Hello everyone! I’ve been practicing in Gilbert and Mesa since 2013 but this is the first time I’ve been able to reach out and speak about my practice online. For this first blog I just wanted to touch on a few things I take pride in as a physician and tell you a little about the practice that you may not know. 

Going to see the doctor has changed over the years. We see it as providers, and you see it as patients (I see it too when I’m a patient seeing my doctor). It’s frustrating on both ends dealing with automated phones, who am I going to see today (the doctor, the PA, someone I’ve never seen before), who will do my surgery, does my insurance cover this, what will the bill be when it’s all said and done, and will they even fix my problem?

When it comes down to it, I try my best to make all of this as easy as possible and try to concentrate on what matters- you, the patient.

1. We don’t have automated phones. When you call, you will speak to a real person! Whether that’s to make an appointment or leave a message for the doctor. 
2. With Dr. Shaba, you will always see Dr. Shaba….that’s me! I will see you in the office, I will do your surgery, and I will see you post op. If you leave a message with the office, my MA will discuss with me the issue and we try to get things resolved within minutes/hours not days/weeks.
3. For any major procedure, we call your insurance company and provide you with an estimate of what you may owe. Even with this, sometimes it’s difficult to know what they will cover or not. Believe it or not, but as providers, we have a very hard time with insurance companies too…. The rules always change, and they make it harder for us to practice the way we want and provide the service we want to give to the patient. They challenge tests we want to order and make it harder to prescribe the medicines we want. We try our best to make it work for you!
4. Can we fix your problem?…. I can promise, I will try my best. I will always be up front with you. I value having up front conversations about your problem and what we can or can’t do to fix it. I do not believe in “selling” procedures or promising things that I cannot control. Some problems are straight forward and easy to fix and others are sometimes difficult and not easily solved or cannot be corrected. My job is to explain what I can do and what might be best for you and your situation. I always tell patients that I make a living doing surgery, but I don’t want to do surgery unless we absolutely need to.

The last topic I want to talk about is money…

Cost can be a big part in a patient deciding what treatment to choose. And let’s face it, if we can save you some money, why not! I have been recognized by multiple insurance companies as a top tier urologist in providing excellent care while being a low cost provider.

What does that mean?

It means that the care I give my patients and the results I get with surgeries are above standard of care and the cost of my surgeries and tests ordered, are way below the average in our community and across the state. 

I take pride in not over ordering tests or putting patients through procedures they don’t need. As a practice we try to find the location that will be the most cost efficient for the patient. Generally, hospitals are about 5 times more expensive than a surgery center for doing the same procedure. Procedures that can be done in the office have even more savings to the patient.

So, if a patient has a 20% copay or has a deductible to meet before the insurance covers a procedure, it makes a huge difference if we can choose a location that is cheaper. I work out of the Surgery Center of Gilbert which has been ranked the #2 ambulatory center in Arizona many years in a row (behind Mayo clinic). In addition to being an excellent facility for patient care and satisfaction, it is 5 times cheaper than doing a procedure in the hospital! 

Those of you who have had surgery with me have met Niki. She does all of my surgery scheduling and makes it a point to make cost a priority. She bends over backwards to get patients in as soon as possible, with the least cost and spends hours on the phone getting approvals and estimates from insurance companies so you won’t be surprised with a bill.

Bottom line, we try to fight for the patient as best we can. 

I know that going to see a urologist can sometimes be filled with anxiety or feeling embarrassed. But I do my best to try and make your experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible. I really appreciate all of my patients. Please let me know what I can do better! 

I look forward to writing more blogs and connecting with all of you going forward.

Dr. Shaba