Dear Community,

Greetings! Thanks to your kindness and participation, Nanopractice PDX is now over one year old!

I have been touched and humbled by the trust this practice community has placed in me.  I have learned much with and from you all and am deeply honored to have witnessed triumphs, assuaged fears, and hopefully, to have empowered you to take steps toward creating healthier habits.  One highlight of this year has been the enthusiastic reception that continues to welcome Nanopractice PDX into being.  By November, a waiting list for adults was required to support a sustainable pace of growth while maintaining availabilities for existing community members.  I offer gratitude to each person who has referred a friend, family member, or colleague, and I am honored by your positive regard.

Ours is a unique and interdependent practice community, I think, as this kind of creative healthcare cannot be achieved without the context of an active and reciprocal relationship.  I appreciate the shared excitement and willingness to create a new way of experiencing allopathic medicine.  I am indeed fortunate to be able to use my Western medical training to evaluate and treat illness, while using my integrative medicine resources and referrals to simultaneously support your individualized journeys in healing in so many ways.

I have enjoyed as much as anyone the comforts of my small office, the absence of waiting room time, and the lengthier, more relaxed visits we are able to share.  I am pleased to offer direct email and phone access, and I really love knowing the people I serve.  This makes my experience as a healthcare professional much more meaningful.  That said, I am still refining this young practice and looking for ways to improve.  I am committed to staying “nano”-sized to preserve accessibility, and I am committed to making the practice increasingly sustainable while offering new and valuable services like an upgraded website and blog!  As a one-woman enterprise, it will come as no surprise to most of you, that this means lots of time spent on patient care, research, and investigation of referral sources outside our visits.

A common theme among many practices that strive to offer this level of interaction and access to one’s personal physician is an annual fee.  Some even offer an annual membership and stop billing insurance! I considered implementation of an annual fee at the outset of this practice, but decided to weigh the pros and cons after the first year.  After careful analysis and some market research, I have concluded that a small annual fee is needed to subsidize the slower pace and intentional mission of Nanopractice PDX.  This fee will be $60 per year per adult, and one-half that per child (think: $5/ month).

How it works this year: The first 2 months of 2009 will be pro-rated so that the 2009 fees are $50.00 and $25.00 for adults and children respectively. (A couple, then, would send $100 for 2009 and a family of four would send $150).  I ask that these fees be paid relatively soon though I am sensitive to the economic climate and am open to conversation about extenuating financial circumstances.  Please consider this letter your “invoice” to avoid additional billings.

For new patients joining the practice mid-year, the prorated fee should be paid at the first appointment, and starting in 2010, the annual fee should be paid at the beginning of the year.

If there are some among you who have decided to move on to other providers, it would be helpful for me to know that so as to adjust the waiting list, et cetera.

I look forward to our upcoming visits, and I so enjoy being part of your lives.

With much gratitude and affection,

“Dr. Chrissie”