Phone Consultations

Dr. Janikula and Dr. McNeal manage patients from all over the world. They find patients are effectively managed over the phone or Skype.

Dr. Janikula first noticed this when he managed difficult to treat rapid cycling patients in his own area. The rapid prescribing often happened over the phone. Then he started taking on hard to manage patients from different areas of the world.

They do ask that patients fly in for their initial appointment. This is an important factor in receiving the best care possible, because the initial intake is a time for gathering pertinent information that will be useful throughout treatment.

If you are unable to make it to Santa Cruz, CA, they may be able to work out an initial intake via Skype. This determination will be made on a case by case basis.

Dr. Janikula and Dr. McNeal have found a few things necessary to effectively manage long distance patients.

1. The patient needs to have a local physician to perform examinations and manage prescription medications that are needed during the course of their treatment.
2. They will need to gather information from loving family or friends of the patient to help with details that might be missed during a phone consultation. This means after the initial intake with the patient, they may want to speak with a friend or family member who may provide useful insight into the case. It is also important to have a reliable and supportive family member who may contact them in the case that the patient is unable to do so.
3. The patient needs to include them in all medical decisions before making them.

When these three items are in order, they find phone consultation very effective.