3 Steps to Becoming a Patient

Step 1: Contact us!

The first step for every potential new patient is a short (5-10 minute) phone interview, and the absolute fastest way to get that scheduled is to text us at 850-390-0774 with your name, phone number and some good times to get a hold of you.

You can also fill out the contact form, which should be to your right on a computer or at the bottom of the page on a mobile device. We will get back to you, but since our days are spent in front of patients and not emails, there may be a bit of a delay.

Not sure what to say? You can cut and paste this message and input your info:

Hi, my name is _____________, and I’m interested in finding out if your clinic can help me. My phone number is ________, and the best times to get a hold of me are ____(days) between ______ (time) and ______(time).

If you’re more comfortable calling us, that’s okay! Just give us a call or email Niko directly at niko@wellgulfcoast.com; she does all our phone interviews.

If you call and don’t catch us, please be sure to leave us a message. Feel free to use the script above, if you’re not sure what to say.

Step 2: The Phone Interview

Step 3: The New Patient Evaluation

The Two Tracks: Simple and Complex

Once you’ve completed the New Patient Evaluation, if we’ve accepted you as a patient we’ll proceed on either the Simple or Complex Track. During the New Patient Evaluation, we will arrive at one of two conclusions:

  1. Everything here is pretty straightforward, and I don’t have too many lingering questions.
  2. The more we talk the more questions I have

Result # 1 means you’ll be on the simple track; Result #2 means your situation is more complex and requires a more in-depth investigation.

Simple Track: The Initial Series

Complex Track: The Complex Intake

At this point we’ve spoken with you on the phone for about 10 minutes, talked to you face-to-face for about 30 minutes, but we still have questions about your health. The Complex Intake consists of the Intake appointment, which we often refer to as the “Double Intake” because it requires both Niko and me (Dr. Shark), and the Recommendations appointment (Double Recs).

First, we send you home with a big pack of paperwork, the purpose of which is to scan through every possible symptom you could be having and uncover any patterns or clues. You fill out all this paperwork and submit it back to us by the day before your first Intake appointment.

When we meet for the first Intake appointment (on Zoom or in person), we will go through your entire medical history and review all of your paperwork. We will spend an hour-and-a-half asking you a zillion questions and taking notes. It’s simply an information-gathering session.

Then, in-between your Intake and Recommendations, we will review all of the information we’ve gathered and determine the underlying health issues that have either caused or contributed to your current symptoms. Once we know the underlying issues, we design a customized treatment program to address them.

Later that same week, we’ll come back together for the Recommendations appointment. While the Intake appointment was an information-gathering appointment, the Recommendations appointment is an information-delivering appointment. It’s esssentially an educational appointment where we will explain what has gone wrong with your function and how that resulted in your current health problems—and how we’re going to work together to fix it.

Gulf Coast Wellness

3101 N 12th Ave, Suite 102, Pensacola, FL 32503

850-390-0774

Niko Shark, NTA, HHC: niko@wellgulfcoast.com

Dr. Peter Shark, AP: drshark@wellgulfcoast.com