Frequently Asked Questions
We’d love to be your partner along your journey towards vibrant health! Please review frequently asked questions listed below and feel free to contact our staff for any other questions via email or phone.
Scheduling & Visits
Prior to your appointment, Dr. Lechner has taken the time to carefully review your in-depth intake form that you completed prior to your first visit. The first appointment with Dr. Lechner builds on the information that was obtained through the Living Matrix to get a thorough understanding of your health history, emotional/social history, starting with your family medical history and mother’s pregnancy with you, and extending all the way to the present times. This helps her determine your personal possible root causes of your symptoms. The is appointment is typically 90 minutes in length.
Absolutely! With the current times, it is solely up to you if you want to come into the office. Dr. Lechner loves to see her patients in person, but understands the convenience and importance of Telehealth. You will be required to be seen in the office once a year. Initial appointments are preferred to be in person.
Tele-health is rapidly gaining popularity. If you are an Illinois resident, you can be seen virtually even as a new patient. Laws and regulations regarding virtual medicine are rapidly changing in this environment. We are working hard to be able to provide health care to patients in states other than Illinois; however, at this time, we are unable to perform any medical care to patients who do not reside in Illinois at this time.
For your convenience, patients have email access with our Shine Functional Health team. Email is best suited for routine matters and simple questions. The team at Shine Functional Health will do our best to address your message within 48 hours.
Time sensitive issues should be taken care of by phone.
You should not send us an email for an emergent or urgent issue.
Should an email question or request is deemed by one of our staff to require significant medical decision making, a nominal fee of $50 may be charged. Practicing the best medicine to every patient is of the utmost importance. With this in mind, Shine Functional Health reserves the right to require that the patient schedule a phone call, telemedicine or in person visit instead of responding via email if the subject of the email has been determined too complicated or unsafe for an email response.
We at Shine Functional Health understand that life takes over and situations occur that may require you to reschedule your appointment.
When you schedule an appointment, we reserve that time for you. Dr. Lechner and her staff spend time preparing for your appointment. We ask you to help us be able to help other patients if you cannot make your appointment, and call us 48 business hours before your appointment.
Follow up appointments that are cancelled or rescheduled less than 48 business hours will be charged a fee of $150. All no shows will be charged a fee based on your appointment scheduled.
New patient functional medicine appointments must be rescheduled 7 business days prior to the appointment, or risk a charge of your full deposit.
If your Intake Questionnaire forms are not complete at least 7 days prior to your appointment, Shine Functional Health reserves the right to require you to reschedule your appointment. Patients who do not complete the intake forms will not be seen.
If you do not show up for your new patient, initial 90 minute appointment or cancel less the 7 business days prior, you will be charged the remainder of the initial appointment fee.
Payment is required at the time of service for all appointments. There will be no exceptions to this. If you anticipate that you are unable to pay at the time of your visit then please reschedule to another time, giving us sufficient notice (as per the office cancellation policy) to allow us to schedule in another patient and to avoid your incurring a fee for a last minute appointment change. We require a credit card to schedule a visit.
An initial deposit of $740 due when booking your first appointment with Dr. Lechner and a signed Financial Policy/Consent form. The second payment of $740 is due at your first 90 minute appointment with Dr. Lechner.
Follow up visits are billed based on time at $150 per 15 minutes.
Billing & Insurance
For many of our patients, we can take the place of a primary care physician. You can reach us by phone or message us online during business hours, and we are often able to take care of acute requests, such as prescribing an antibiotic for a minor infection like a sinus infection.
It is important to note the following however we do not accept insurance of any kind.
Shine Functional Health is not a Medicare Provider. Per Medicare rules and regulations, any charges or orders from Shine Functional Health, such as office visits, routine and specialized labs, and even necessary imaging such as an X-ray will not be covered under Medicare and patients are not allowed to submit claims for reimbursement.
The cost of any services provided by Shine Functional Health will be billed to you directly.
Non-Shine Functional Health medical expenses such as lab tests and prescription medications may be covered by a member’s health insurance plan per that plan’s rules.
Shine Functional Health will not submit a medical claim to insurance on your behalf. We cannot assist you with claim resolution for our services.
It is the patient’s responsibility to know and understand their medical insurance plan and coverage.
We will provide you with a detailed billing summary that you may submit to your insurance for reimbursement. There may be procedures or lab tests that are not covered depending on your plan’s rules.
- Most lab tests ordered by Shine Functional Health will be billed directly to your insurance by the lab.
- Specialized lab tests we offer as part of our functional medicine testing program may not be covered by insurance and in these cases you will be charged a fee for a particular test by the lab or through Shine Functional Health.
- The specific tests ordered will be personalized to you based on your initial evaluation with a Shine Functional Health doctor and may include blood, saliva, urine, or stool testing.
- We will make every effort to make you fully aware of any additional lab fees that may be incurred and to give you the opportunity to choose which lab tests you feel comfortable paying for.
- You are under no obligation to purchase any specialty testing.
- Should any lab results indicate you may need further testing you will be directed to continue your care with your primary care physician or a relevant specialist, or should you choose you may continue to work with your Shine Functional Health physician.
- At home test kits: If a lab test kit is mailed to you by Shine Functional Health, you will be charged the day the kit is mailed.
- If your particular insurance company only pays for blood work done at a particular lab facility like LabCorp, you must inform us of this in advance of having blood work done. We partner with several lab companies, including Quest and HealthLab.
Shine Functional Health utilizes specialized labs. These tests are either billed directly from the individual lab providers, and may or may not be covered by insurance. Most patients can expect to spend $100 -$399 on lab testing during the initial evaluation process, depending on the complexity of your condition.
*For standard blood work, we work with Quest and HealthLab. If you provide us your insurance information, we can pass this information to the lab providers. However, providing insurance information does not guarantee coverage. You will be responsible for any charges not covered by your insurance plan.
The most effective and therefore least expensive way to move through your case is to do the things necessary for you to see real improvement. Dr. Lechner recommends quality evidence based supplements. Supplement use at the start of a functional medicine program can be heavy, and every case is different. On average, patients spend around $300 a month on supplements. You are not required to purchase supplements through Shine Functional Health.
Contact Us
3233 N. Arlington Heights Rd
Suite 302
Arlington Heights IL 60004
Phone: 224-345-2532
Fax: 847-512-4678
[email protected]
Recognition
