch.
About the practice
Are you accepting new patients?
PLACEHOLDER: confirm current availability. This is the most frequently asked question on any medical website and should be reviewed regularly.
Where is the clinic?
Our single clinic is at 19002 Park Row Blvd, Suite 100, Houston, TX 77084. PLACEHOLDER: add a description of parking.
What are your office hours?
We are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Please call the office to ask about the earliest and latest appointment times.
Do you have more than one location?
No. We work from one clinic in Katy. That is deliberate: rheumatology depends on the same clinician noticing how you have changed between visits, which is difficult to maintain across several sites.
Which areas do you serve?
Patients come to us from Katy, Cinco Ranch, Fulshear, Richmond, Rosenberg, Cypress, Sealy and West Houston. Those pages describe the routes and drive times for each, but they are not a boundary; we see people from further afield when the reason is right.
Do you see children?
PLACEHOLDER: confirm the age range seen and where children and adolescents should be referred instead. Paediatric rheumatology is a separate subspecialty.
Do you speak languages other than English?
PLACEHOLDER: confirm which languages are spoken in the practice and how interpretation is arranged. Ask when booking rather than on the day.
Photograph for illustration. It does not show a patient of this practice.
Cannot find your question? Our office is happy to answer it before you book.
Request an AppointmentAppointments
Do I need a referral?
On most preferred provider plans, no. HMO plans and many Medicare Advantage plans do require one. The member services number on the back of your insurance card will confirm which applies.
How do I make an appointment?
Send a request through this website and our office will call you back, or call the office directly during opening hours. The online request is not an instant booking, which is deliberate: the person who calls you back already knows roughly what the problem is.
How long will I wait for an appointment?
PLACEHOLDER: give the typical wait for a routine new-patient appointment and state whether earlier slots are held for urgent presentations.
How long does the first appointment take?
Longer than a routine medical visit, because it involves a full history and an examination of joints across the whole body. PLACEHOLDER: give the appointment length and arrival time.
Can I be seen by video?
Not for a first assessment. Distinguishing a swollen joint from a merely painful one requires hands on the joint, and many rheumatological diagnoses turn on that distinction. PLACEHOLDER: confirm whether telemedicine follow-up is offered.
What should I bring?
Photo identification, your insurance card, a written medication list with doses, the original reports of any tests you have had, and a few lines about when symptoms began. Our what-to-bring page covers this in detail.
What if I need to cancel?
PLACEHOLDER: state the notice period and any no-show policy. New-patient appointments are long, so late cancellations leave slots that are hard to fill.
Can I bring someone with me?
Yes, and it often helps. A second person remembers different things. If you would rather they stepped out during the examination, that is easily arranged.
Insurance and costs
Which plans do you accept?
PLACEHOLDER: list every accepted plan and state whether the practice is in network or out of network for each. Being listed under a carrier is not the same as being in network for a particular product.
Do you accept Medicare?
PLACEHOLDER: confirm Medicare participation, and separately confirm the position on Medicare Advantage plans, which are contracted individually.
What will the visit cost me?
That depends on your copay, how much of your annual deductible remains and your coinsurance. Our office verifies benefits before the appointment wherever possible so the figure is known in advance.
Why did I receive a separate bill from a laboratory?
Blood tests are usually billed by the laboratory rather than by the practice. It is worth checking that your plan's preferred laboratory is being used, because the practice being in network does not mean the laboratory is.
What is prior authorization?
Your insurer's approval for a specific medication or scan before it can be provided. Our office submits the clinical justification. Delays usually come from insurer review times or from step therapy rules requiring cheaper treatments first.
Can I use a manufacturer copay card?
Only with commercial insurance. Federal law prohibits their use with Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and TRICARE. Patients with government insurance may instead qualify for charitable foundation grants.
What if I have no insurance?
Tell us, because it changes what we prescribe. Several of the most effective rheumatology medicines are inexpensive generics. PLACEHOLDER: give the self-pay charges and whether a payment plan is available.
Cannot find your question? Our office is happy to answer it before you book.
Speak to Our OfficeSymptoms and diagnosis
How do I know if I need a rheumatologist?
Joint pain with swelling lasting beyond six weeks without an injury, morning stiffness over 30 minutes, joint pain alongside rash, fever, dryness or fatigue, or an abnormal autoimmune blood test are all reasonable grounds. Our when-to-see-a-rheumatologist page goes through this properly.
My blood tests were normal. Does that rule things out?
No. About one in five people with rheumatoid arthritis have negative antibodies, inflammatory markers are frequently normal in early disease, psoriatic arthritis has no confirmatory blood test, and axial spondyloarthritis is diagnosed on MRI.
I have a positive ANA. Do I have lupus?
Probably not. Up to 15 percent of healthy adults have a positive ANA and the proportion rises with age. It becomes meaningful alongside symptoms such as joint swelling, rash, mouth ulcers or abnormal blood counts.
Will I get a diagnosis at the first visit?
Sometimes, but often not, and that is a normal outcome. Some rheumatic diseases declare themselves only over months. You should leave understanding what is being considered and what will settle it.
Is morning stiffness always a problem?
Duration is what matters. A few minutes is common and usually mechanical. More than 30 minutes, and particularly more than an hour, points towards inflammation.
What is the difference between a rheumatologist and an orthopaedic surgeon?
Rheumatologists diagnose and medically manage inflammatory and autoimmune joint disease and do not operate. Orthopaedic surgeons treat mechanical and structural problems and injuries. One joint after an injury is orthopaedic; several joints without injury, stiff in the morning, is rheumatological.
Is arthritis hereditary?
Some risk is inherited, but heredity is rarely the whole story. Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and axial spondyloarthritis cluster in families, which is why family history is asked about in detail. Having a relative with one of these raises risk without making the disease inevitable.
Treatment
Will I need steroids?
Possibly, and often only in the short term. Steroids work quickly and are useful for bringing a flare under control while a slower-acting disease-modifying treatment takes effect. The aim is generally to use the lowest dose for the shortest time.
How long do rheumatology medicines take to work?
Most disease-modifying treatments take six to twelve weeks to reach full effect. That gap is difficult but expected, and stopping a medicine at three weeks because nothing has happened is one of the more common avoidable setbacks.
Do I need blood tests while on treatment?
Yes, usually monthly at first and then less often. Most rheumatology drugs affect the liver, kidneys or blood counts in a small proportion of people, and monitoring catches that before it causes harm.
Are biologics dangerous?
They carry a genuine but manageable increase in infection risk, which is why screening for tuberculosis and hepatitis happens before starting and why vaccination is reviewed. For most people with active disease that has not responded to first-line treatment, the risk of untreated inflammation is greater.
Can I stop treatment once I feel better?
Feeling better usually means the treatment is working rather than that the disease has gone. Stopping without discussion is a common cause of relapse, and some diseases relapse harder than they first presented. Dose reduction is often possible, but it is planned rather than improvised.
Can diet or supplements treat my arthritis?
Diet helps at the margins and matters most in gout, where alcohol and purine-rich foods contribute. For inflammatory arthritis, no diet substitutes for treatment. Tell us what supplements you take, because some interact with rheumatology medicines.
Will I be able to keep working?
Most people with well-controlled inflammatory disease do. That outcome depends heavily on how early treatment starts and how well the disease is controlled, which is the practical argument for being assessed sooner rather than later.
PLACEHOLDER: every answer marked below must be completed by the practice before launch, and the clinical answers require physician review. This page is where patients look first, so an out-of-date answer here does more damage than anywhere else on the site.
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Request an appointment at our Katy clinic
New patients are welcome and referrals are accepted but not required for most plans.