Your Visit

Please note that some of this time is devoted to reviewing your chart, writing orders and documenting your visit in the medical record.

• New patient appointments: 45 minutes
• Annual exams: 30 minutes
• Hospital follow ups: 30 minutes
• Preoperative appointments: 15 minutes
• Sick visits and follow up visits with a doctor: 15 minutes
• Sick visits and follow up visits with Christina McGaffin, NP: 20 minutes
• Annual wellness visits with Christina McGaffin, NP: 40 minutes

Yes! We almost always run on time. We are able to stay on time because our patients know that they need to arrive for their appointments 10-15 minutes early. Please understand that emergencies arise when we need to devote more time a patient we are expecting. When we are running behind, we will let you know.

Generally no. We will not use part of another patient’s appointment to accommodate a late patient. If we have an opening in the schedule later in the day, we may be able to accommodate you.

Yes, you will be charged $50 if you do not come to your appointment or if you cancel your appointment with less than 24-hours notice.

No. If you need to be seen the same day, please call in the morning. We can almost always accommodate you.

No. When a surgeon asks that we evaluate a patient prior to a surgery, we need to discuss your current health, determine if you are healthy enough for the surgery, discuss the need for additional testing, and provide you with instructions for medication changes prior to surgery. This takes us the full appointment time and needs to be a designated visit.

Medicare does not pay for annual physical exams. They instead cover a annual wellness visit. THIS IS NOT A PHYSICAL EXAM. It covers: a review of your medical and family history, a review of medical care provided by suspecialists, screening for cognitive impairment and fall risk, height, weight, and blood pressures, advice on preventative care and safety, and discussion of advanced directives. We think that annual wellness visits are very valuable and encourage you to schedule an appointment. This will be a 30 minute appointment one of our advanced practitioners.

No, but you can always see a member of your health care team. Our office is small and we work as a team. We have two doctors and a nurse practitioner. All of our patients are assigned to one of the doctors- this is your primary care physician. Our advanced practitioners are trusted members of our team. Their schedule is specifically designed so that we can accommodate patients who want to be seen on the same day or at short notice. If a patient refuses to be seen by a member of our team, they are potentially compromising their own health and therefore we do not feel guilty they should be a patient at our practice.

An annual physical is an appointment focused on wellness and prevention. If other potentially serious medical issues are discussed this is a seperate service and is billed seperately.

For technical questions about the patient portal, please submit an email to [email protected], call 518-213-6952, or use the on-line form found at I need help with the Patient Portal • Community Care Physicians (wpengine.com). Please allow up to 5 business days to receive a reply to a message or request for support. Any medical questions should be directed to your physician’s office.

We can only disclose information to people designated by the patient on the “permission to share” form.

Patient Forms

• Make daily exercise a habit
• Maintain a normal body mass index (BMI)
• Eat a healthy diet- The Mediterranean Diet has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke
• Quit smoking
• Make sleep a prioirty