Office Policies
Cancellation Policy
The office has instituted a 24 hour cancellation policy. The fee is $25. The policy will apply to all NEW patients and to GYN patients for either annual exams or problem visits. We schedule our appointments in order to maximize the time spent with each patient. Unanticipated no-shows or cancellations leave large gaps in the doctors’ schedules and also increase the wait time to get an appointment.
New patients will be asked to leave a credit card number on file and will be charged for any cancellations less than 24 hours in advance or for no shows. Established patients will get a phone call that a $25 charge is being added to their account to be paid at a subsequent visit.
Our intent is to be able to continue to give each patient the time and attention she deserves. Please direct any questions to our office manager, Michelle Valerio.
Emergencies
If you are our current patient (ex. have been previously seen by one of our doctors in the office), there is a physician on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you with an urgent medical problem. If your medical condition if life threatening call 911.
If the emergency occurs during office hours, call the main number to get in touch with a physician.
If your problem is not a medical emergency, please call during office hours. Prescription refill requests will be handled only during office hours. Birth control pill prescriptions will not be refilled by the on-call doctor on the weekend.
Late Arrivals
We respect the time of all our patients. We strive to stay on schedule so that you do not have to wait. If you are delayed and arrive late for your appointment, every effort will be made to see you the same day.
We cannot guarantee that any patient who is more than 10 minutes late arriving for their appointment will be seen. The last patient of any session must arrive on time or will not be seen. We will try our best to fit you in but you may have to reschedule.
Our offices close for lunch between 12:00 PM and 1:00PM and no patient can be seen during this time.
Phone Calls & Messages
It is our goal to answer all messages as soon as possible, however, please allow 24 business hours for a return of your call unless it is of an emergency. Please leave the reason for your call, as some messages can be handled quickly by the nurse. Please leave your best contact number at the time of your message.
After Hour Calls
We may be reached by calling the office phone number and leaving a message with our answering service. Please leave a phone number that will be available for at least 15 minutes. Please remove all blocks from your telephone as the doctors do block their personal numbers when returning call. If your phone is blocked this will slow down the response. Please utilize this service in the case of emergencies only.
Prescription Refills
Refills for prescriptions will be called in within 24 hours. Therefore, it is important for you to be aware of when your prescription will run out, particularly for birth control methods. If you are given a prescription at your appointment you must take this new prescription to the pharmacy. You cannot call in a new prescription with your old prescription number. Due to time constraints, prescriptions given to the patients at their visits will not be called in. Please do not page the doctors for prescription refills.
Laboratory Services
These services are provided by Quest Diagnostics, BioReference Laboratories and Mount Sinai Genetic Testing Laboratories primarily. It is the patient’s responsibility to assure that their insurance will cover labs drawn from this lab. Insurance companies often change their preferred laboratory therefore please check your coverage prior to each blood draw. These services are provided for the convenience of our patients and labs requested from our doctors only.
Test Results
It is our policy to inform patients of abnormal results in a timely fashion. Please inform the office of any changes in your contact information. Remember, most tests take a week or more for results. Pap smear results are generally not available for at least two weeks.
Medical Records
You are entitled to copies of your medical records, for yourself or for another medical provider. After providing our medical records secretary with the proper written authorization, the office will release your records.
Charge: $0.75 per page plus the actual cost of mailing. Please allow 10 business days for us to prepare and mail/fax your medical records.
Telephone Consultations
Most health insurance benefits do not include telephone consultations as a covered health benefit.
A telephone consultation is a request by the patient for clinical advice related to a new or distinct medical condition and is not part of the follow up to a condition under active treatment in the office. Charge: Between $75 and $200 depending upon complexity of the request being made, with a minimum charge of $75 per response.
Referrals
Some health plans require referrals for you to see a specialist.
If you are referred to a specialist by one of our physicians, we will be happy to provide you with a referral. To obtain a referral from us, please contact our business office allowing 5 business days to process.
If you plan to see a specialist unrelated to your OB/GYN health you must obtain the referral from your primary care doctor.