New patients, second opinions, and referrals are scheduled through Intermountain Health for the Lutheran Clinic – Weight Loss & Reflux Center in Wheat Ridge.
Draft for Dr. Speer’s review — not yet reviewedLast updated September 29, 2026
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Location
Lutheran Clinic – Weight Loss & Reflux Center Intermountain Health 12905 W. 40th Ave., Suite 405 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Referrals are welcome for reflux that is refractory or suspected to need a procedure, hiatal and paraesophageal hernias, recurrent symptoms after foregut surgery, achalasia and other motility disorders, and evaluation of reflux after bariatric surgery.
Helpful to include with a referral: the reason for referral and specific question, recent clinic notes, and the records listed below.
Records checklist
Sending records before the first visit makes it far more productive. Records from outside Intermountain Health usually need to be requested from each facility.
Operative reports from any prior esophageal, stomach, hiatal hernia, or weight-loss surgery
Upper endoscopy reports and pathology (biopsy) reports
pH monitoring and manometry reports — the full reports, with tracings or summary graphics if available
Imaging reports and images for CT scans and barium studies (a disc or an image-sharing link)
Gastric emptying study results, if done
A current medication list, including reflux medicines and how you take them
A short symptom timeline — what started when, what helped, what didn’t
Insurance
Coverage depends on your specific plan. Before your visit, call the member-services number on your insurance card to confirm that specialist visits are covered and whether your plan requires a referral or prior authorization. The scheduling team can also help answer questions about which plans Intermountain Health accepts for this clinic.
Questions about visits
Do I need a referral to see Dr. Speer?
That depends on your health plan. Some plans require a referral from a primary care clinician before a specialist visit; the scheduling team and your insurer can tell you what yours requires.
Even when a referral isn’t required, having your primary care clinician or gastroenterologist send records ahead of time makes the first visit more productive. Before scheduling, it helps to call the member-services number on your insurance card to confirm coverage for specialist visits and any testing that may follow.
What should I expect at a first visit with a foregut surgeon?
A detailed conversation about your symptoms and history, a review of any tests you’ve already had, an examination, and a discussion of which additional tests — if any — are needed before treatment options can be weighed.
Many first visits don’t end with a treatment decision, and that’s normal. The goal is to understand exactly what is causing your symptoms. If testing is incomplete, you may leave with a plan for endoscopy, pH monitoring, manometry, or imaging, followed by a visit to review the results together.
It helps to bring a list of your medications (including over-the-counter reflux medicines and how you take them), a brief symptom timeline, the names of clinicians you’ve seen, and your questions written down. Bringing a family member or friend can help you remember the discussion.
How do I request an appointment?
Call the scheduling line or use Intermountain Health’s online scheduling for the Lutheran Clinic – Weight Loss & Reflux Center; referring clinicians can also send a referral by fax.
When you call, mention that you’d like an appointment with Dr. Speer and briefly describe the reason — for example, reflux that hasn’t responded to medication, a hiatal hernia, swallowing difficulty, or symptoms after previous surgery. That helps the team schedule the right type of visit. If you use Intermountain’s patient portal, you can manage appointments and messages there once you are established as a patient.