Learn what to expect from each step with our fertility patient care timeline
What can I expect from fertility testing? Which step comes next on my fertility treatment journey? How long will I stay at The Fertility Center of Las Vegas after I conceive? It’s common to have a lot of questions when you first get started with fertility care. After all, most people don’t have experience with this type of patient journey. To help demystify it, our Las Vegas fertility clinic has created a fertility patient care timeline.
From the very first step at our clinic to “graduation,” the following guide explains what you can expect from every phase of the process.
1. New Patient Consultation
Every patient begins with the first step. At our Las Vegas fertility clinic, this first step is the new patient consultation with one of our board-certified reproductive specialists.
In order for our financial team to provide you with pricing prior to any services being rendered, you’ll need to complete the following steps before the consultation is confirmed:
- We ask that you complete your portal registration and medical history within 48 hours of scheduling to secure an appointment. This requires a valid email.
- You and your partner (if applicable) must provide a copy of your photo ID and insurance cards for verification during portal registration.
- If you don’t provide your insurance information at intake, just be sure to send it to our team 72 hours before your appointment. This will give our benefits team enough time to complete your benefits quote which will be provided to you after your new patient appointment. If no insurance is provided, our financial team will provide you with our self-pay fees.
Once you’ve completed all the paperwork for your consultation, you’ll move to the next step of the fertility patient care timeline. This involves having your first appointment with your fertility doctor. Your appointment is a great time for you and your doctor to get to know each other and learn about your treatment options.
After your appointment, we’ll assign you to a new patient diagnostic testing coordinator who will be your resource throughout the diagnostic testing process.
You should expect to receive a welcome message and consent forms from your new patient coordinator through the patient portal within 24 to 48 hours of your consultation. From there, you’ll move to diagnostic testing.
2. Diagnostic Testing aka “Infertility Work-Up”
When you can begin the testing phase depends on how quickly you complete the diagnostic testing consent forms from your new patient coordinator. Once you (and your partner, if applicable) have completed and signed forms, you can schedule an appointment with your diagnostic testing coordinator. These appointments are scheduled by clicking on the Calendly appointment link provided in the Welcome message sent to you through the patient portal by your diagnostic coordinator. During this appointment, your coordinator will review and schedule the different diagnostic testing appointments for you and your partner (if applicable).
The diagnostic process generally takes one to two months for most patients.
3. Consultation with Doctor to Review Diagnostic Testing and Treatment Options
About two weeks after the last exam or test, you will have a final consultation (treatment consult) with your doctor. This is when your doctor will review all your test results with you. Based on these results, your doctor may recommend additional procedures or testing. They will also explain which treatment options are available to you and help you pick the best one for your family-building needs and goals.
Depending on your testing results, your doctor may suggest one or more treatment options. Your doctor will also send this information to our financial team who will begin preparing your individualized treatment quote.
4. Sign Financial Documents and Submit Payment for Treatment (Financial Clearance)
In most cases, you will receive your customized quote within seven to 10 business days after your treatment consultation with your doctor. If you have insurance, the financial department will review your insurance coverage to obtain prior-authorization which can take around 2-3 weeks to receive.
Once you have received your treatment financial quotes, our team will wait for you to review and complete your financial forms and make your payment before proceeding with your cycle coordination.
After you have signed all the treatment consents and provided cycle payment, the financial team will let the clinical team know you are financially cleared to proceed with treatment.
5. Initiating Treatment Cycle
Once you are financially cleared for treatment, your treatment coordinator will contact you through the patient portal with a Calendly link to schedule an appointment to review your tentative cycle schedule and any travel dates (if necessary). They will also help you order your medications.
Your treatment coordinator along with your doctor and nurse will guide you through the next steps of your fertility treatment journey. These steps will vary depending on which treatment you select. Some patients move forward with intrauterine insemination (IUI) or IVF, while others pursue third party reproduction options like gestational surrogacy.
6. Pregnancy
Once you or your gestational surrogate have a positive blood pregnancy test at our clinic, your doctor will monitor the pregnancy during the first trimester. Pregnancy monitoring includes additional blood testing and ultrasounds to ensure that the pregnancy is progressing well.
7. Graduation!
Around week 10 of pregnancy, you’ll reach the final milestone on the fertility patient care timeline: graduation. This is when you or your surrogate move from the care of your fertility doctor to the care of your obstetrician. We love nothing more than celebrating with our patients on this big day and can’t wait to celebrate your good news!
If you have more questions about the patient journey at FCLV, please contact us. We’re here to answer your questions and can’t wait to help you get started.
