Seattle Clinic Kit

Front desk · enquiries · patient materials

A reference pack for the team taking the calls: how to answer the questions patients actually ask, what can and cannot be said, and how to tell a good fit from a polite pass.

August 2026
Within 1 hr
First human call
~15 min
Procedure time
~87%
Symptom-free at 5 yrs*
4
Checks before booking
01 · Start here For clinic use only

How to use this kit.

The clinic runs its own enquiries, its own systems, and its own schedule. Nothing here changes that. This is reference material for the people answering the phone, written to be adapted rather than followed exactly. Take what is useful and ignore the rest, with one exception: page 04 is the compliance page, and that one is firm.

Guardrail

Nothing here reaches a patient until the clinic signs off. All patient-facing language and every clinical claim goes through the clinic's own medical and legal review. This kit is a draft written to make that review quick.

The agreed language

The procedure, in the words we all signed off on.

These are the facts and the exact phrasing agreed with the clinical team, and they match the patient brochure word for word. If an answer anywhere in this kit ever disagrees with this list, this list wins, and please tell us so we can fix it.

What it is
Thermal Submucosal Hemorrhoidopexy (TSH), an outpatient procedure for hemorrhoids, performed by a surgeon. Say "outpatient procedure", not "in-office" and never "minimally invasive".
How it works
Under light sedation, the surgeon performs an incisionless procedure by applying gentle thermal energy to the tissue just above the hemorrhoid. The tissue contracts and is drawn back in, alleviating symptoms. Do not say the hemorrhoid returns to its "normal position". One word: incisionless.
How long it takes
The procedure takes about 15 minutes. Patients are discharged within 30 to 60 minutes.1
The visit pattern
A consult first, then the procedure at a separate visit. Never describe it as one single visit.
Anesthesia
Light sedation rather than general anesthesia, with a local anesthetic added if it is needed. Not "local anesthesia for most patients". confirm: how this clinic will run it
Recovery
In the study, most patients went back to work the same or the next day.1 A short follow-up visit confirms healing.
Durability
87% symptom-free at five years after a single procedure, in the published study of 248 Grade II and III patients.1
Candidacy
May be an option for ongoing symptoms despite over-the-counter treatments, lifestyle changes, or procedures such as rubber band ligation. A clinician decides after an in-person evaluation, never the phone.
The comparison figures, and where they come from

These are the numbers on the brochure's options panel, now each with a source: more than 1 in 2 adults over 50 live with hemorrhoidal disease;2 after rubber band ligation 49% see symptoms return within a year, and banding is often 2 to 3 sessions;3 after a surgical hemorrhoidectomy recovery typically takes 4 to 6 weeks.4 confirm: the 4 to 6 week figure Our cited source gives an average of two to four weeks with a range of two to eight, so please confirm the wording the clinic wants before print.

Sources
  1. Sias F, Milone L. Thermal submucosal hemorrhoidopexy: five-year outcomes in 248 patients with Grade II and III hemorrhoidal disease. Journal of Surgery, 2025.
  2. Fox A, Tietze PH, Ramakrishnan K. Anorectal conditions: hemorrhoids. FP Essentials. 2014;419:11-19.
  3. Dekker L, Bak MTJ, Bemelman WA, Felt-Bersma RJF, Han-Geurts IJM. Hemorrhoidectomy versus rubber band ligation in grade III hemorrhoidal disease. Annals of Coloproctology, 2021.
  4. Cleveland Clinic. Hemorrhoidectomy. my.clevelandclinic.org/health/procedures/hemorrhoidectomy.
What a good enquiry looks like

The four-point check.

Before spending real time on someone, this is what is worth confirming. It takes about thirty seconds, and it is the same list whether the enquiry arrived by phone, by web form, or as a referral.

A real, reachable person
A working phone number or email, and a name that is not obviously junk. One verification attempt is enough before marking it spam.
Willing to travel to Seattle
Where they live does not matter. Whether they will come to the clinic does. People travel for a procedure like this, so ask rather than assume.
Commercial insurance, or able to self-pay
The clinic cannot bill Medicare or Medicaid, so it is kinder to say so early than to let someone get their hopes up.
Has symptoms, and wants them treated
Someone still researching is worth keeping warm, not chasing. Someone who wants this dealt with is worth a consult time today.
All four yes → offer a consult. Whether the procedure actually suits them is the surgeon's call at the consult, never a judgement made on the phone. The full triage, including how to close the ones that are not a match, is on page 02.
Two answers only the clinic has

Fill these in before the team goes live.

Two questions come up on almost every call, and both are clinic decisions rather than something this kit can answer. They may even differ from one location to the next. Write the answers in, and the scripts on the other pages work as they stand.

Clinic decides
What is the anesthesia approach here?
Per the published paper, every patient in the series received light IV sedation (midazolam 2 mg), with propofol or a local anesthetic added as needed for anoscope discomfort. The patient materials now follow that wording rather than "local anesthesia, not general". Confirm it matches how this clinic will actually run it, and note any exceptions. It drives the honest answer to "does it hurt?" and what to say about recovery.
Our answer
Clinic decides
Which plans are accepted, and what is the self-pay rate?
Patients are told the clinic takes commercial insurance and offers self-pay. The team needs the accepted-plan list and the self-pay figure to answer cost questions with any confidence.
Our answer
Anything else to settle

Questions, corrections, and anything this kit gets wrong about how the clinic actually runs.

What's inside

Six pages, one job: more booked consults.

02 · Convert

Lead flow & qualifying

A response cadence built for a busy desk, and the four checks that decide who gets the follow-up time.
03 · Convert

Question battlecard

The 14 questions callers ask most, with suggested wording for each in plain, compliant language.
04 · Comply

Say / don't say

Approved language, the words never to use, and what must never be promised. The firm page.
05 · Patient

Patient materials

The one-page handout, the finished tri-fold brochure with the print PDF, and a conversation card for nurses and NPs.
06 · Learn

Hemorrhoid education

Symptoms, the words patients use, and every treatment option with where ours sits among them.
Worth doing once the phones are busy

Ideas, for whenever there's room.

None of this is required, and none of it matters in week one. It is the short list of habits that tend to make the next few months easier.

Track the questions

Keep a running note of what callers actually ask. Anything that comes up three times belongs on the battlecard, and the team should send it over so the kit gets updated.

Ask after recovery

A short check-in a week or two after the procedure tells the clinic how patients are really doing, and catches anyone who needs attention sooner.

Ask for the review

Patients who are glad they came will happily say so, but usually only if asked. The best moment is right after a good follow-up, never before.

Note where they heard about it

One line at the end of the first call. Over a few months it shows which referral sources are actually working.

Log the passes

The reasons enquiries are turned away are as useful as the bookings. A pattern in the passes usually points at something fixable.

Keep the handout stocked

The one-pager on page 05 is meant to leave with the patient. It works hardest at the front desk, not in a drawer.

The one habit

Answer early, answer honestly, book the right patient.

Fill in the two answers above and the rest of this kit works as it stands. Start with lead flow.