Preparing for Your Visit

What to Expect at Your First Visit

Information to Keep in Mind

When you schedule an office visit, you may need to answer a few questions over the telephone about your health and personal history.
Before your first clinic appointment, please forward your pertinent medical records and the medical tests you have had and their results. Bring a list of your current medications and your insurance card with you, and any other materials or information requested by your doctor's office.
Check with your insurance company to see if your policy includes care and treatment at BIDMC. We can help if you have questions about the coverage information you receive. We can also work with your insurance company if the company has questions or requires additional information to determine your benefits.
Co-payments are due at the time of your appointment. We accept cash, check and credit cards.
Bring a list of questions you have for your breast specialists, and a notebook so you can jot down information.
We always encourage you to invite a family member or trusted friend to your appointment to help you as you gather information about your health and treatment.

Breast Imaging Patients

If you are coming to our BreastCare Center for routine or diagnostic screening, or a breast biopsy, learn more about these procedures to help answer any questions you may have:

What to Expect: BreastCare Clinic

Evaluation & Follow-Up Care

Many patients with concerning breast conditions come to our BreastCare Center for evaluation by one of our nurse practitioners. Our NPs will do a clinical exam and order any initial or additional testing that may be needed.

Any family history of breast problems or breast cancer will also be discussed with you, and we will offer recommendations for treatment and/or help you schedule appointments as needed with any of our other specialists.

Breast Cancer Patients

At most appointments, you'll first have your blood pressure, temperature and other vital signs taken.
The attending physician will see you, but you may also meet with a nurse, nurse practitioner, and/or a fellow (a doctor who is training in oncology).
Your medical history, family history, and medication list will be reviewed.
You'll have a physical exam.
Treatment options will be introduced and discussed.
Other members of your care team may include a treatment nurse, a social worker, a resource specialist, a nurse case manager, a clinical trials nurse, or a genetic counselor.
In most cases you will NOT start treatment during (or immediately following) your first visit.

Our multidisciplinary breast clinic meets weekly. If your appointment is in our multidisciplinary clinic, you can expect to spend several hours here.

Our specialists will consult with one another after they meet with you. They will also review the pathologist's recommendations, based on the slides and reports you have sent. Finally, they will present you with a written care plan that describes your treatment and follow-up recommendations.

Our clinic and multidisciplinary conference offer you an integrated approach to evaluation and treatment in order to:

Enhance diagnostic accuracy
Provide the most appropriate care, based on the location and extent of your breast cancer
Give you the broadest range of treatment choices
Personalize your care, and address your questions and concerns

Your clinic experience is comprehensive and thorough. It will take some time for our doctors to meet with you and one another before we can generate a detailed plan of care. You may need to wait in our comfortable clinic between appointments and while we prepare your care plan.

We also encourage you to invite family or a support person to your appointment. They can help you gather information about your health and treatment.

Appointments and Referrals

This checklist will help you and your referring doctor prepare for your first diagnostic visit to the BreastCare Center at BIDMC.

If your breast imaging (mammogram, ultrasound, or MRI) and breast biopsy were done within the BIDMC system, then we will gather these images and reports for our team of specialist(s) to review.
If your breast imaging and breast biopsy were done outside the BIDMC system, and you are calling for a second opinion or to transfer your care here, then you will need to gather these materials before your appointment.

Please review these instructions thoroughly and allow time to complete all the steps. Our experts need to review pathology slides, radiology images and medical reports before your appointment to ensure an accurate diagnosis.

What We Need From You

Fax all reports and referrals to 617-667-9711
Ship pathology slides, hard-copy imaging and CDs by FedEx or UPS to:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
BreastCare Center, Shapiro 5
330 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Please contact us at 617-667-2900 for further assistance.

Pathology

Contact: The Pathology department at the facility where you had your breast biopsy and/or surgery.

Ask for: All pathology reports and the original glass pathology slides with tissue from your procedures.

Please ship or hand-carry slides from (if applicable):

core biopsy
excision (surgery)
estrogen and progesterone receptors
HER2/neu (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)

Imaging

Contact: The Radiology Film Library at the facility where you had your breast imaging done.

Ask for: All breast imaging reports from the past three years (please fax).

Ship or hand-carry actual hard-copy images or CDs of:

breast imaging reports
breast MRIs
mammograms
ultrasounds

Medical Records

Contact: The Medical Records department at the facility where you had your breast biopsy and/or surgery; your primary care physician's office or your referring doctor's office.

Ask for: All relevant health and test reports

Please fax:

Recent health/physical report from your primary care physician
Physician progress notes
Operative/discharge notes from your doctor after biopsy or surgery
Recent blood test reports
Written reports: X-rays, scans, ultrasounds
Radiation therapy reports (inc. site, dosage)
Chemotherapy flow sheets (inc. dates, dosage, blood counts.

Referrals

Contact: Your primary care physician or referring doctor.

Ask for: A faxed referral authorizing at least three visits that is valid for one year.

Appointments in our Multidisciplinary Clinic need a referral for each physician:

Breast surgery
Medical Oncology
Radiation Oncology

We will provide our National Provider Identifier (NPI) when you schedule your appointment.