Is Rillito Internal Medicine taking new patients?

Because Rillito Internal Medicine is a mature practice, we limit the number of new patients we accept so that we can thoroughly care for our established patients. To see if we are taking new patients at this time, please contact the office.

Why is it important to arrive earlier than your scheduled appointment time?

There are a number of time-consuming tasks to accomplish prior to the actual appointment time, including paperwork. The expectation is that at your appointment time, you will be in an exam room ready to be seen, having already filled out all the forms necessary. Therefore, if someone shows up late, we ask them to reschedule, because we will not have enough time to adequately address their needs before we need to see the next patient who arrived in a timely manner. We want all of our patients to receive the time and attention they need and deserve.

I have a lot of problems I want to have addressed during the visit, can I?

We ask our patients to prioritize their medical issues and have reasonable expectations of what may be accomplished during a visit, as individual medical problems can be complicated, it takes time to be thorough, and current documentation requirements for medical records are convoluted. If a patient feels they would like all of their medical issues addressed in a single visit no matter how many issues, a concierge medical practice would be more appropriate for them.

Why does the practice encourage vaccines and exercise so much?

Vaccines and exercise are the easiest and best ways a person can prevent becoming sick and then spending money on hospital bills. Important vaccines includes both the COVID and flu vaccines, both of which have saved many lives, even if the protection does not last as long as anyone would like.

Will Rillito Internal Medicine go concierge?

There are no plans for Rillito Internal Medicine to go concierge, but if the current practice model is not viable, then a concierge practice is the likely next step. We enjoy providing high-quality primary care to as many people as we can and we would rather our patients spend their money on other things, such as hiking shoes to enjoy the wonderful Sonoran Desert.

Why doesn’t Dr. Loewenstein or Monika Lynn NP hire a scribe to document?

Medical documentation in our electronic health records is like cooking a large meal. There are many things that need to happen in a very specific order and the amount of actual typing is usually limited. A scribe who only records a narrative cannot effectively use our electronic health records.