A rheumatologist is a specialist doctor adept at treating autoimmune diseases and musculoskeletal conditions. After medical school, the rheumatologist first undergoes training in general internal medicine, and then further fellowship training to subspecialize in rheumatology. A board-certified rheumatologist means that they have passed exams for two boards, one for rheumatology and one for internal medicine.

Due to the fact that there are hundreds of types of rheumatic diseases and conditions, it is important to have your symptoms examined by a specialist. In this case, that would be a rheumatologist. Many rheumatologic conditions are not so straightforward in their clinical presentation or how they show up in the blood tests, requiring a skilled expert evaluation.

To promote safety and reduce exposure risk to our patients and staff, we are currently only permitting the patient with the appointment to enter the office. Masks are required to enter the office. At the front desk, we are checking temperature and asking brief screening questions. We ask that if you have a fever or feel unwell, to call and let us know prior to your appointment to reschedule your appointment. If a fever is identified or you answer ‘yes’ to any of the screening questions, then your appointment will be switched to telemedicine if you are a follow-up patient, or rescheduled if you are a new patient. Family members who wish to participate or need to assist with translation may participate by calling the patient’s phone. All staff are using personal protective equipment (PPE) and we are sanitizing equipment and our facility more frequently.

Please download, print, and fill out the New Patient Packet prior to your first appointment. Bring the completed packet; any relevant medical records related to your reason for referral ie. clinical notes, labs or imaging reports; any prescription, over-the-counter medications or supplements you are currently taking; your insurance cards; photo identification card; and method of payment; to your first appointment. Please plan to arrive 20-30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time to complete your new patient check-in and triage process.

If your insurance carrier requires you to have a referral from your PCP, it is your responsibility to ensure that the referral information and referral number is received by this office from your PCP prior to your office visit. Please ensure that your PCP sends your relevant clinical notes, labs or imaging reports and are received by us prior to your office visit.

It is imperative that you confirm on the phone that you are coming to your appointment 2 business days in advance of your appointment time, or your appointment time may be offered to another patient. Please refer to the office policies section in the New Patient Packet for further details regarding appointment confirmation, cancellations, and no-shows.

We accept all major credit cards, FSA/HSA cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH payment (electronic check), cash, personal checks. We have implemented a policy requiring a credit card to be held on file for all patients. Please review the policy details in the New Patient Packet. Payment of all estimated out-of-pocket expenses (co-pays, deductible, co-insurance, etc.) is required at the time of your office visit. Please come prepared to make payment of these amounts. Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance policy. The ultimate responsibility for payment of services rendered rests with you the patient or guarantor.

Yes, Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care accepts self-pay patients.

No, Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care does not accept cases of Medicaid, Worker’s Compensation, or Disability.

Yes, for our follow-up patients we offer telemedicine accessible from the Patient Portal. Dr. Lomibao is licensed to practice medicine in the state of Texas only, so you must be located in Texas at the time of your televisit. Due to the complexity of rheumatologic conditions which necessitates a physical exam to properly assess new patients, we can only offer telemedicine to follow-up patients, not new patients.

Please come prepared to your appointment with a list of medications you need refilled. Otherwise, please contact your pharmacy regarding refills. Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care does not send routine refills when the office is closed after hours or on the weekends. It is your responsibility to come prepared to your appointment with your refill list.

Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care is strictly a no-narcotic, no-psychoactive drugs, and no-controlled substance practice.

Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care offers in-office procedures such as intramuscular injections for immediate all-over relief, injections for bursitis of the hip or shoulder, trigger point injections (coming soon!), and in select circumstances certain knee aspirations. Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care can assist patients with referral to an orthopedist when needing dedicated injections or surgery for knee, hip, and shoulder osteoarthritis, referral to pain management for neck and back spinal injections, referral to neurosurgery for neck and back spinal surgery.

Dr. Lomibao is board-certified in Adult Rheumatology only, which means the practice can only accept adult patients aged 18 years and older. Individuals less than age 18 should look for care with a board-certified Pediatric Rheumatologist. There is no limit to the upper age range of patients we treat.

We recommend all patients who seek specialty care with us have a PCP to handle their non-rheumatology medical concerns. Lomibao Rheumatology & Wellness Care is a specialty practice that exclusively treats Rheumatology conditions. As such, our practice does not engage in the practice of Primary Care, this includes but is not limited to prescribing antibiotics, refilling medications, or ordering testing for non-rheumatology medical problems. Patients who have these needs will be referred back to their Primary Care Provider or Urgent Care if they do not have one.

Dr. Lomibao’s scope of practice is limited to autoimmune diseases that lie inside the realm of Rheumatology only, please review our Conditions Treated for a detailed list. Our practice does not treat organ-limited autoimmune diseases since they are handled by other specialists, this includes but is not limited to Hashimoto/Graves/autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease/ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis/cholangitis, psoriasis only, uveitis/iritis only. We recommend individuals with connective tissue genetic diseases such as Marfan’s and Ehler Danlos to seek care at a university center with a multi-disciplinary genetics clinic as our practice does not offer those services.