JOHN D. BRAY, MD
PEDIATRIC& ADULT ALLERGY/IMMUNOLOGY
PEDIATRIC PULMONARY DISEASE
SLEEP DISORDERS MEDICINE
FELLOW 606 N. KENT STREET, SUITE B DIPLOMATE
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ALLERGY MIDLAND, TEXAS 79701 AMERICAN BOARD OF ALLERGY &
& IMMUNOLOGY IMMUNOLOGY (ADULT & PEDIATRIC)
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CHEST PHYSICIANS OFFICE AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ALLERGIES (432) 561-8183 (GENERAL PEDIATRICS)
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS
THE AMERICAN SLEEP DISORDERS ASSOCIATION RESIDENCE (PEDIATRIC PULMONARY)
(432)697-4212 AMERICAN BOARD OF SLEEP
DISORDERS MEDICINE & CLINICAL
POLYSOMNOGRAPHY (ADULT&PEDIATRIC)
AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES
Updates 01/06/2016 IN SLEEP MEDICINE (ADULT & PEDIATRIC)
WELCOME TO THE ALLERGY ALLIANCE OF THE PERMIAN BASIN
& SLEEP CENTER OF THE SOUTHWEST
PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION
I am very pleased to have you or your child as a new patient. I appreciate your confidence. I and my staff will do our best to solve or help the medical problems that have brought you into our care. Please feel free to ask questions, we always want you to actively participate in your medical care.
SERVICES RENDERED
We provide specialized medical care for adult and pediatric patients with allergic problems affecting lungs (for example, asthma); the nose; the GI tract; the eyes; the ears and the skin. Immune deficiency states and all types of respiratory problems of infant and childhood such as recurrent pneumonia, recurrent croup, Broncho-pulmonary dysplasia, apnea and congenital malformations of the respiratory tract are cared for here. We provide comprehensive treatment of adults and children with all types of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, myoclonus, insomnia, and narcolepsy. We do not practice internal medicine, general pediatrics, or family practice. If you do not have a physician to look after your child’s or your general health, please let us know. We will be happy to refer you to a qualified physician, who can serve this very important need.
HOURS, APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
· Regular Office Hours are: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00am to 7:00pm
Wednesday and Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm
· Office Phone (432)561-8183- You can leave a message for non-emergency calls
· After Hours, Dr. Bray’s Home Phone: (432)697-4212
Appointments for regular checkups should be requested approximately two weeks in advance. If you are unable to come in at your appointed time, please call the office early and reschedule your visit. “No Shows” disrupt the office schedule and interfere with the prompt effective service that we endeavor to offer you and your family. Established patients who “no show” for appointments will be charged $40.00. A new patient appointment not cancelled at least forty-eight working hours before the scheduled time will be subject to a 300.00 penalty. Unless a legitimate documented reason is provided to us by the patient. We devote up to 3 to 4 hours on a new patient consult visit. It takes this much time to do the job carefully, comprehensively, and to teach what the patients’ needs to know. Unexpected cancellations severely disrupt the office and are very costly to us.
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These first visits are very important. We staff for them and we do our best to do a truly professional job. I believe you will feel your time and money were very well spent. So please let us know if you must cancel, in advance.
When a patient has an exacerbation of his problem, he or she usually gets worse over a period of hours to days. Most of the time with early intervention, unnecessary illness, lost school, work time and hospitalization can be avoided. If you or your child begins to have an exacerbation of an allergic or pulmonary problem, Dr. Bray will provide care, please call early!
If you as an adult begin to have an exacerbation of your pulmonary problem, please call your internist and Dr. Bray before the problem gets worse. This will prevent a great number of problems, and in some cases, a dangerous situation.
HOW TO CONTACT DR. BRAY IF YOU NEED HIM AFTER BUSINESS HOURS
READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY!!!
During office hours, call the office promptly at 432-561-8183; explain the problem and ask to be seen. We will see you as soon as possible. We will try to get you in the same day if it is a serious problem such as a significant asthma flare.
If you have a significant problem and need help at night after the office closes or on a weekend, call my home at 432-697-4212. I am usually at home and will talk with you immediately. If I am out or cannot come to the phone at that moment, be sure to leave your NAME, PHONE NUMBER (SAY IT SLOWLY AND CLEARLY) AND A MESSAGE on my home answering machine. I check it frequently.
If you have a truly serious problem that you do not feel should wait and I am not home, leave your NAME, PHONE NUMBER AND MESSAGE on my home answering machine FIRST and THEN contact me on my cell phone. The number will be given to you VIA my home phone answering machine.
Usually, there is no charge for afterhours phone calls unless they are frequent or long. Again, if you have a problem we encourage you to inform us early so we can “nip it in the bud”. However, if you or your child becomes ill during a time when Dr. Bray is away, please contact your personal primary physician first. Both Midland Memorial Hospital and Medical Center Hospital in Odessa are equipped to look after adults and pediatric patients. These hospitals also have fulltime hospitalist in house 24/7 to admit and care for adults and pediatric patients.
ABOUT YOUR PHYSICIAN
Dr. Bray was born and raised in Miami, Florida. His undergraduate training took place at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and at the University of Miami where he graduated with honors. He attended medical school at the University of Miami and later completed an internship and residency in Pediatrics at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami, and the largest teaching hospital in the South. He then completed a Fellowships in Allergy and Immunology and Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Duke University. His fellowship training at Duke was funded by a grant from the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Upon completion of his training at Duke, Dr. Bray continued to further his pulmonary training in Baltimore, where he completed a Fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is on the Clinical Teaching Faculty of Texas Tech Medical School. He has received extensive postgraduate training in Sleep and Breathing Disorders at Stanford University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Presbyterian Sleep-Wake Disorders Center in Dallas, Texas; which is associated with Southwestern University Medical School.
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Dr. Bray is a DIPLOMATE* of the following medical specialty boards:
•American Board of Allergy & Immunology (TM)
(Adult & Pediatric)
•American Board of Pediatrics
(General Pediatrics)
•American Board of Pediatrics
(Pediatric Pulmonary)
•American Board of Sleep Disorders Medicine & Clinical Polysomnography
(Adult & Pediatric)
*American Board of Medical Specialties in Sleep Medicine
(Adult & Pediatric
*A Diplomate is a physician who has successfully completed an accredited residency and/or fellowship in a particular specialty. The physician has also sat for and passed difficult and comprehensive examinations of his knowledge in that particular field. After successfully mastering the above, he/she is considered a Board Certified specialist in that area of medicine.
He is a Fellow** of the following professional organizations:
•American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
•American College of Allergies, Asthma & Immunology
•American College of Chest Physicians
•American Academy of Pediatrics
•American Academy Sleep Medicine
** To become a Fellow of a specialty medical organization, a physician must be Board Certified in that area of medicine and must have accumulated a required number of years of practice and experience in that field. He then applies for advancement to Fellowship status, at which time senior physicians in this field review his/her application. If it is felt the physician is qualified and deserving by training and experience he/she is promoted to Fellowship Status.
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ABOUT THE CENTER
Dr. Bray’s office was built to provide an optimum setting in which to practice Allergy, Pulmonary, and Sleep Disorders Medicine. All medical personnel who work here are trained to look after you properly on an ongoing basis. The clinic includes modern Pulmonary Function Studies, X-ray Facility, and Sleep Disorders Laboratory.
SLEEP CENTER OF THE SOUTHWEST
Included in our office building is the Sleep Center of the Southwest. We have a comprehensive sleep lab, equipped with state of the art electronic equipment. We office comprehensive sleep testing options: overnight sleep studies, daytime multiple sleep latency testing, pulse oximetry etc. The sleep center of the southwest is fully accredited as a sleep center laboratory by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
FEMALE PATIENTS
If you are planning to become pregnant or are currently pregnant, please inform us immediately. Call to make an appointment at the earliest possible moment, as it is important that Dr. Bray review your status and medications. We want to make sure your baby and you are properly looked after and all of your medications are optional and safe. We will work closely with your obstetrician
FOLLOW-UP CARE (Important)
We pride ourselves on taking patients with chronic health problems, making them better and then preventing future problems. Our goal is to keep our patients well rather than having to treat serious and sometimes dangerous flare-ups. Allergy, pulmonary and sleep problems, are generally long term and often lifelong. We can usually markedly alleviate the severity of these diseases, but this requires teamwork. I require that my patients and their families work with me as a team. IT HAS BEEN CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED THAT COMPLAINT PATIENTS WHO RECEIVE CLOSE FOLLOW- UP CARE FARE MUCH BETTER THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT COOPERATE IN THEIR CARE OR RECEIVE EPISODIC CARE. Because of this, we like to see most of our new patients for a follow-up visit within a few weeks of the consultation. After the follow-up visit, we may schedule appointments every three to four months for a period of time. As we see improvement, visits will be scheduled less frequently. The frequency of follow-up visits is determined solely by the seriousness of each patient’s medical situation. Stable well controlled patients who are on any prescribed medications or CPAP must be seen at least once a year.
PRESCRIPTIONS AND REFILLS
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT THE PATIENT TAKE HIS MEDICINE AS PRESCRIBNED AND THAT ALL PRESCRIBED MEDICATIONS BE KEPT ON HAND ALL THE TIME. If you are on chronic medications please see that it is renewed days before the last dose is taken. We will routinely do this for you during your follow-up visits. Patients on chronic medication must be checked on a regular basis as medically indicated to assess their response to the medication and to watch for rare but possible side effects. If you have started on a new medication and it disagrees with you, call us. We will usually have some helpful advice or can change the prescription. Those patients who must use potent medicines such as any systemic steroids (ex. Prednisone) must stay in close contact with us on an on-going basis. Renewal prescriptions for these potent medications are usually not written. We monitor such patients very closely and titrate their medicine depending upon their progress.
If you need a refill before your regular follow up visit, please ask your pharmacist to call for refills during regular office hours... There may be a charge for routine prescriptions that I must call in after hours, on weekends or holidays.
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ACCOUNTING
We are here to help you with your insurance as much as we reasonably can and we will work with you and them closely. But as you well know, medical insurance and Medicare are not what they were 25 years ago; in fact, they continue to get much more restrictive and unnecessarily but intentionally more complicated by the day. We are on a course to complete top down medical rationing by inconvenience and loop jumping. The amount of time, energy, and unnecessary expense built into our present system for patients, hospitals, and physicians is enormous. Be aware of how insurance companies and government can affect your health longevity. Be a good citizen, stay informed, be active in your care, write, and vote and make your views known.
We will try verifying your insurance benefits prior to your consultation and sharing that information with you, informing you of your financial obligation as best we can, from the information given to us about your policy.
You are urged to confirm your insurance plan benefits yourself, by reading the plan booklet furnished to you by your employer and calling your insurance company. As a courtesy, our office will file your insurance claims. We require the amount of your unmet deductible be paid that the time a service is provided. If your insurance is not in effect or does not cover our services, you will be required to pay for all charges at the time of service. This office cannot accept responsibility for collecting your insurance claims or for negotiating a settlement on a disputed claim... WE ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH A VISIT OR TEST WILL COST IN ADVANCE, JUST ASK. We understand no one likes surprises when it comes to their bill. We are more than willing to keep you fully informed. Ask about your bill anytime.