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Office Policies

Appointments

Patients are seen by appointment Monday through Friday, from 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Some of our providers have slightly different schedules, so times may vary. Our office is closed for lunch from 1:00 P.M. till 1:45 P.M. each day. Same day appointments are available for acute problems on a first come, first served basis.

If you are enrolled on our secure online information site, NextMD, you may request your appointments online.  If you are not enrolled please call us today and ask to be enrolled.

Each time you check in for your appointment you will be asked for updated information on demographics and insurance.  We want to be certain that we have the most accurate information for submitting your claims and obtaining pre-certifications for diagnostic testing.

Late Policy

If you arrive late for an appointment, it may not be possible for you to be seen by your physician on that same day.  "Working" someone in to the provider's schedule does not work; it will only shortchange the patient and doctor needs, and it delays the patients who do arrive on time.  We strive to honor appointment times and respect patients' schedules.  For this reason, patients who show up late are generally asked to reschedule or see the Nurse Practitioner if there is an open appointment.

Patients who do not call to cancel and fail to show up for appointments on a recurring basis may be considered for dismissal from the practice.

Prescription Refills

We prefer that prescription refills are handled during an appointment, but if this is not possible, please have your pharmacist call our refill line. Patients who are enrolled in our secure website, NextMD, may request refills online.   Messages received in the morning are called out by the close of business that day. Calls received in the afternoon will be returned by lunch the next day. Multiple calls by the patient and/or the pharmacy cause delays in the processing of the refill, and are thus discouraged

Refill requests cannot be accomodated outside of regular office hours or on weekends.

Referrals

Please note that it takes 48-72 hours to obtain a referral to a specialist.  Please call our office and select option 4 to leave specific information required to obtain a referral for your visit with a specialist.

Laboratory results

Laboratory results are available 24 hours per day via our toll-free Medical Information Network, 1-866-859-8148. One of our nurses will dictate your results, as well as any other instruction, and your result will remain on the system for 45 days. You may listen to it as often as you wish during this time.

If you are enrolled in NextMD, our secure information website, you may request that your lab results be sent to you online.

Insurance and Billing

A reality of today's Health Insurance is that most insurance companies do not cover 100% of medical charges.  Most patients are responsible for a co-payment or deductible which we ask you to pay at the time of your visit.  We accept assignment on Medicare and other insurance plans, but it remains your responsibility to see that the bill is paid.   Since we do not want issues of payment to keep you from taking good care of yourself, payment arrangements can be made through the business office when necessary.  Monthly statements on past due balances are mailed to the address of record. Payment plans are available; please ask to see the Business Manager for any questions.

Fees billed to your insurance carrier are our usual and customary rates, which are competitive with physicians of the same specialty in our area.  Insurance carriers, however, have their own methods of determining standard "allowable" charges which at times are lower.  Patients are responsible for paying the difference between their insurance company's allowable charges and our fees.  You will be expected to pay your co-pay on the day of the service.  We accept cash, check, credit and debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

 

Medical Records

Your records are maintained in electronic form in our office. Requests for records from our office  require your signature on the appropriate form, and are available with adequate notice.  If you would like to request a copy of your medical records please complete the Medical Records Release Form that can be located under the "Patient Forms" section of our website. There will be a charge to you on a per page basis from our scanning company, Scanstat. Charges for copying are in accordance with State provisions.  However, there is no charge if your records are to be copied and sent to a physician or medical facility.

 

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