FAQS

Quick answers so you can move
forward with confidence.

• What is Doc Envoy®?

  Doc Envoy is a physician-led advisory service for patients and families navigating complex medical care. Founded by a board-certified internal medicine physician, we translate medical language, synthesize what multiple care teams are saying, and help you participate in your own care with more clarity. We are present for appointments when you include us, and the work always happens with you. We do not replace your physicians; we help you understand what they are telling you.

• Do you replace my doctors?

  No. We do not replace your primary or specialty care. We support your relationship with your care team by helping you understand what is being discussed, so the conversations stay clearer and the decisions stay yours.

• How is this different from concierge medicine or a second opinion?

  They solve different problems. Concierge medicine gives you a primary physician with enhanced access. A second opinion is a one-time clinical review by another physician. Doc Envoy is neither. We do not provide medical care or render opinions on what you should do. We translate and synthesize what your own care team has already said, across multiple physicians, so you can follow the full picture and take part in it.

• Who is Doc Envoy designed to help?

  Patients facing new or complex diagnoses, families managing chronic or multi-specialist care, adults supporting aging parents, and caregivers navigating a hospital stay from the bedside or from across the country. Doc Envoy is for involved patients and families who want orientation, not rescue: people who want to understand their own care and make their own decisions, with a physician helping them through.

• What happens on a Discovery Call?

  We begin by listening. You share what is happening, your goals, your concerns, and what your care looks like right now. We explain how Doc Envoy works and what it does and does not do, and we help you decide whether we fit where you are. There is no obligation to engage.

• Where do you work? Is support available nationwide?

  Yes. Doc Envoy is a virtual service available in all 50 states. Select in-person options may be available by request.

• How do you work with my care team?

  With your consent, we help you prepare summaries and questions before visits, we are present for appointments when you include us, and we keep a clear, plain-language record so you can follow what has been decided. We do not contact your care team on our own. When we are present for a call or appointment with them, it happens with you or your designated representative present. Your care is yours, and the conversations that shape it should be yours.

• Can you prescribe medications or order tests?

  No. We do not prescribe, order tests, or act as a physician of record. Those belong to your care team, and to you. Our role is to help you understand the plan your physicians have set, so you can follow it and ask about it with confidence.

• How do I prepare for my first engagement?

  Most of the initial review is asynchronous. You can upload recent records you would like reviewed, as PDFs or portal downloads, or be ready to reference your patient portal. A current medication list and your top few questions or goals are helpful. If you would like a head start, our free Portal Notes Decoder can help you read your own chart before we begin.

• What is the typical cadence of support?

  It depends on what you need. Rapid Chart Clarity is an expedited, asynchronous translation when something changes and clarity cannot wait. The Chart Clarity Package is a fuller, one-time record review. Single Appointment Companion supports one important visit. Hospital Envoy and Discharge Envoy cover an inpatient stay and the transition home. Care Companion and Continuity Envoy are multi-month partnerships for evolving care. A Discovery Call helps match the timeframe to where you are.

• How does hospital support work?

  When someone is admitted, Hospital Envoy provides physician-led translation and synthesis during the inpatient stay, so you understand what you are being told and can make sense of what comes next. Discharge Envoy continues beyond the hospital, through the transition home and the first primary care visit, where the handoff actually lands. We do not communicate independently with the hospital. Anything involving your care team happens with you or your designated representative present and with your consent.

• What if my situation changes mid-engagement?

  Care evolves. If your needs change, we move you to a different level of support at a defined transition point, usually the start of a new month, rather than adjusting an engagement continuously. The Discovery Call and ongoing check-ins are where we sort out what fits next.

• What do you mean by synthesis?

  Synthesis is how we hold multiple voices as one picture. When several care teams are involved, we bring together what each is saying, organize the information, summarize updates, and help you see how the pieces fit, so nothing important falls through. Synthesis does not mean making medical decisions, directing your care, prescribing, ordering tests, or acting as a physician of record. Those stay with your care team, and with you.

• Can I upload records during a partnership engagement?

  Yes. You can share new or updated records related to your ongoing care, and they are reviewed as part of your monthly summaries and appointment preparation. A comprehensive review of large historical record sets is not part of a partnership engagement; that is available separately through the Chart Clarity Package.

• Does a partnership engagement cover more than one patient?

  No. Each engagement supports one patient’s care and records. Family members are welcome to take part in scheduled sessions to support shared understanding.

• What are my payment options?

  For our 1:1 services, you can pay by ACH bank transfer or by credit card, with no added fee either way. ACH is our preferred method. We do not bill insurance; 1:1 services are paid out of pocket. Digital products are purchased by card through our checkout.

• Can I pay with an HSA or FSA card?

  Doc Envoy accepts payment by credit card or ACH bank transfer, and HSA and FSA cards run as standard cards. Whether our services are eligible for HSA or FSA reimbursement depends on your individual plan and on how your plan administrator classifies non-clinical advisory services, which varies. Because eligibility is not something we can determine, we recommend confirming with your plan administrator before you purchase.

• What is an Ease and Strategy Session?

  The Ease and Strategy Session is a monthly touchpoint included in every partnership engagement (Care Companion and Continuity Envoy). We review where care stands, what is coming up, and what to prioritize. The format flexes to fit each month. By default it is a live 30-minute video call, and family members are welcome to join. When scheduling a live call is difficult, the session can be delivered as an asynchronous video and written summary. For stable months when nothing significant has changed, it can be a written check-in. The cadence is monthly. The format adapts to your bandwidth.

• What if my loved one goes to rehab or a skilled nursing facility before going home?

  Some hospital stays end with a transfer to acute rehab or skilled nursing before the patient returns home. Discharge Envoy adapts to this trajectory: the bridge waits for you, and a second day-of-discharge call is added when your loved one leaves the facility. Pricing adjusts by $500 to reflect the extended timeline.

  For active translation support during the facility stay itself, Doc Envoy does not currently offer that service. Post-acute facilities communicate at their own pace, with less frequent care conferences and information that often surfaces through case managers and social workers. Rather than promise translation we cannot reliably deliver, we focus our facility-stage support on the two discharge transitions, where the paperwork and decisions are most consequential. If you need active support during a facility stay, bring it up on the Discovery Call and we will help you identify resources better suited to that phase.

• What is your scheduling and cancellation policy?

  For scheduled live sessions, such as an Ease and Strategy Session or planned appointment presence, we ask for at least 24 hours’ notice to reschedule, so we can honor the time reserved for every client. Asynchronous work is not affected by scheduling changes.

  In the partnership engagements, appointment presence is allocated monthly. An appointment counts toward the monthly allocation once Doc Envoy time is reserved and preparation has been completed for that visit. An appointment canceled before preparation begins, with at least 24 hours’ notice, does not count toward the allocation. An appointment canceled after preparation is complete, or with less than 24 hours’ notice, does count, because the time has already been held.

• How quickly do you respond and schedule?

  We aim to respond to messages within two business days and to schedule Discovery Calls within three to five business days. In active engagements, time-sensitive questions related to your engagement receive priority, and Continuity Envoy includes a one-business-day response to time-sensitive questions.

• Do you help with insurance, prior authorizations, or disability and FMLA paperwork?

  No. Doc Envoy does not provide insurance navigation, billing support, prior authorizations, or completion of disability, FMLA, or other administrative forms. Our role is to translate and clarify medical information so you can understand your care and prepare for conversations about it. Insurance questions belong with your insurer or the billing office, and administrative forms belong with the physician or practitioner completing them.

• What happens to my records after our work together ends?

  During your engagement, Doc Envoy creates materials such as summaries, reports, and videos to help you understand your care. These are delivered to you and are yours to keep. We retain copies of records and work product securely during your engagement and for a limited period afterward, then permanently delete them. Records and related materials are kept for up to 24 months after the engagement ends, after which they are deleted; you may request earlier deletion in writing.

• How do we get started?

  Book a Discovery Call. We will listen to your situation, explain how we work, and help you decide whether we are a fit. There is no obligation to engage.

• Is Doc Envoy medical care or a second opinion?

  No. Doc Envoy is a physician-led, non-clinical service. We translate how medical care is organized and communicated, synthesize the information you provide, and help you prepare for and understand conversations with your care team. We do not diagnose, prescribe, order tests, recommend treatment, provide a medical second opinion, or replace your care team.

• Why would I pay a physician when I already have physicians?

  Your care team makes medical decisions and delivers your care. That is their role. Doc Envoy does not replace it and does not take part in those decisions. What often goes missing is everything around them: what the plan actually means, why two specialists can sound like they disagree when they do not, what the team is waiting for, and what usually comes next. Doc Envoy holds that thread across appointments, teams, and transitions, so you can follow what is happening and take part in it.

• How is this different from asking AI to summarize my records?

  AI is useful for defining terms and producing a first-pass summary. Doc Envoy adds something different. A physician personally reviews the records and circumstances you provide, brings firsthand knowledge of how hospitals and clinics are organized and how they communicate, and holds the thread across your actual appointments and transitions. The value is not a shorter version of the record. It is a person who understands not only how the pieces fit together but how the puzzle was created, and who can tell you what to prepare for next.

• Will you talk to my doctors for me?

  No. You or your representative remain in communication with your care team. Your envoy may join an appointment or hospital rounds when you invite your envoy in, and always with you or your representative present. Doc Envoy does not contact your care team independently and does not maintain a separate line of communication about your care.

• How does my envoy join an appointment or hospital rounds?

  You invite your envoy into the room. For an in-person appointment or for rounds, your envoy joins by speakerphone. For a telehealth visit, your envoy joins through a telemedicine link when the platform allows it, and by speakerphone otherwise. You remain the person in conversation with your care team. Your envoy may ask a clarifying question when it helps, and is there so you can follow what is being said and know what to ask.

  Rounds are different. They move on their own schedule and are rarely announced in advance, so your envoy joins when available. Either way, you go into rounds with questions your envoy helped you prepare, and the scheduled conversation afterward is where the day gets worked through.

• How does the daily conversation during a hospital stay work?

  Each covered business day includes one scheduled conversation with your envoy, with you and the family members you want informed on the call together. There is no clock on it. A quiet day is short and a day with a new diagnosis is not. Developments after that conversation can be sent securely and are picked up the next covered business day.

• Which appointments count as an attendance?

  Attendance covers scheduled office visits and telehealth appointments, up to 60 minutes each. Preparation is included and is not counted separately. Two appointments on the same day count as two attendances. Infusions, dialysis sessions, imaging appointments, procedures, and emergency department visits are not appointment attendances. Those settings are for treatment, testing, or urgent assessment rather than scheduled conversations about your care.

• What if my care team cannot include my envoy?

  Some practices and some visit types cannot accommodate a call. When that happens, the included attendance converts to an expanded preparation and debrief, adapted to when we learn of the restriction. When we know beforehand, that means a 30-minute preparation call, a written question list for you to bring, and a 30-minute debrief afterward. When it comes up at the appointment itself, it means a debrief and a written summary.

• Are conversations recorded?

  No. Doc Envoy does not record appointments, rounds, or calls, and does not take part in conversations with your care team that are being recorded. Your envoy takes notes and provides you with a written summary.

• How do I share my records?

  After the Discovery Call and scope confirmation, you receive instructions for securely sharing your records. Records come from you rather than from your hospital or practice, because Doc Envoy is not part of your care team and has no independent access to your medical record.

• What if some of my records are still arriving?

  Records are submitted within the window we set during the Discovery Call. When you tell us your upload is complete, we review the set for completeness, and your delivery window begins when we confirm review has started. If material records are still arriving at the end of the submission window, we will ask whether you would like us to proceed with what you have provided or revise the scope and timeline. Anything we deliver will note material records that were not available for review.

• What does asynchronous messaging include?

  Written questions about your records, your upcoming appointments, and conversations that have already happened. Messages are answered within two business days. Continuity Envoy members receive a one-business-day response to time-sensitive questions. Doc Envoy’s business hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Arizona time, excluding holidays. Messaging does not cover new or worsening symptoms, which belong with your treating team.

• How is hospital support priced when nobody knows how long the stay will be?

  Hospital Envoy and Discharge Envoy begin with two business days of support, and additional business days are $1,000 each. Nothing continues without your approval, so the price never runs ahead of what you have approved. You are also never charged for a weekend or holiday, because support runs on business days.

• What if discharge happens on a weekend or after hours?

  Preparation for discharge happens in advance rather than on the day itself, so you have the Handoff Worksheet and your questions ready in the room whenever discharge is called. Your envoy’s day-of-discharge call takes place that day when discharge occurs during business hours, and on the next business day otherwise.

• Why do unused appointments not roll over?

  Monthly appointments reserve capacity in that month and keep a steady cadence through active care. They do not accumulate. If Doc Envoy must cancel an appointment, that attendance remains available to you and receives priority rescheduling.

• How is my health information protected?

  Your records are shared and stored through the secure client portal used for every Doc Envoy engagement, not by email and not in shared folders. Access is limited to your envoy. Doc Envoy takes the privacy and security of your health information seriously and takes steps to protect it.

  Doc Envoy is not a HIPAA-covered entity, because we are not part of your care team and do not bill insurance. How your information is handled is described in our Privacy Notice and in the confidentiality terms of your service agreement. We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for any purpose other than your engagement.

• Who will my envoy be?

  Every Doc Envoy engagement is led by a physician. Today that physician is Stephanie Kokseng, MD, a hospitalist with over fifteen years inside hospital medicine.

• What if I need to end an engagement early?

  Either of us can end an engagement at any time with written notice. What happens to fees depends on how you paid. If you paid in full, fees are non-refundable once the engagement has begun, because we reserve time and capacity for you in advance. If you are on a monthly payment plan, your service continues through the end of the last paid month, and nothing further is owed after that. Either way, the summaries and materials we created together are yours to keep.

  If your circumstances change, tell us. We will look at whether a different Doc Envoy service fits better. We would rather have that conversation than leave you in an engagement that no longer matches where you are.

• What should I do in an emergency?

  Call 911. For new or worsening symptoms, contact your treating team. Doc Envoy is not an emergency service and does not provide urgent or around-the-clock medical care.