WHY WOULD I NEED A NEUROSURGEON?
Neurosurgery, or neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the central nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and cerebrovascular system. The most common condition that neurosurgeons treat is pain in the neck or back spreading to the arm or leg due to a ruptured disc or spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the open spaces within your spine, which can put pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves that travel through the spine to arms and legs.

WHY SHOULD I TRUST NORTHWEST BRAIN & SPINE WITH MY NEUROLOGICAL CARE?
Dr. Kent Yundt and Dr. Anthony Hadden are Board Certified in Neurosurgery which includes years of extensive training in medical school, residency, and fellowship programs. We have the expertise and experience to best care for you and we are dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery and promoting the highest quality patient care. Our mission is to create an exceptional patient experience and our team is skilled to help you navigate the increasingly complex healthcare environment.

HOW DO I MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?
Your provider, primary care or specialty care, will refer you to us and we will contact you to schedule an appointment. We believe in healthcare teamwork and will work closely with your referring provider and other healthcare providers regarding your neurosurgical concern. Our goal is to schedule new patients within one week from when we call you for an appointment and follow up appointments as directed by our providers. For established patients we offer electronic TeleVisits as an option to an Office Visit.

WHAT IS MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY?
Generally, these procedures are performed through tiny incisions instead of a large opening. Because the incisions are small, patients tend to have quicker recovery times and less discomfort than with conventional surgery and with all the same or better results. In some cases, a patient might be scheduled for a minimally invasive procedure, but the surgeon might have to “convert” the procedure to an open (conventional) surgery. Minimally invasive surgery can sometimes take longer than conventional surgery, but the pros usually outweigh the cons.

When we have ordered a diagnostic test for you, our office staff with request authorization approval for the diagnostic procedure from your insurance company and coordinate with the diagnostic testing facility who will contact you to schedule the diagnostic test appointment. If you do not hear from a diagnostic testing facility after one week of order, please send us a message through your patient portal and we will respond to you within 24 – 48 hours. Please understand that some insurance companies may take 5-14 days to review and approve or deny the request. We realize you may be anxious to undergo diagnostic testing and desire to have testing as soon as possible, however, authorization must be obtained to for your insurance benefits to be covered financially. Our office will contact you to schedule a follow up appointment for review of diagnostic test results and discuss options for your care.

IS MY INSURANCE IN-NETWORK?
Our office participates with the following insurance companies, however, there are many insurance plans within some insurance companies that may or may not be In-Network. In addition, the member benefits are different by insurance plan. Insurance is like a coupon and some coupons are worth more than others, so, it is the patient responsibility to understand their insurance plan benefits to prevent any financial misunderstanding of receiving covered versus non-covered services which are patient responsibility.
Our current participating insurance companies are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, First Choice Health, HealthNet, Humana, Majoris, MultiPlan, MODA, HealthNet, Medicare, PacificSource, Providence, TriCare and United HealthCare. Be certain to contact your insurance company for your specific insurance plan benefits.