Falls Prevention
1 in 3 people over the age of 65 experiences a fall at least once a year. Falls and fractures in older people are often preventable. Seeing a clinical expert to mitigate your risk of falls is vital to reduce this risk and maintain your independence.
The cause of falls is usually multifactorial and requires a holistic assessment for the cause and risk factors. Some of these may be: balance impairment, muscle weakness, visual impairment, sensory impairment, poor spatial awareness, interaction of your medications (polypharmacy) and low blood pressure on standing (orthostatic hypotension).
Why falls prevention matters:
Falls are the most common reason for an ambulance being called to an older person. 75,000 have a neck of femur fracture in the UK. When we consider that, 33% of people such a fracture dies within one year – it highlights the importance of reducing the risk of falls and increasing the strength of your bones.
Falls can result impacting your self-confidence and quality of life. Many of the falls risks factors can be reversed or improved. It’s therefore vital, you don’t ignore the risk of falls and you seek expert help to support you with this.
Dr Chauhan’s Falls Prevention Clinic:
Dr Chauhan sees patients for an initial consultation for 60 minutes. In this time, he will undertake a comprehensive assessment of your history of falls and balance impairment, a holistic assessment of your past medical history and review of your medications.
If required, Dr Chauhan will refer you for a range of tests that are provided on the day in his clinic. This could include, an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, Tilt-table testing, visual assessment, nerve conduction testing.
To evaluate the strength of your bones and reduce your risk of fractures, Dr Chauhan may also arrange for you to have a DEXA scan.
At your follow up Consultation, Dr Chauhan will provide you with a comprehensive plan based on your diagnoses. He will discuss treatment options and offer advice on falls prevention and optimising the strength of your bones.
Fees
- New appointment: £300
- Follow-up appointment: £200
If you have private medical insurance, please contact your insurer before your consultation to check the terms of your policy, particularly the level and type of cover, including any reimbursement limits on individual consultation fees.
Dr Chauhan complies with the schedule of charges for specific insurance companies. If your policy covers consultations, in most cases there will be no shortfall to pay, but you may have an excess liability on your policy.
Following your consultation, you may need certain tests (for example, blood tests or imaging such as an X-ray, ultrasound, MRI or CT scan) to diagnose your condition, and a follow-up consultation to discuss your diagnosis and receive treatment. Fees for tests and certain treatments will be determined by the clinic or hospital and charged separately to your insurer.
Please always check your policy conditions or contact your insurer as necessary. Please note you are responsible for any fees not covered by your insurer.
Prior to your consultation please obtain a Letter of Guarantee (LOG) and send this to pa@drdevchauhan.com.
If you wish to proceed with any tests, treatments or further consultations offered to you, please obtain and send a new LOG covering for these.
Without the LOG, patients would be required to pay in advance on the day and claim the amount back from their Embassy.
Dr Chauhan’s team handle medical billing of most self-paying patients. You will receive a secure payment link – we kindly request that payment is made in advance of your appointment.
Medserv handles medical billing of private medical insurers on behalf of Dr Chauhan. Please direct any queries to: pa@drdevchauhan.com.
A missed appointment or last minute cancellation is a lost opportunity to offer the consultation to another patient who requires medical attention. We kindly request at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to change or cancel your appointment.
If you booked through the clinic or hospital booking service, please contact them directly. If you booked your appointment through Dr Chauhan’s PA, please email pa@drdevchauhan.com or phone 020 8050 0992.
Self-paying patients will be refunded in full for any cancellations made with at least 24 hours’ notice.
Non-attendance or a cancellation made with less than 24 hours’ notice will unfortunately incur a fee of £150. Please note that most insurers will not cover or reimburse this fee, so you will be invoiced directly.
To ensure accurate record keeping and clinical decision-making, we would be grateful if you could bring to your appointment any relevant medical reports, tests results, referral letters (either from your GP or another specialist) and an up-to-date list of medicines you are currently taking (for example, repeat prescription).