We built these rooms so no woman would ever feel small in them.

Be. Women's Health & Wellness will see patients and accept insurance through September 30, 2026. The practice will close at noon on September 30.

After 13 years, the healthcare landscape has changed significantly.

Running a small, independent, insurance-based medical practice has become increasingly complex and administratively burdensome. Too much time and energy now goes into navigating insurance requirements and the business of healthcare rather than providing care in the personal, thoughtful way Be. was created to offer.

At the same time, Dr. B is ready to focus on the next chapter of her work, including specialized perimenopause and menopause care through Menopause Rocks, along with writing, teaching and women's health advocacy.

Closing Be. was not a quick or easy decision. It marks the end of a very full chapter and the beginning of a new direction after 13 wonderful years.

Please call the Be. office before September 30 to ask whether your appointment can be moved to an earlier date.

Appointment availability will become limited as we approach the closing date. Please contact us as soon as possible if you will need medication refills, laboratory follow-up or other ongoing care.

Established patients may request appointments through September 30, based on availability.

Be. will continue accepting insurance through its final day.

Dr. Bartos may be able to see a limited number of established Be. patients on a cash-pay basis through Menopause Rocks for time-sensitive continuity needs, such as a clinically appropriate medication refill.

Appointments will depend on availability, the patient's medical needs and whether the requested care can appropriately be provided through Menopause Rocks.

Menopause Rocks is not an urgent-care or emergency-care practice. For a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Yes.

Dr. B will continue caring for patients through Menopause Rocks, her membership-based practice.

Menopause Rocks provides specialized care in areas including:

• Perimenopause and menopause
• Hormone therapy
• Weight management
• Gut and metabolic health
• Peptide therapy
• Sexual wellness
• Midlife health and wellness

More information about membership and joining Dr. B is available at:

heatherbartosmd.com

At this time, we do not have confirmed information about where the other Be. providers will practice after the office closes.

Because we do not have that information, we cannot provide new office locations or scheduling instructions for them.

Please contact Be. before September 30 if you know you will need a prescription refill soon.

Refill requests must still be medically appropriate. Depending on the medication and when you were last seen, an appointment or laboratory testing may be required before a refill can be issued. Please do not wait until the final days of September to request a time-sensitive refill.

Our team will continue working on active prior authorizations until September 30. Insurance companies control their own processing timelines, so we cannot guarantee that every authorization will be completed before the practice closes. Patients with a pending authorization should contact the office before September 30 for an update.

The in-office Labcorp draw station will also leave the practice by mid September. Patients may continue using outside Labcorp draw stations when appropriate.

Please complete any recommended testing as soon as possible. Delays may make it harder for the Be. team to review and address your results before the practice closes.

A small administrative team will remain temporarily to complete necessary closure tasks. Our team may make outgoing calls when needed.

However, Be.'s incoming telephone lines will no longer be answered after September 30. Patients should make every effort to complete testing and discuss their results before the closing date.

After September 30, the only monitored Be. inbox can be reached here:

Email Be.

Email should not be used for emergencies or to send sensitive medical information.

No. Be. Women's Health & Wellness will be closed and will not complete forms, letters, disability paperwork or other clinical documentation requests after September 30.

Please submit anything that must be completed by Be. well before the closing date. We cannot guarantee that paperwork submitted close to September 30 will be completed before the practice closes.

Be. will continue processing outstanding insurance claims, payments and account matters as part of the practice closure.

You may continue to receive insurance explanations of benefits, billing statements or other account communications after September 30.

Patients who want a personal copy of their records or plan to transfer care should submit a request before the records are placed into long-term storage on October 31.

Once the records are placed into storage, retrieval will require additional processing time and may involve additional retrieval costs.

Medical-record requests must be submitted using our authorization form. There are three steps:

1. Download the authorization form below.
2. Complete and sign it. You'll need your name, date of birth, and where you'd like the records sent.
3. Email the signed form back to us, or post it to the office.

Download the form Email your signed form

Please attach the completed form to your email. We can't process a request without the signed authorization.

Yes. Medical-record fees will be charged according to Texas Medical Board guidelines.

Electronic records

• $25 for 500 pages or fewer
• $50 for more than 500 pages

Paper records

• $25 for the first 20 pages
• 50 cents for each additional page

Actual postage costs may be added if records are mailed.

If specifically requested, an affidavit may cost up to $15, and copies of imaging studies may cost up to $8 per copy.

There is no medical-records fee when the request is related to a benefits or assistance claim based on the patient's disability. This exception applies to the cost of providing medical records. It does not require Be. to complete disability forms or letters after the practice closes.

Records requested after they have been placed into long-term storage may also involve additional storage-retrieval costs.

Yes.

The authorization form allows you to request that your records be sent directly to another provider or practice.

Please have the receiving provider's correct name, address, fax number or secure records information available before submitting the form.

Beginning November 1, 2026, Be. medical records will be maintained by our designated records custodian, Veritrust.

From that date, requests go directly to Veritrust using their release form, not to Be.

Veritrust release form

Completed forms can be submitted by:

• Email — medicalrecords@veritrust.net
• Fax — 281-758-8316
• Mail — Medical Records Fulfillment, P.O. Box 550748, Houston, TX 77255

If you have any trouble submitting, call 713-263-9000 and ask for the Medical Records department.

The patient portal will remain available through September 29.

Patients should download any information they wish to retain before portal access ends. The patient portal is not a substitute for submitting a formal medical-records request.

Open patient portal

Beginning October 3, the Be. telephone lines will no longer accept incoming calls.

A small team will remain temporarily to complete closure-related tasks and may make outgoing calls when necessary.

After the office closes, one monitored inbox remains:

Email Be.

Responses may take longer after the office closes because only a small closure team will remain.

Do not contact Be. by email for an emergency.

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.