Ready Patient One

One of my all time favorite books is Ready Player One. I’m not sure if it’s because I grew up in the 80’s and spent my youth playing video games. First Pong, then Zork, Super Mario Brothers and GoldenEye and endless arcade games. Plus all the amazing classic movies, like WarGames, Ghostbusters, Real Genius, Better Off Dead, or Revenge of the Nerds and of course, anything by Monty Python.

Sometimes you just connect with a story and get completely immersed. That was me with Ready Player One.

In case you didn’t read it or missed the movie (don’t worry, no spoilers), the book was written by Ernest Cline and later made into a movie by Steven Spielberg (even so, it was not as good as the book). It’s set in the future when the world had become a dark and hopeless place. Life is so bad that the entire world population can only find refuge in a alternative virtual universe created by James Halliday, an eccentric billionaire video game programmer. Little did everyone know, but Halliday coded a a digital Easter egg hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest when he died that gripped the entire world. The one who could find it would win Halliday’s immense fortune.

“These three words were always the last thing an OASIS user saw before leaving the real world and entering the virtual one: READY PLAYER ONE” ― Ernest Cline, Ready Player One

Your Healthcare is Not a Game

I love a good game, video or otherwise. I enjoy competing and the challenge and the victory. Some things though, are just not compatible with sport; surgery, handling toxic waste, pretty much anything that goes down at the proctology office.

In the virtual world of video games, if things go South you can just start over, playing each level again and again until you win. Not so with your health. One wrong turn and you might not ever recover.

Our health and well being is so vitally important, but unfortunately we too often take it for granted and we live however we want. Then years later we wonder why we’re overweight, sick and miserable. We settle for easy and quick, always looking for instant gratification, the next big rush. We can worry about the consequences later, right?

Well, the bad news is that later happens really fast!

“I felt like a kid standing in the world’s greatest video arcade without any quarters, unable to do anything but walk around and watch the other kids play.” ― Ernest Cline, Ready Player One

Go Against The Flow

I’m trying hard not to offer up any spoilers, but at one point in Ready Player One, Wade makes a decision to do something completely counterintuitive and that decision changes everything. He goes the opposite direction from everyone else.

If you want to be healthy these days, you have to go against the flow. You have to be counter cultural. When everyone else eats junk food, you have to go out of your way to eat healthy, even if it’s inconvenient and seems unreasonable. When everyone else is staying up late and partying, you have to stand up, walk away and get a good night sleep. When the rest of the world is looking to medicate their problems away, you find natural, healthy alternatives. Drinking, smoking and persistent lethargy; most people let themselves go. You can’t, at least if you truly want to get healthy. You are going to have to be a live a little insane, at least by comparison.

“I didn’t think anyone would anticipate this move, because it was so clearly insane.”
― Ernest Cline, Ready Player One

Finding the Healthcare Easter Egg

The more I think about it, finding a great healthcare provider these days can be every bit as challenging as finding Halladay’s Easter egg, but it shouldn’t be. In Ready Player One, people dedicated their whole lives to finding the Easter egg and after years most had given up. It was a challenge with an unbelievable reward for whomever beat the game, but it seemed impossible.

Finding an excellent healthcare provider is incredibly important for your well being, but tough to do. Maybe not as hard as finding a digital Easter egg hidden in a vast virtual universe, but still, pretty hard! High cost, lack of insurance, insufficient insurance, high co-pays, confusing billing, confusing terminology, lack of available of services, not accepting new patients, inconvenience or doctors with unfortunate bed-side manners. There are many barriers to securing a truly great healthcare provider.

But there is hope!

“That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.” ― Ernest Cline, Ready Player One

Are you ready to put your healthcare first? Are you ready for a physician that makes you Patient One? There are providers out there that make your health and well being the top priority. At Innova Primary Care, we does just that.

Non-Covered Services (08/07/2023)	Innova Fee
Each page of medical paperwork, letters or forms for completion within 5 business days.	$10.00
Expedited processing for medical paperwork, letters or forms for completion within 2 business days.	$25.00
Each Clinical response to a patient portal inquiry outside of an appointment or Medicare e-visit.	$15.00
Results already provided on the portal, printed and mailed outside an appointment	$15.00

Non-Service Fees (8/8/2023)	Innova Fee
Patient late cancellation fee (less than 24 hours notice/10 minutes late for appointment)	$25.00
No-show fee for missing a routine appointment	$50.00
No-Show of an Annual Wellness Visit	$100.00

*Some of the most commonly provided services at Innova	Innova Fee	CPT Code
*Established Patient Office Visit Level 3	$111.00	99213
*Established Patient Office Visit Level 4	$157.00	99214
*Injection in deep muscle or subcutis	$29.00	96372
*Medical Service provided on holiday eve, holiday or weekend	$28.00	99051
*Chronic Care Management (Medicare program)	$61.00	99490
*Established Patient Preventive Care for Age 18 - 39 years old	$123.00	99395
*Established Patient Preventive Care for Age 40-64 years old	$134.00	99396
*In office Flu Swab	$17.00	87804
*Immunization injection administered	$29.00	90471
*Steroid (Injectable) Medication	$8.00	J0702
Treatment of used to clear a skin lesion of pus to start the healing process	$177.00	10060
Treatment of used to clear a skin lesion of pus to start the healing process	$306.00	10061
Procedure where a small round piece of tissue is sent to the lab for biopsy	$180.00	11104
Skin tag removal of 1 lesion	$128.00	11200
Skin tag removal of more than 1 lesion	$27.00	11201
Shave removal of skin lesion on midsection less than 0.5 cm	$145.00	11300
Shave removal of skin lesion on midsection 0.6 cm to 1.0 cm	$174.00	11301
Shave removal of skin lesion on midsection 1.0 to 1.2 cm	$197.00	11302
Shaving of epidermal or dermal lesion, single lesion, scalp, neck, hands, feet, genitalia	$153.00	11305
Shave removal of a single lesion, scalp, neck, hands, feet, genitalia	$175.00	11306
Shave removal of a single lesion, face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips less than 0.5 cm	$166.00	11310
Shave removal of a single lesion, face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips 0.6 cm to 1 cm	$196.00	11311
Shave removal of a single lesion, face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips 1.0 cm to 2.0 cm	$223.00	11312
Excision of benign (normal) lesion including margins 0.6 cm to 1 cm	$223.00	11401
Nailbed removal	$164.00	11730
Removal of Implanted Device	$191.00	11982
Wound or cut greater or equal to 2 cm	$134.00	12001
Simple repair of superficial wounds of scalp, neck, axillae, external genitalia, trunk and/or extremities (including hands and feet)	$162.00	12002
Other Repair (Closure) Procedures on the Integumentary System	$99.00	15851
Removal of first lesion	$96.00	17000
Removal of 2 to 14 skin lesions (1 additional unit for each)	$10.00	17003
Removal of 15 or more skin lesions	$238.00	17004
Removal of skin lesions	$485.00	17106
Removal of 1 to 14 skin lesions	$160.00	17110
Destruction (laser surgery, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, chemosurgery, surgical curettement), of benign lesions other than skin tags	$187.00	17111
Chemical Cauterization of Skin	$127.00	17250
Cryo (freezing) treatment of skin	$76.00	17340
Small joint or bursa injection	$73.00	20600
Intermediate joint or bursa injection	$79.00	20605
Marge joint or bursa injection	$93.00	20610
Ablation, soft tissue of inferior turbinates, unilateral or bilateral, any method	$398.00	30802
Incision Procedures on the Vulva, Perineum and Introitus	$215.00	56405
Nerve Block Injection	$109.00	64405
Removal of unspecified object from eye	$70.00	65205
Removal of unspecified object from ear	$114.00	69200
Removal of impacted ear wax	$21.00	69209
Ear Cleaning	$69.00	69210
Imaging Exam	$43.00	76000
Ultrasound of abdomen complete including kidneys	$114.00	76770
Ultrasound of tendon or a muscle	$59.00	76882
Urine Drug Screening	$12.00	80305
In office urinalysis	$3.00	81002
In office urine pregnancy test	$3.00	81025
In office blood sugar test	$3.00	82962
Skin injection to test for tuberculosis	$6.00	86580
In office blood test for Mono	$12.00	87449
COVID-19 infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay (quick test)	$36.00	87426
COVID-19/Flu-A/Flu-B infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay (quick test)	$39.00	87428
In office flu swab	$12.00	87804
In office Strep Swab	$12.00	87880
Pediatric injection administered (given)	$29.00	90460
Additional pediatric injection administered	$20.00	90461
Additional Immunization injections administered	$22.00	90472
Menactra Vaccine	$157.00	90619
Hepatitis A vaccine injection for pediatric and adolescent	$37.00	90633
Hepatitis A and B Vaccine Adult	$122.00	90636
HIB Vaccine	$13.00	90648
Gardasil or HPV vaccine for ages 9 to 26	$161.00	90649
Gardasil Vaccine	$288.00	90651
Flu Shot for patients 3 years old and older	$20.00	90656
Flu shot for pediatric patient age 6 months to 35 months old	$7.00	90657
High Dose Flu Vaccine for patients over 65 years old	$74.00	90662
Pneumonia Vaccine in vial	$227.00	90670
Pneumonia vaccine injection, 20 valent	$284.00	90677
Rotavirus vaccine	$96.00	90680
Fluzone Vaccine	$23.00	90686
Dtap vaccine for ages 6 and younger	$29.00	90700
MMR Vaccine Injection	$90.00	90707
IPV Vaccine Injection	$41.00	90713
Tetanus and Whooping Cough Vaccine Injection	$39.00	90715
Chickenpox Vaccine Injection	$175.00	90716
Pediarix Vaccine Injection	$91.00	90723
Pneumonia Vaccine Injection	$118.00	90732
Menactra Vaccine Injection	$142.00	90734
Hepatitis B Pediatric Dose or Adult Dose	$28.00	90744
Hepatitis B Vaccine for Adult Injection	$67.00	90746
Shingles Vaccine Injection	$184.00	90750
Diabetic retinal screening	$44.00	92250
Complete EKG	$17.00	93000
EKG recorded and reviewed	$229.00	93268
Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring	$53.00	93784
Cerebrovascular Arterial Ultrasound	$319.00	93890
Limited bilateral noninvasive physiologic studies of upper or lower extremity arteries	$98.00	93922
Complete bilateral noninvasive physiologic studies of extremity arteries, 3 or more levels	$152.00	93923
Noninvasive physiologic studies of lower extremity arteries	$188.00	93924
Evaluation of arterial inflow and venous outflow of abdomen and/or pelvic organs	$319.00	93975
Lower extremity ultrasound with doppler	$140.00	93979
In office test used to assess how well your lungs work to diagnosis asthma and COPD	$31.00	94010
Nebulizer treatment in office	$13.00	94640
Pulse Oxygen	$4.00	94760
Immunotherapy Injection	$13.00	95117
Immunotherapy Observation	$162.00	95180
Blood Glucose Monitoring	$162.00	95250
Blood Glucose Monitoring	$68.00	95249
Glucose monitor for continuous	$42.00	95251
Brief emotional or behavioral assessment	$8.00	96127
IV initial	$48.00	96360
IV add on	$19.00	96361
Injection	$28.00	96373
After hours call/consult after 10PM	$28.00	99050
Screening Vision Test	$4.00	99173
New Patient Office Visit Level 2	$97.00	99202
New Patient Office Visit Level 3	$151.00	99203
New Patient Office Visit Level 4	$225.00	99204
New patient office visit level 5	$297.00	99205
Established Patient Office Visit Level 1	$34.00	99211
Established Patient Office Visit Level 2	$69.00	99212
Established Patient Office Visit Level 5	$220.00	99215
New Patient Preventive Care for Age 1-4 years old	$158.00	99382
New Patient Preventive Care for Age 5-11 years old	$164.00	99383
New Patient Preventive Care for Age 12-17 years old	$186.00	99384
New Patient Preventive Care for Age 18 -39 years old	$180.00	99385
New Patient Preventive Care for Age 40 - 64 years old	$165.00	99386
Established Patient Preventive Care for less than 1 year old	$111.00	99391
Established Patient Preventive Care for Age 1-4 years old	$119.00	99392
Established Patient Preventive Care for Age 5-11 years old	$119.00	99393
Established Patient Preventive Care for Age 12-17 years old	$130.00	99394
Established Patient Preventive Care for Age 65 and over	$151.00	99397
Smoking and tobacco use counseling to the patient for 3-10 minutes	$21.00	99406
E-visit 5-10 minutes via portal	$15.00	99421
E-visit 11-20 minutes via portal	$30.00	99422
E-visit 21+ minutes via portal	$50.00	99423
CCM (Chronic Care Management) staff time additional 20 minutes	$64.00	99439
Provider Phone Evaluation	$98.00	99443
Providing care planning to individuals with cognitive impairment	$355.00	99483
First 60 minutes of non-face-to-face care by clinical staff for complex chonic care	$127.00	99487
Additional 30 minutes of non-face-to-face care by clinical staff for complex chronic care	$67.00	99489
Chronic Care (Medicare Program)	$65.00	99490
Chronic Care Management (Medicare program) Provider Call	$91.00	99491
Transition of Care Management Communication within 14 days of discharge	$274.00	99495
Transition of Care Management Communication within 7 days of discharge	$371.00	99496
Advanced Care Plan	$119.00	99497
Administration of Flu Vaccine	$29.00	G0008
Administration of Pneumonia Vaccine	$29.00	G0009
Administration of Hepatitis B Vaccine	$29.00	G0010
Diabetes self-management training services, group session (2 or more), per 30 minutes	$25.00	G0109
Physician service required to document the need for a power mobility device	$15.00	G0372
Initial Preventive Examination; face-to-face visit, new CMS patient during first 12mths	$231.00	G0402
EKG at the Welcome to Medicare Preventive Visit	$17.00	G0403
Annual Wellness Visit Initial Visit	$231.00	G0438
Annual Wellness Visit Visit	$180.00	G0439
Screening for alcohol misuse and brief behavioral counseling	$28.00	G0442
Screening for alcohol misuse and brief behavioral counseling	$42.00	G0443
Annual depression screening	$28.00	G0444
Personally performing CCM (Chronic Care Management) care planning	$64.00	G0506
Remote image submit by pt	$19.00	G2010
Brief check in by md/qhp	$23.00	G2012
Visit occuring in Primary Care setting	$17.00	G2211
Antibiotic medication injection	$1.00	J0696
Steroid (injectable) medication	$7.00	J0702
Osteoporosis treatment injection	$25.00	J0897
Steroid, anti-inflammatory (injectable) medication	$11.00	J1040
Testosterone medication injection	$1.00	J1071
Betamix Medication for injection	$1.00	J1100
Toradol medication injection- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug to treat pain	$1.00	J1885
Anti-nausea medication injection	$4.00	J2550
Vitamin B-12 Injection	$2.00	J3420
Saline solution for wound care cleaning	$3.00	J7030
CCM (Chronic Care Management) staff time additional 20 minutes	$47.00	99439
Diabetic Retinal Screening	$53.00	92250
Monoclonal Antibody Covid-19 Infusion	$403.00	M0243

Ready Patient One – Your Healthcare Shouldn’t Be That Hard