Welcome patients of Dr. Esswein to Allergy, Asthma & Food Allergy Centers!

Dear Dr. Esswein Patients,

We are delighted to welcome you to our practice! While we did not anticipate this particularly trying time, we aim to make your transition as smooth as possible. 

If you are on allergy injections, we should now have your vials. Once we have entered your vials into our electronic system and have you registered in the practice, we will call to let you know that you can come for your injections.  Please wait for this call before you come to our office, but in the meantime, please download the new patient paperwork from this page and allergy shot treatment consent and financial consent. Email the completed new patient paperwork, consent forms, copies of the front and back of your insurance card, and driver’s license to info@aascare.com. Please include in the subject line “transferring Dr. Esswein patient”. If you have not received a phone call in the next 1-2 weeks, please call us. Please also schedule a telemedicine visit at your earliest convenience in order to become further established in our practice. You will need to have that visit before we can refill medications and answer medical questions. The first telemedicine visit will be with Dr. Esswein or one of our advanced practice providers (Lauren Davis, PA-C, Laura Kahle, PA-C, or Dani Loftus FNP-BC) so we can get you established as soon as possible. You can read more about telemedicine visits here.

  • Allergy injections are administered:
    •  8:30AM – 4:30PM Mon-Thur
    •  8:30AM – 2:30PM Fri
    • You will notice we have shot hours on Tue evenings (not currently offered during the COVID-19 pandemic) and Sat mornings. We ask that you kindly avoid these times until further notice, as they are typically our busiest times with the longest wait periods. 
  • We follow the guidelines from our professional allergy societies  that all allergy injection patients will need to wait in the office for 30 minutes after their injections.
  • During this time of concern for COVID-19, we will not escalate your dose. This is to help minimize the risk of an adverse reaction, particularly as we are now in the spring season. We will also allow you an extra week “grace period” where you will not be considered late. 

If you are on a biologic for asthma or hives (ex. Xolair, Fasenra, Nucala, Cinqair, or Dupixent), please call to schedule a telemedicine visit at your earliest convenience. This will allow us to get you registered in the practice and enable us to go through the necessary prior authorization process to obtain your medications. When you are due for your injection(s), and we have verified that we have your medication, we will schedule an in person visit in the office. Please note that our policy is that you will need an office visit for each biologic injection administered in the office. New Patient paperwork is available on this page and information on telemedicine visits is available here. Email the completed new patient paperwork, consent forms, copies of the front and back of your insurance card, and driver’s license to info@aascare.com. Please include in the subject line “transferring Dr. Esswein patient”.

For all other patients, we request that you please schedule a telemedicine visit at your earliest convenience to become established in our practice. We will need to see you for the telemedicine visit in order to refill medications or answer any medical questions. This is also an excellent time to do an annual visit. We can provide updated food allergy and asthma action plans at the time of the visit if needed. New Patient paperwork is available on this page and information on telemedicine visits is available here. Email the completed new patient paperwork, consent forms, copies of the front and back of your insurance card, and driver’s license to info@aascare.com. Please include in the subject line “transferring Dr. Esswein patient”.

We recommend that you follow us on Facebook. We will be posting practice updates, particularly as we do our best to navigate the challenges posed by COVID-19. 

It is our pleasure to play a role in keeping you well. We look forward to meeting you!


Do you Truly Have a Penicillin Allergy?

Penicillin allergy has periodically been on the news- see video below. Penicillin Allergy Day is September 28, which is the day the Sir Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Penicillin antibiotics are safe and effective. These important medications are often not used due to people having a diagnosis of penicillin allergy, and individuals with with penicillin allergy labels are at risk for suboptimal treatment with antibiotics, poorer clinical outcomes, drug-resistant infections, and adverse drug events. While about 10% of the US population (~32 million people) think they have penicillin allergy, more than 90% of those individuals can take penicillins safely. The incorrect labeling of penicillin allergy leads to the use of more expensive, more potent antibiotics. Risk for penicillin allergy can be broken down as follows:

  1. Low risk- those whose reactions have been limited to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or itching without rash as well as those who may only have a family history but no personal history of penicillin allergy. In addition, individuals who have a very distant history (over 10 years ago) or have had unknown reactions are also at low risk.
  2. Moderate risk- those who have had hives or other itchy rashes or other features suggestive of an allergic reaction
  3. High risk- those who have had anaphylaxis (life threatening allergic reaction), recurrent reactions to penicillins, positive testing, or multiple allergies to drugs related to penicillins

Evaluation by one of our board certified allergists can help identify people who truly have penicillin allergy. Here at Allergy Asthma Food Allergy Centers, we can help determine whether or not you or a loved one are truly allergic to penicillin through penicillin testing and or office based challenges to penicillin antibiotics. Contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Today Show Penicillin Allergy Story

 

Updated 9/27/2021