Concierge Care Program
This program allows patients to be seen in their home for initial and follow-up care. Our audiology assistant will come to your home, set up the equipment, and then the audiologist (who is back in our home office) will do the testing (remotely, via telehealth) and discuss results and treatment options with you.
The concierge program is great for patients who do not like to wait in a doctor’s office. This program allows us to come to you on your schedule in your home. This plan can also be helpful for patients with mobility issues. Though the concierge program is a little more expensive than a traditional in-office visit, the time saved and convenience factor is priceless.
The equipment that we use is specifically designed for this type of application. It allows for two-way communication with your doctor, where you can see and talk with them just as if they were sitting across from you. The testing equipment regularly calibrated and measures your hearing with the same accuracy as a test in a sound-proof booth. The system continuously monitors background noise to make sure that it does not affect the testing. There is also a video otoscope that will allow the assistant to show the audiologist a live picture of the inside of your ear
How It Works
The first step in the concierge care plan at Coates Hearing is to call and speak with one of our patient care coordinators (PCC). They can answer any questions that you might have and will get you scheduled for your initial in-home appointment. They will also take payment for this appointment over the phone when you are scheduled. The cost for this initial appointment is $175.
After being scheduled, you will receive instructions on how to prepare for you for this first appointment! Here is a step-by-step description of how our concierge program works:
- A few days before the appointment, we will call you to confirm the appointment date and time. We’ll go over a few details about the appointment, get a little bit of your medical history and let you ask any questions that you might have.
- On the day of the first appointment, one of our audiology assistants will arrive at your house at the appointed time.
- They will greet you and let you know the “game plan” for the appointment. They’ll then set up the laptop computer and testing equipment.
- Once the equipment is set up and you are ready, the audiology assistant will connect the video call with you and the doctor.
- The doctor will talk to you about your history and story to get an idea about the kind of problems you’re experiencing. Though the doctor isn’t there in person, you will be able to have a conversation with them as if they were right there with you!
- The next step is to inspect the ear canal. The audiology assistant will use a video otoscope that will show the audiologist a live view of the inside of your ear canal!
- Testing comes next. You will have constant two-way audio and video communication with the doctor as they test your hearing. They will present tones at different pitches and volume to test your hearing threshold. Tests may include air conduction, bone conduction, speech-in-noise testing or any other tests deemed necessary.
- Once the testing is complete, the doctor will go over your results. Our specially designed equipment allows the provider to show your results on screen as they are explained to you.
- If the testing reveals that you have a hearing loss, the doctor will talk to you about treatment options.
- Hearing aids are the most common form of treatment for hearing loss. If your hearing loss is a type that would be helped by hearing aids, the audiology assistant will go over pricing and payment options with you. They will also go over our pricing for follow-up care.
Concierge Service Plans
We offer several service plans for follow-up care. Theser are of differing time lengths and locations of service (home vs office). The lower-level plan includes the testing and hearing aid fitting at home with follow-ups done at our clinic. The higher-level plan includes all in-home services from initial visit to cleaning appointments. The mid-level plan is a hybrid of these two plans and includes options for free shipping to and from the clinic for cleaning or repairs. The audiology assistant will go over these plan options with you at the initial appointment.
Moving Forward With Hearing Aids
If you decide to move forward with hearing aids, we will set up your hearing aid fitting appointment. The audiology assistant will arrive at this appointment with the new hearing aids pre-programmed, charged up and ready to go! They will connect with the doctor via telehealth and they will talk to you about the use and care of the devices. There will also be testing done on the hearing aid itself to make sure that it’s working properly. The audiology assistant will make sure that you are comfortable with putting on and taking off the devices, cleaning the devices and answer all of your other questions during this appointment.
A follow-up will be scheduled for 2-4 weeks out. Depending on how you are doing with the hearing aids, and depending on your preference, this can be a completely remote appointment via telehealth or the audiology assistant can come back out to your home to assist you with the appointment.
Insurance Plans
Most insurance plans do not pay for hearing aids, and even fewer will pay for them when the services are provided outside the office. We will call your insurance company before your first appointment and let you know if they provide any coverage for these services. The concierge program will be paid for completely by the patient for almost everyone that takes advantage of this service.
Is the Concierge Care Program Right for You?
Is our concierge program right for you? For some of our patients who desire the privacy and convenience of in-home treatment, this program could be the perfect solution. Give us a call and we can answer all of your questions about the process and get you scheduled for your initial in-home appointment!
