Your first visit, made simple

Many insurance plans require a referral from your primary care physician before seeing a specialist. If your doctor referred you, we've likely already received the paperwork by fax. If you're unsure, call our office at (559) 661-1965 and our staff will check your plan's requirements with you.

Yes. Our entire staff speaks Spanish, so you and your family will always have someone to explain things in Spanish — when you call, when you arrive, during your appointment, and afterward. The physicians see patients in English, and a staff member is always there to translate and make sure you understand your care plan, your medications, and your results. The doctors also speak Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi.

Please bring a valid photo ID, your insurance card(s), a complete list of your current medications with dosages (including over-the-counter drugs and supplements), any referral paperwork from your doctor, and copies of recent lab results or kidney imaging if you have them. Don't worry if you're missing something — our staff can request records from your other doctors.

Your nephrologist will review your medical history, medications, blood pressure, and lab work (such as creatinine and eGFR, which measure kidney function). Together you'll discuss what the results mean in plain language and agree on a care plan. First visits are more thorough than routine follow-ups, so allow extra time.

Yes. Our physicians manage every stage of dialysis care — explaining your options (hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis), coordinating vascular access, and providing ongoing physician oversight. Dr. Masood also serves as Medical Director at the Madera Kidney Center, an outpatient dialysis facility.

Our nephrologists provide inpatient consultations at Saint Agnes Medical Center, Community Regional Medical Center, and Clovis Community Medical Center. If you're hospitalized, your hospital care team can request a nephrology consult with our physicians.

We participate in health plans from all the major carriers, including Medicare, Medi-Cal, Cigna, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Blue Shield of California. You can search your plan on this page, but coverage details change — the surest way is to call our office at (559) 661-1965 and we'll verify your benefits.

The usual reasons are an eGFR below 60, a creatinine above the normal range, protein or blood found in your urine, or blood pressure that stays high on three or more medications. Diabetes with any sign of kidney involvement is another. If you're holding a result and you're not sure whether it counts, call us at (559) 661-1965 and ask — that's a question our staff answers all day, and you don't need a diagnosis first.

That depends on your plan and where you are in your deductible, so the honest answer is that we'll check it rather than guess. Call us at (559) 661-1965 with your insurance card and we'll verify your benefits and tell you what a visit costs before you commit to anything. If your plan isn't one we participate in, call anyway — we'd rather have the conversation than have you go without care.

Yes. Madera is our main office, and we also see patients in northeast Fresno inside Trust Clinic on N. Willow Ave. Same physicians, same phone number for both. The two keep different hours, so mention which one you'd prefer when you call and we'll find a time that works.

Call the same number — (559) 661-1965 — and a real person will answer and take your message, even when the office is closed. Our staff will call you back on the next business day. Please don't wait on a callback if this is a medical emergency: call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.