|
|||
 About
Our Office This
web page is designed to answer your questions and to improve our efficiency
in providing you with medical care. We encourage you to discuss with
us any aspect of your care for we think that good communication is
important to your treatment and recovery. Our Doctors
are specialists in Gastroenterology. This is the subspecialty of Internal
Medicine which deals primarily with the investigation, diagnosis,
treatment and prevention of disorders
of the digestive system. They have all completed approved internships
and residencies in Internal Medicine. In addition, they have had additional
years of fellowship training in Gastroenterology. They have all been
certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine as Diplomats
in Gastroenterology.Our Nursing Staff is familiar with all our diagnostic procedures and serve to facilitate better communications between our patients and physicians. Questions regarding business matters, billing, or appointments should be directed to our front office and billing staff. Our practice is limited to digestive disease. If you have been referred to our office by your doctor, reports of our findings will be sent to your referring or primary care physician as the evaluation progresses. New Patients On your first visit to our office, a complete past and present medical history will be taken by your doctor. In addition, you will be given a thorough physical exam. At this time necessary laboratory work and X-rays will be ordered. If specific gastroenterologic diagnostic procedures are required for your evaluation, our office will explain and schedule these for you. If it is necessary for you to return to our office, you will be scheduled for a return appointment at the time of your first visit. When your tests are completed, our findings and recommendations will be discussed with you and a report forwarded to your personal physician for his/her records. Appointments It is important for our established patients to call for appointments as far in advance as possible. We give each of our patients an adequate amount of time with the doctor; therefore, follow-up appointments are filled well in advance. If a medical emergency should arise, please call our office and you will be seen either in the office or in the emergency room as soon as possible. If it becomes necessary to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please let our office know in advance so that we may give your time slot to another patient. Evenings and Weekend Coverage The Doctors of GI Associates share evening and weekend coverage. If there should be any problems between 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 a.m., on weekends or holidays, please contact your nearest emergency room, or Flagler Hospital at (904) 819-4802. If you have called Flagler Hospital as your local emergency contact, the operator will contact GI Associates' physician on call. Hospital Admissions If it is necessary for a patient to be admitted to a hospital, we will make arrangements for the admission. Our patients are admitted to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida. Fees And Statements Office fees vary depending upon the complexity of your problem. Initial comprehensive examinations, evaluations or treatments requiring an unusual amount of time, skill, and judgement will be a greater amount than brief examinations and treatments.You will be receiving a statement from our office each month as long as there is an outstanding balance on your account. The statements are due and payable upon receipt unless you have a claim pending with your insurance company. If at any time you are not certain about the current status of your account, please feel free to call our office. Should the need arise for special financial agreements, please contact our office so a mutually agreeable payment schedule can be arranged.  Telephone
Calls Our
office staff is available to answer your call from 8:30 a.m. until
5:00 p.m.
Our nursing staff has been trained to answer most questions; however
if they are unable to answer a question, your chart will be reviewed
by the doctor and then a member of our staff will call you back if
possible. Our answering machine will be used for your convenience
after hours. Leave your message and we will contact you the next day.
If you need the doctor after hours, call Flagler Hospital at (904)
819-5155 and ask the hospital operator to contact the doctor on call.
Insurance It is important for our office to have current insurance information on each of our patients. All of our patients are asked to supply/update us with their insurance card so that we may pre-register the patient. _____We are participating providers with Medicare and most insurance companies. If your insurance carrier requires pre-certification for inpatient or outpatient procedures or tests, please advise our staff so we may contact your company. If your carrier requires us to file a referral form with your insurance claim, please be sure you bring it with you at the time the services are rendered. We will bill directly to the carrier for you, usually asking only that you pay your 10% or 20% which is indicated on your particular policy. ___ Unless other arrangements are made in advance, payment is due at the time services are rendered, including medical care or laboratory services. We will be happy to provide you with the necessary paper work to submit the charges to your insurance carrier for your own reimbursement.
|
