Office Visit Overview
We want to thank you for looking into a visit at The Steadman Clinic for your foot or ankle issues. Or doctors, Dr. Thomas Haytmanek and Dr. Jonathon Backus see and treat patients in both our Vail and Frisco offices.
For patients to schedule we utilize our centralized schedulers of the clinic that can be reached at 970-476-1100. We also now offer a record review for patients who may not want to schedule right away but would like the opinion of one of our providers. For more information on our second opinion service, please click here.
Traveling to Vail
Please remember that Vail, CO is high up within the Rocky Mountains. Weather can change quickly. We typically recommend patients allow extra time from travel. We recommend that you attempt to make your scheduled appointment time if possible, but want to make sure all of our patients feel comfortable traveling. If visits need to be rescheduled this can often push new patient exams back a few weeks. The reason is that post-op and acute patients will take priority and there are typically multiple patients being rescheduled to already full days.
For up-to-date road conditions, please visit: CO Trip.
For directions to our clinic locations, please click the links below.
What to bring to your first appointment
Please bring your insurance card or other health coverage information (see insurance we accept).Some insurance carriers require a referral or primary care physician authorization before orthopedic treatment is given. Please check with your carrier to be certain if these are necessary.
Please bring any office note and images on a disk. (the best quality images arrive on a disk and reduce the risk we would need to obtain new images. If these images are older than 3 months we like to compare but will often obtain newer images)
When you are scheduled there are several things our clinic will request prior to your appointment that many other clinics may not always ask. Typical forms such as history, registration and insurance are standard across most practices. One addition to that started back when the clinic was found by Dr. Steadman is the collection of research data on all patients seen.
Due to this paperwork and the electronic medical record filled out via kiosk we ask that patients arrive 30-45 minutes prior to their first appointment to make sure things run smoothly.
About Your Visit
At your office visit once your paperwork is completed the team will bring you back from the waiting area. Our team consists of MD Fellows, Nurse Practioners, Athletic Trainers and Athletic Training Residents. At this point in time they will discuss your history and perform a physical examination. If you have any images (X-ray, MRI or CT scan) we will attempt to load these into our system. If you do not have recent x-rays we will obtain those at your office visit. X-rays are used to evaluate for fracture, alignment/spacing of the joints, and many other pathologies.
From start to finish office visits can take several hours so we ask patients to be prepared. This time is spent speaking to staff, obtaining images and meeting with the physician. We try and keep things running as smoothly as possible but can sometimes get behind. It is often good to bring something to occupy small amounts of time.
After your images are in our system the team will review your information with our providers. At this point in time they look over any notes you have brought and the information the team has gathered. Then they will come in to perform their own examination and review your images. At this point in time they will provide an explanation of your condition and the recommended treatment.
Additional Information
If any durable medical equipment is needed we have staff to assist with the devices and fitting at the time of your appointment. (Some items are not covered by insurance and will require cash payment)
If further imaging is needed or surgery can be scheduled we attempt to have that arranged as quickly as possible. Due to insurance and volume these are not always able to be scheduled the same day. Imaging can often take 2-3 days for approval and surgery even longer.
As much as we understand the desire to come, be seen, and have everything done at the same time; there are too many variables that can impact our ability on time (insurance approval, facility openings, equipment availability). Due to this we typically need time between the office visit and the date of surgery which can require 2 trips for patients coming from out of town. This also allows time for pre-operative clearance to be performed if required in your case.
