FAQ: Medical Visits

Currently our regular clinic hours are 10:00am – 6:00pm, Monday-Friday and Saturdays 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. However, our retail location stays open until 5:00 pm on Saturdays. Additionally, members may access clinicians by phone or text as needed. After-hours visits are available as arranged by the provider.

While we always seek to offer same day or next-day appointments for our members (even new members…), we appreciate the opportunity to schedule visits whenever possible.

As long as you need! Our providers will take into consideration other patients who may need to be seen, and the number and complexity of medical issues the patient may present. That said, most clinic visits last approximately 30-45 minutes.

Yes. We will make every effort to make time to address your healthcare needs.

Althera providers are experienced, licensed, well known and established in the Albuquerque medical community. Our providers refer patients to specialists and other providers in the community just as any insurance-based practice would do. For some outside services, we can help find reasonable “cash” prices if you are paying out-of-pocket – especially for radiology and lab. We can provide many urgent care type services (acute illnesses, stitches, or injury care, etc.) that can help people avoid a trip to the ER. However, we do recommend additional health insurance in the case of an unexpected, expensive event such as surgery, ER visit or hospitalization.

Yes, as arranged, within the Albuquerque metropolitan area and for a fee. This service is additional to the membership fee structure.

We think of “virtual visits” as a supplement to good primary care – not a replacement for in-person care. Generally, if the issue does NOT require a physical exam, a virtual visit may suffice. For simple acute care issues (e.g. allergies, ankle sprain, acne etc.) and some chronic issues especially those where patients are well controlled (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, etc.) can largely be managed via virtual visit, phone or text message communication. Any issue which requires a physical exam (e.g. coughs, sinus infections, ear infection, new pain, etc.) we will recommend a traditional clinic visit.