Office Policies
Office Policies and Procedures
Telephone Calls
General and Medical Questions: First and foremost, we strive to be responsive. You are encouraged to call us with any questions or concerns you may have. For the best results, unless it is an emergency, please contact us during normal office hours when your records are readily accessible.
Our office staff has a great deal of knowledge and experience. Calls for physicians will usually be directed to the nursing staff. Please fully explain the problem to the nurse, who will relay the message to the doctor and return the response to you. Our nurses are well-educated regarding health issues and often can provide you with the answers you need. If your question or problem is outside their scope, a message will be relayed to one of our doctors who will return your call as soon as possible. Please inform the telephone representative of the best time and number to reach you, or if there are times when you are unavailable.
When you call the office, the receptionist usually answers the phone. She will either schedule an appointment or channel your call to the person with whom you wish to speak. If a physician or nurse is busy with a patient, the receptionist will take your call and relay your message. Your call will be returned later in the day and sometimes this may be after office hours. Because of the many calls and limited physician time, it is impossible for us to talk with each patient. Therefore, our nurses will relay your problems to us so we may answer questions, make appropriate referrals, recommend treatment or arrange for you to be seen.
Emergency Calls: Urgent or emergency calls are accepted at all hours. In case of an emergency after hours, our answering service will answer your call and will promptly notify the physician on call, who will contact you as soon as possible. All physicians in this practice alternate night calls and weekend duty. 911 should be used for life-threatening emergencies.
New Prescriptions and Refills: If you suspect your doctor may need to prescribe a medication for you, or you need an existing order filled, please call during office hours when your medical records are readily available. When calling, please have your pharmacy's phone number handy. In some cases, the doctor may wish to see you in the office before refilling the prescription. Prescription refill requests will only be handled during office hours when patient medical records are readily available. Only prescriptions for emergency conditions will be provided after regular office hours.
Test Results and Medical Information
Test Results: “No news is good news” is NOT the philosophy in our office. You are an important member of your health care team and as such your responsibility is to notify our office that you have had either blood work, CT scans, biopsies, or x-rays done 3 days after the event so we can then look for the results.
Release of Information: We treat all medical information pertaining to each patient seen in our office to be personal and confidential. It is our strict policy not to release your records, in part or in full, at any time unless we have written permission from you. This policy is enforced regardless of the circumstances. Therefore, we require a signed “Release of Information” form by every patient before we will copy any information contained within your medical chart to any third party, including but not limited to, other physicians, insurance companies, and/or an attorney. Remember, when you sign a release for an insurance company, you give them access to all information contained in our medical records unless you restrict the information to be released.
Quality Care and Service
Your Satisfaction: The patient-physician relationship is unique. It implies mutual trust, openness, and responsibility. Your well-being is extremely important to us. We will always strive to maintain your confidence in us. Please contact us with questions or comments.