Why are the hours so unusual?
Dr. Selvaggi is the medical director of a laboratory at Hackensack University Medical Center. As a result, he needs to assure quality operation of this diagnostic laboratory. Additionally, Dr. Selvaggi’s expertise is frequently sought for patients in the hospital and must be available to support the diagnosis and management of certain conditions for other physicians in a thriving inpatient consultative service. Finally, Dr. Selvaggi has teaching duties which include the education of medical students, internal medicine resident physicians as well as providing education for his peer physicians.
Yes. Dr. Selvaggi sees children of all ages. The American Board of Allergy and Immunology which while an independent board is a conjoint board of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics.
There is a large parking lot in front of the building. While the address is 211 Essex Street, the entrance to the building and the parking lot is accessed by South Newman street. The entrance is across from the entrance to the McDonalds. While parking is usually available, occasionally during certain peak hours on certain days you may find difficulty finding a parking space. As a last resort, you may park at the Rite Aid at 219 Essex and take the back walkway to the front of the building.
The following items are required at your first visit: 1) A valid health insurance card; 2) A valid unexpired form of identification with your picture (or your parent if a minor); 3) Your completed new patient forms; 4) Your co-pay if applicable. The office has a strong commitment to compliance with all laws and regulations. Therefore as part of our commitment to red flag laws we require picture identification of all patients. Must arrive 20 minutes prior for registration. New patient appointments can vary from 60-90 minutes.
Yes. The office accepts Visa, Amex, Mastercard and Discover cards. Invoices sent via Paypal for online payment.
The Hackensack Allergy & Asthma Center strongly recommends that you discuss with the doctor on your first visit and cannot ever guarantee that you will receive skin testing on your first visit. Certain factors may need to be considered such as in some cases skin testing will not provide the correct information or is not indicated. Insurance may also factor into the decision, for instance, Cigna will not reimburse the Center for a high level visit if skin testing is done and you may require a high level visit if your case is complex. If you are on antihistamines you cannot get skin testing. In general, most long acting antihistamines will need to be stopped at least 10 day s prior to any skin testing. Antihistamines or medications with antihistamines include: loratadine (Claritin, Alavert), cetirizine (Zyrtec, AllerTec), fexofenadine (Allegra), Tylenol PM, Chlortrimeton, Tavist, Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and any medication that that treats allergy.
No. Dr. Selvaggi practices classical medicine and believes most diagnoses comes from the history (discussion with the patient), the physical examination and at times diagnostic testing. Dr. Selvaggi begins evaluation and treatment with evidenced based medicine guidelines, realizing that each patient may require ongoing monitoring or modification of evaluation and treatment based on the patient presentation, sometimes overtime.
No. Dr. Selvaggi receives no pharmaceutical company money and expressly forbids the provision of any meals or gifts to any members of his staff.