FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are there other practitioners that work with Dr. O'Hara?

Yes, there are other practitioners that work in the office to provide a full range of consultative services to our patients, including Lindsey Wells, ND, Erica Smith, ND and Vicki Kobliner, MS RDN.

Can you give me some specifics on the practice?

Dr. Nancy O’Hara is a board-certified pediatrician who integrates the care of children together with Vicki Kobliner, MS RDN, and Erica Smith, ND. Their functional medicine approach for children with neurodevelopmental delays, including Autism Spectrum Disorder and other chronic illnesses, is consultative and individualized.

Dr. O’Hara works with patients to integrate their therapies, medications and other interventions in a thorough and holistic fashion. She examines the biochemical, immunologic, environmental and nutritional aspects of a patient’s health and assimilates all of this information to form an individual protocol for each patient.

Patients of Dr. O’Hara must be seen and examined in the office at least once per year.

How do we get started?

If you live in CT, NY or NJ, and would like your child to become a patient of Dr. O’Hara, please register on the patient portal. Complete all of the pediatric questionnaires and consents. Both parents must sign all pediatric consents for Dr. O’Hara and any other practitioner with whom they are consulting and participate fully in their child’s care with our office. The link to the portal can be found under the “New Patients” tab on the this website.

Once Dr. O’Hara has reviewed your questionnaires and forms, we will let you know if this practice is right for your child and which practitioner s/he will be seeing.

If you live outside of the CT, NY, NJ tri-state area, Dr. O’Hara can only accept patients in a mentoring capacity with Erica Smith, ND or Vicki Kobliner, MS RDN. If you are interested in this option, please register on the patient portal and complete all new patient forms.

If you would like Dr. O’Hara to mentor a local practitioner of your choice, please click on the “Mentoring” tab on this website.

If we feel your child’s needs would be better served elsewhere, we can provide you with other practice names and/or resources to help you with next steps.

What happens during my initial visit with Dr. O’Hara?

The initial consultation must be in the office and is approximately 2-3 hours. It is mandatory that your child is present and we strongly advise that both parents participate in the initial consultation.

If your child needs supervision, it is especially important that two adults attend. We also suggest that you bring a snack and other activities for your child, as the consult will be lengthy.

At the initial consultation, Dr. O’Hara and one of her colleagues will review your child’s history, conduct a nutritional physical examination, and observe your child. Dr. O’Hara and her colleague will discuss how they see your child’s history and development as it pertains to a functional medical approach, and will present a detailed treatment plan for your child.

Do you require any additional information other than the questionnaire prior to the initial consultation?

When you submit your materials through the portal, it’s important to include all supporting privacy and consent forms, as well as any lab tests, evaluations (medical, psychological or therapeutic), or other previous testing done.

What happens after the initial consultation?

After the initial consultation, we will provide you with a detailed plan, which may include recommendations for new therapies or changes to existing therapies; blood, urine, stool and/or other testing; the use of nutraceuticals and medications; and possible dietary changes with supporting resources.

The first follow-up consultation (which may be via telehealth) will be scheduled for approximately 5-8 weeks after the initial consultation. This will focus on the results of recommended tests and further treatment and therapy plans. Future follow-up consultations will occur as frequently as needed, but generally take place every 1 to 3 months. Although follow-up consults can be done by phone or telehealth, patients of the practice must be seen and examined in person by Dr. O’Hara in the office at least once per year.

For mentoring clients, all follow-ups will be done with one of the other practitioners and according to their practice parameters. Patients of Dr. O’Hara must be examined in the CT office at least once per year.

What is required prior to follow-up appointments?

An update is required one week prior to ALL consultations. You can find The Existing Patient Update Form in the Patient Portal. Any lab test results will be available on the Patient Portal after you have scheduled the next appointment, and after we have received the update.

What happens if I have to cancel my appointment?

For the initial consultation:

Because of the preparation time required, cancellations must be made at least 7 business days before the scheduled consultation to avoid a cancellation fee. If you cancel within 7 business days’ of your scheduled consultation, you will be charged a cancellation fee which is half of the initial consultation fee. The only exceptions would be extreme medical emergencies or natural disasters.

For follow-up consultations: We require 2 business days’ notice for follow-up consultations, which includes office visits, telemedicine or telephone consults. You may be charged 50% of the standard fee for any consultation not canceled within 2 business days of the scheduled appointment.

For office procedures: We require 1 business day’s notice for cancellation of office procedures, including infusions and blood draws. We reserve the right to charge 50% of our standard fees for scheduled procedures. If you cancel and do not reschedule an IV appointment, or do not cancel and do not show up, you will be charged for the IV, as each IV is individually ordered and drawn for each patient and we cannot use it for another patient.

Will Dr. O’Hara become my child’s pediatrician?

No. Dr. O’Hara does not provide primary care. You will continue to see your regular pediatrician or primary care physician as required when seeing Dr. O’Hara for consultative care.

If I do not have a pediatrician, can you recommend one for my child?

Depending on where you live, we may be able to give you some suggestions.

Is your practice covered by insurance?

Dr. O’Hara does not accept any insurance and is an out-of-network provider. It is your responsibility to contact your insurance company before committing to our program to determine the exact policies of your insurance company.

What are your fees?

Please contact our office for our current fee schedule. Given our extended waiting list, there is a $500 nonrefundable deposit required at the time your appointment is scheduled in order to hold your spot. If you reside outside of the tristate area and would like Dr. O'Hara to mentor one of your more local practitioners or Erica Smith, ND or VIcki Kobliner, MSRDN in our office, please see mentoring FAQs below or contact our office (203-834-2813, ext 10).

How do I sign up for a membership?

Please go to the Membership Page to see what is included and to decide which level of membership you would like to receive. At the bottom of the page, please provide your name and email to subscribe.

Can I cancel my membership?

Your membership renews annually, or quarterly if you choose, and you can cancel when your next payment comes due.

Who can I contact with questions about my membership?

Please contact Shannon at [email protected] with questions.

Is this open to parents and professionals?

Yes, both parents and professionals can benefit from the information in the membership program. with questions.

How do I sign up for a mentoring?

Please go to the Mentoring Page to see all of the options available.

Am I charged for the preparation Dr. O’Hara does prior to our mentoring sessions?

No, we encourage practitioners to email us a summary, questions and any lab testing for the patient or client you would like to discuss.  Dr. O’Hara will review all of these at no charge.  You are only charged for the mentoring session(s).

What if my session only use 30 mins or less of my session?

At Dr. O'Hara's discretion she will arrange a followup session with you at no addional charge.

Does Dr. O’Hara provide in person or group mentoring sessions?

Yes, you can sign-up as a group of practitioners, be assigned to a group as well as request in person mentoring at our office or yours.  Please contact Shannon at [email protected] for more information.

Can I cancel my mentoring?

You can sign up for 1, 3 or 12 (annual) options and you can cancel when your next payment is due.

Who can I contact with questions about mentoring?

Please contact Shannon at [email protected] with questions.

Should I purchase your book before applying to become a patient? How will your book help me?

The book, Demystifying PANS/PANDAS, A Desktop Functional Medicine Reference on Basal Ganglia Encephalitis, provides the foundation for the diagnosis, assessment and allopathic and functional medicine treatment of these diseases. It may be essential as a practitioner or to share with your practitioner in learning about the three-pronged approach to this disorder and how to get started. It is also a very well cited reference to share with skeptical colleagues or family members.

Who should order this book?

Parents – As a parent, this book will help you to better understand how to help your child through this abrupt-onset and challenging disease. You can also share it with your practitioner to help them better understand this disease and perhaps set up a mentoring session with Dr. O’Hara.

Teachers, Counselors and Therapists – This book will help you to better understand your student or client, the behavioral flares and how to manage them as well as a well-referenced guide to neurotherapy and accommodations in the school setting.

Practitioners – This book is a very well-referenced desktop guide to assessing and treating this disease. It is a foundation for learning both the functional medicine and allopathic treatments of PANS, PANDAS and Basal Ganglia Encephalitis. It can also be a first step in further learning through our Membership and Mentoring Programs.