How to Get the Right Care

There are many ways to receive care from the Primary Care Department. Whether your visit is in person, online, or on the phone for a prescription renewal, we have options that can meet your schedule and lifestyle.

Virtual Visits

Outpatient Virtual Visits are available with all providers, although they are not appropriate for every medical problem. Ask for this convenient alternative to an in-person visit when you call to schedule your appointment. 

Prescription renewals

Each primary team, including all Family Medicine teams and the Pediatrics team, has a dedicated prescription renewal line, just call your team and listen for the prescription renewal option.

Phone nurses on call 24/7

A phone nurse is available to answer questions and give advice for concerns requiring a nurse's expertise. When you call your Family Medicine team or Pediatrics with your concerns, a nurse calls you back the same day to address them. Phone nurses also have direct contact with your primary care provider (PCP) for urgent matters. After our regular office hours, our phones are answered by highly qualified phone nurses who work with the on-call provider.

Regular office visits for concerns

If you have a concern about your health or the health of your child, don't wait for your yearly visit to let us know. Make an appointment with us for an assessment this week.

Most health issues are easier to treat if we address them early, so don't delay medical treatment you may need. We may give you recommendations, a prescription, order tests to find out more about what is going on, or refer you to a specialist. Call your Family Medicine team or Pediatrics today.

Same-day appointments

All Cheshire’s primary care teams offer scheduled same-day appointments from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, to serve you or your child’s acute care needs. Please call your Family Medicine team or Pediatrics on the day you or your child needs an appointment to schedule one. 

Please note: Same-day appointments are made first-come, first-served and you must call on the day of the appointment. Messages from the night before are not honored. 

Urgent Visits

Urgent Primary Care Visits are available for scrapes, minor burns, fractures, coughs, sore throats, and more, 365 days a year. 

Please come directly to the urgent visits office on floor 1A of the North Building, if you are sure you do not have COVID-19. 

If you may have COVID-19 or need guidance on where to be seen for your symptoms, call your primary care team at 603-354-6760

Yearly wellness visits/annual physicals

Your yearly wellness visit is your time to share any concerns and goals regarding your health with your PCP or their associate provider. It is your provider’s opportunity to assess your risk of future medical problems and to get to know you better.

We check your vital signs, screen for diseases, and ask you about your lifestyle and goals for your health. If we find a concern, we can create a plan of care with you, order tests, or give a referral to a specialist.

To help us gain a better understanding of your health status and guide you towards a healthier lifestyle, we will: 

• Ask you questions about your health and certain lifestyle behaviors. You are encouraged to bring up any concerns regarding the state of your physical or mental wellbeing.
• Conduct a physical examination
• Give you advice about how to prevent health problems
• Take care of minor health problems or a chronic illness that has not changed

What is a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?

Medicare covers a different type of an annual visit, known as a “Medicare Wellness Visit” or AWV/

During your Medicare AWV, your provider or associate provider will:

• Check your weight and blood pressure
• Update the health risk assessment you completed
• Update your medical and family history
• Update your list of current medical providers and suppliers
• Update your written screening schedule
• Screen for cognitive issues
• Provide health advice and referrals to health education and/or preventive counseling services

A Medicare AWV does not include a physical exam or any type of treatment.

During the course of your AWV, your provider may discover and need to investigate or treat a new or existing problem. This additional care is considered diagnostic, meaning your provider is treating you because of certain symptoms or risk factors. Medicare may bill you for any diagnostic care you receive during a preventive visit.

Additionally, it is a requirement that a Health Risk Assessment form is completed prior to an AWV. Learn more about AWV at medicareinteractive.org.

Welcome to Medicare Visit 

A "Welcome to Medicare Visit" is a one-time Health Visit that includes a physical examination during your first 12 months of enrollment in Medicare Part B. Learn more at medicareinteractive.org

When would any of these Annual Health Visits turn into a Sick or Chronic Disease Visit and cause changes to how the visit is coded/billed?

If your provider treats a new medical issue, discovers a new condition which requires further testing or a referral to a specialty, or makes a change to the treatment of a chronic problem, this part of the visit, or potentially the entire visit, will be charged as a Sick Visit, also known as an Evaluation and Management Visit. In instances like these, your bill will show charges for services not typically included in a Preventative Health Exam. Your insurance plan may require you to pay a co-payment, deductible, and/or co-insurance payment.  

Emergency care

If you or your family member experience a life-threatening emergency, call 911 for assistance or go directly to our Emergency Department.