Pathway to Weight Loss Surgery
Attend a weight loss surgery educational seminar or consultation
Submit a questionnaire and, if applicable, a copy of your insurance card
Obtain insurance authorization for surgery
Preoperative evaluation
Office visit
Surgery!
1. Attend Educational Seminar or Consultation
Our weight loss surgery educational seminar (or private consultation) is a free, no-obligation presentation given by Dr. Oliak. The purpose is to educate you about weight loss surgery and our Program so you can better decide if surgery is right for you. Seminars and consultations are regularly held in Brea and Irvine.
2. Submit Questionnaire and Insurance Card
The next step is to submit a patient questionnaire and, if applicable, a copy of your insurance card via fax - (714) 582-2537, or email - info@droliak.com. This will enable us to do the following: 1) verify that you are an appropriate candidate for surgery; 2) determine your health insurance benefits and authorization requirements for surgery; and 3) determine your out-of-pocket costs, if any.
3. Obtain Insurance Authorization
To obtain an insurance authorization for surgery you need to fulfill the requirements outlined in your policy. Examples of common requirements include psychological evaluations, nutritional evaluations, medically supervised diets, documentation of medical problems, etc.
We will help you complete the necessary requirements and then we will obtain an authorization from your insurance company for surgery.
Cash patients
For patients not using health insurance to pay for surgery, we offer competitive prices and attractive financing options through CareCredit and myMedicalLoan.com. See payment options page for more details.
4. Preoperative Evaluation
After we obtain an insurance authorization for surgery, we will schedule a preoperative evaluation appointment. You will see Dr. Oliak for a history and physical so the appropriate preoperative tests can be ordered. Required preoperative tests generally include blood and urine tests. At times patients need to be evaluated by a specialty physician such as a Cardiologist, and/or undergo additional tests such as a stress test or x-rays.
Patients are generally given a surgery date during their preoperative evaluation day.
5. Office Visit
The purpose of the office visit is to make sure you have a good understanding of surgery (benefits, risks, how to achieve success) and to review the test results from your preoperative evaluation. You will attend education classes, take a written test, and meet with Dr. Oliak.
