It is important to keep your medical record up to date. It is your responsibility to notify both our office and your insurance company of any changes or corrections of pertinent information that needs to be made to your records. Please be prepared to review that information and show your insurance card at every visit, so we can bill your insurance appropriately. Having your current information on file will enable us to serve you better. We thank you for your cooperation with this important matter.

We would like for you to bring any new medications that you are currently taking to your appointment. Please bring the original containers if possible so that we may verify each medication’s name, dosage, etc. This information will allow your us to better serve you. Appointments can be made by calling the office during normal business hours. Please give a clear description of your medical condition to the staff member when scheduling an appointment so that we can allow an appropriate amount of time to address your needs.

Appointments for routine care are best arranged well in advance, preferably at the end of the previous appointment. We encourage the scheduling of routine physicals for school, sports, etc. several months in advance, especially during the summer when there is a greater demand for school and camp physicals. Adults may schedule routine physical exams throughout the year. Calls for sick patient appointments should be made early in the day, so that arrangements can be made for you to be examined or be accomodated at the on site Urgent Care. We value your time and will make every effort to accommodate you as soon as possible.

Routine medical questions will be handled by calling the office during normal business hours. Often times our medical assistants are with patients so we ask that you please leave a message. For your convenience, we have protocols to handle some problems over the phone, however, you may need to be seen in the office to properly diagnose and treat the problem. If you have questions, please feel free to call our office. Please give your full name, birth date, and as much information about the problem as possible, including temperature, medications taken, and duration of illness. Please have a pen and paper handy, as well as your pharmacy telephone number. We prefer to address your problems with access to your medical history and records. Therefore, please limit your after hours calls to those that you feel absolutely cannot wait until the office opens.

Please phone at least one day in advance if you will not be able to keep your appointment. We do reserve the right to charge a last minute cancellation or no show fee if we are unable to fill your appointment. We will do our best to coordinate another appointment for you, if necessary.

Communication is the key to a good relationship with your physician. Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor any questions you may have. Your physician may want to discuss the following with you: current problems and symptoms, medical history, allergies, current medications and treatments, personal habits, and recent lifestyle changes. In order for our practitioners to stay on time we ask that you please refrain from bringing up additional issues other than what the visit was booked for. Time permitting they will address other concerns.

Medication refills will be issued only during office hours, except in an emergency, so that we may review the patient’s medical record. After hours refills will be handled on an emergency case by case basis only. Refills will be provided for those conditions requiring you to take medication for an extended period of time. Our office may request a checkup to evaluate your progress before refilling the prescription. Please contact your pharmacy several days before your prescription runs out so that your refill can be processed in time. Please allow ample time for our staff to review your charts.

We are pleased that you have chosen our office for your care. If you have been referred to a specialist and your insurance requires a formal referral, please give our office and your insurance company a few days to process the paperwork and obtain authorization. If you do not know whether or not a referral is required under your insurance plan for specialty care, please contact your insurance company or our office. Any specialist visit that requires a referral must be authorized by our office in advance.

We accept assignment on all Medicare claims. This means that we will file your claims to Medicare and Medicare will pay their portion directly to our office. After Medicare has paid its portion, you will receive an Explanation of Benefits from them. We will subsequently send you a statement for any deductible you may have, as well as the 20% co-insurance that Medicare does not pay. If you give us your secondary insurance, we will be happy to file it for you.

Acute health care services include but are not limited to the treatment of earaches, rashes, colds, sore throats, flu, headaches, urinary tract infections, and respiratory care.

Chronic health care services include but are not limited to the treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid disorders, emphysema, asthma, gastrointestinal disease and heart disease.

If you have a life-threatening situation, call 911 or go directly to the nearest emergency room. In case of a medical emergency, there is a physician on-call day and night. During business hours, please call your doctor’s office. After hours, your call will be directed to the physician on call. Calls will be returned as soon as possible. Emergency calls will be put through to the on call physician as soon as possible. Please let the call center know if you feel your call is an emergency. Please call the office during normal business hours for all routine medical questions.

Payment for services, including applicable co-payments, is due at the time of your visit and will be collected on the day that you see the doctor. We accept cash, Visa, and MasterCard. Unpaid charges are billed to you on a monthly statement and are due upon receipt. If you need to make arrangements for a payment plan, please call the office manager at (281) 491-1911. We will make every effort to work out a mutually satisfactory payment schedule.

We take great pride in our professional staff. Our clinical and administrative staff are eager to assist you and answer any questions you may have. Our employees participate regularly in programs of continuing education to maintain and improve their proficiency and to help your doctor provide the best in medical care.