I meet my surgeon this Thursday and I've noticed people mention that they've scheduled other doctors appointments (ie pych eval) before meeting with their surgeon for the first time. Is this something I should consider? Should I call my surgeons office and ask about this? I need to have the surgery before the end of the year to avoid repaying my deductible.

You could call and ask and see what he dr requires or your insurance requires you to have before surgery. When I went for my drs appt they gave me the name of the pych dr they used. Some drs/ins don't even require you to have that. Do you know if your ins does?

I would go to your first appointment and from there, they will tell you what appointments are needed. They have certain physicians they work with and often schedule for that person. Sometimes trying to personally speed up the process only slows it down in the end.