Specialist in Family Medicine
Kristin Evan’s medical career started with an unusual twist: a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Akron. This degree quickly led to a teaching position where she taught high school science, math, and language arts. While she soon realized that teaching high school was not the right career path for her, she did identify a deep love for educating and helping others.
The desire to help others and use her knowledge to teach, led her to enroll at the MedCentral College of Nursing in Mansfield, OH, for an intensive program for a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. After graduation, she accepted a position at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and began a career as a registered nurse. For the next two years she cared for vascular patients in the hospital environment and provided education to help them improve their health.
A move to Columbus, OH, led to years of working in a variety of intensive care units in the hospital. She loved the work and eventually earned a place as an Organ Procurement Coordinator, facilitating the donation of life saving organ through transplantation. Shortly after, she chose Ball State University in Indiana to pursue a Master’s Degree in Nursing specializing in Family Medicine. After a move to Chattanooga, she did the majority of her clinical training in Ooltewah at Galen Mountain View Medicine. Kristin has worked with both adults and children providing primary and urgent care services ever since.
1651 Gunbarrel Road, Suite 301
Chattanooga, TN 37421
Since 2015
It has always been my goal that I would treat patients as I would like to be treated: with compassion and dignity, recognizing each person as a unique individual rather than a diagnosis. The first goal is always to understand the person’s needs and to recognize that the individual is the expert in his or her health. We then work to optimize well being and realize health goals that we establish together.
MSN | Ball State University, Muncie, IN
BSN | MedCentral College of Nursing, Ashland, OH
BA | Secondary Education, University of Akron, Akron, OH
Certifications:
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
Our primary care physicians specialize in internal medicine for adults. They are equipped to diagnose and treat a broad and comprehensive spectrum of acute and chronic illnesses. Our providers emphasize disease prevention, and work with the patient to develop a healthy lifestyle, manage their individual health, and provide needed advice throughout the many stages of adulthood.
Our goal is to improve the health of those we serve with a commitment to excellence through mutual goal setting and evidence-based treatment in a caring, comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective setting.
Preventive medicine is practiced by all physicians to keep their patients healthy. It is also a unique medical specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Preventive medicine focuses on the health of individuals, communities, and defined populations. Its goal is to protect, promote, and maintain health and well-being and to prevent disease, disability, and death.
Preventive medicine specialists are licensed medical doctors (MD) or doctors of osteopathy (DO), who possess core competencies in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental and occupational medicine, planning and evaluation of health services, management of health care organizations, research into causes of disease and injury in population groups, and the practice of prevention in clinical medicine. They apply knowledge and skills gained from the medical, social, economic, and behavioral sciences.
What is a wellness exam?
An annual wellness exam is a comprehensive preventive exam with your primary care physician for the sole purpose of preventive care. An annual exam does not include discussion of new problems or detailed review of chronic conditions. An annual exam may also be called a routine check-up, yearly exam, annual pap, or preventive visit.
Will my insurance pay for a wellness exam?
Most health plans will pay for one wellness or preventive exam per year. Your insurance provider may consider this to be (1) once per calendar year or (2) or once every 366 days from the date of your last wellness exam.
If you have had any other visit billed as preventive during this time period your plan is likely to deny your wellness exam. This would include a well-woman exam or annual pap smear. Your plan may not pay for all testing and/or labs ordered during your wellness exam. If your provider has a concern and orders diagnostic testing and/or labs during your exam you may be financially responsible.
It is the patient’s responsibility to check with their insurance provider to see what is covered under their wellness benefit, and to ensure they are eligible prior to scheduling their annual wellness exam.
What is the difference between a wellness exam and a problem visit?
Preventive visits and tests ordered by your provider can help you stay healthy and catch problems early. Diagnostic visits and testing are used to diagnose a current health problem. Diagnostic tests are ordered by your provider when you have symptoms and they want to find out why. For example, your provider might want you to have a test because of your age or family history, that’s preventive care, but if it’s because you’re having symptoms or a problem, that is diagnostic care.
Can I have a wellness exam and problem visit at the same time?
The answer is Yes, but not preferred. It is possible to address a problem at a wellness exam, however, it is not the preferred method. A wellness exam is a comprehensive review of systems, medications, past and current medical history, health risk assessment, and preventive testing for potential risks. Wellness exams typically do not require a copay, and, many times, may be covered at 100% (this, of course, is dependent on your insurance plan). When you combine a problem visit with the wellness exam you are billed for both a wellness visit, and a problem visit; which may then require a copay, or have the charges applied to your deductible. For this reason, we ask that you please schedule a separate appointment, on a different day, if you have any new concerns or ongoing health problems that need more attention.
Our experienced group of providers apply a modern approach and a caring touch to provide you with the highest quality health care in the Chattanooga region.
