Welcome
We are pleased that you have chosen our office for your health care. It is our sincere desire to provide you with the best possible medical care and we hope that you will feel comfortable and secure with the treatment you receive. This information will give you a better understanding of how we work so that we can establish a successful patient-physician relationship. You can expect to be treated professionally and courteously at all times by our entire staff. We are a health care team concerned with your needs and welcome any suggestions you have that will help improve the care you receive.
Our Specialty
Our practice is limited to the specialty of gynecology which includes the evaluation, diagnosis, and medical/surgical management of all aspects of women’s health. Our physicians are board certified specialists in the health care of women. As physicians, we have completed four years of residency training after medical school and are involved in continuing medical education regularly to keep up with the latest advances in this field.
Office Hours and Appointments
Our office hours are from 8 AM to 1 PM on Monday and Friday. On Tuesday, we are open from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. We have variable office hours on Wednesday. We are closed on Thursday and on weekend days. We are also closed for the major holidays including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The office is also closed the Friday after Thanksgiving every year.
Our office hours are by appointment only. If you find that you cannot keep your appointment, we ask that you call 24 hours in advance to cancel or reschedule your appointment. This courtesy will allow us to be of service to other patients. There will be a $20.00 “administrative fee” in the event that you do not notify the office 24 hours prior to your appointment time. Also, if you arrive more than 30 minutes late for an appointment, it will be considered a “missed appointment” and will be subject to the $20.00 fee. This fee will need to be paid before your next appointment.
You can be assured that every attempt will be made to honor your appointment time. However, occasionally patient care emergencies require us to be out of the office unexpectedly during times when patients are scheduled. We will keep you informed of these situations and will work to accommodate your needs later in the day or reschedule the appointment if that works best for you. We appreciate your patience and understanding when we must inconvenience you in this way.
If you have an urgent problem during office hours, call our office and we will try our best to work you into our schedule in a timely manner.
We love children but have found that they can be a source of distraction and may compromise the quality of care you receive from us during office visits. For this reason, we ask you not to bring children under the age of 12 to your appointment except infants in a car seat. We appreciate your understanding.
Telephone
We welcome and encourage you to call the office or send a secure message through MyChart if you have a question or need to get in touch with us for any reason. Please make non-emergency calls during the office hours when your medical records are readily available. This ensures that the proper care can be given and will prevent unnecessary emergency care cost. We will make every attempt to return your call or respond to your MyChart message at the earliest possible time. However, this may be at the end of the day or even after office hours. We will help you sign up for MyChart at your first appointment.
For urgent questions after office hours, you may call (253) 922-4463 to reach our answering service. They will refer your call promptly to one of our doctors who will return your call as quickly as possible. There are times when the physician on call will be busy with other patients and managing emergencies so we do ask for your understanding if the physician is not able to call you back right away. If your problem is urgent, please go to the nearest urgent care center or emergency department.
We try our best to minimize the need to refill your prescription until your next scheduled appointment. However, you can send us a MyChart message for refill if this becomes necessary and include the name and location of the pharmacy you would like to use. You can also call your pharmacy and ask them to transmit a refill request to us. However, this may cause delay in processing. There are times when we will need to see you first before authorizing a refill. We will not be able to authorize any medication refill request outside of our office hours.
Medical Records and Confidentiality
Your medical records are confidential. We use an electronic medical record system to document the care we provide to you. We highly recommend that you sign up for MyChart which will allow you to access your own records including test results and medications electronically. We will release your records only if you give us written authorization to do so. Our Notice of Privacy Practices is permanently posted in our office and is also available here. Please keep in mind that your insurance company generally has access to your records according to your agreement with them. We will, of course, provide pertinent information to referring physicians. In addition, we may release certain information requested by other health care entities or providers who are involved in your care and need access to your records. There will be a $10.00 fee for filling out forms required by your employer or insurance company. We require few days’ notice to have these forms completed and signed by the physician.
Gynecological Care
We provide comprehensive gynecological services including periodic check-up, cancer screening and treatment, contraception and family planning, infertility, menopause management, abnormal bleeding, pelvic pain, menstrual dysfunction, sexually transmitted diseases, urinary incontinence, pelvic prolapse, and the most advanced surgical treatment available involving the reproductive system. We have state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment available in our office for your convenience.
You can expect to hear from us by phone or through MyChart regarding any lab or X-ray reports that were ordered during your office visit unless you were given a follow-up appointment to discuss the results. For mammogram results, you will hear directly from the radiologist who performed your study. Most lab or pathology reports are released through MyChart as soon as they are available.
Most of the surgical procedures are performed at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital. We do have privileges at other area hospitals as well and will do our best to accommodate your needs. It is our commitment to be readily available when you need our services.
Fees
Our fees are within the customary range for this area and reflect the level of care you will receive and the high level of training by our physicians and the staff. We have standardized charges for various services. If you have any questions about fees, please feel free to discuss with our office staff.
It is our office policy to request payment at the time of each visit in order to curb the increased cost to all our patients that results from individual billing. We accept cash, check, credit and debit card. In some cases, we are contracted with your insurance company to bill for all your procedures and you may have a co-payment at the time of your visit. Statements are mailed to patients once a month. If you have a balance with us, it is due within thirty days unless other arrangements have been made with the office. If your balance is not paid within 60 days, a rebilling fee may be charged at the rate of 1% per month (12% per annum) of the unpaid balance, with a $5.00 minimum.
Depending on your insurance coverage, routine annual examinations may or may not be a covered benefit. Please check with your insurance company to see if it will be covered. Otherwise, you would be responsible for payment at the time of your visit.
We recommend that you discuss fees for gynecologic surgery with our office staff to arrange payment schedules that will be convenient and acceptable to you. Before any elective gynecologic surgery is performed, we will inform you as to what your insurance will cover and we expect you to pay your anticipated share of cost at the time of your preoperative visit.
Our office will file insurance claims for you as a courtesy. We will help you in whatever way we can, but you can help us save time and serve you better if you make sure that your particular insurance policies cover the services for which you want to file claims. Your insurance is generally a contract between you and your insurance company. Please keep in mind that you are ultimately responsible for your bills regardless of what your insurance pays.
Finally
Our primary purpose is to deliver the highest quality gynecologic health care with compassion and dignity. Our success can be measured only by your satisfaction with the health care you receive. Please let us know how we may better serve you. Our practice continues to grow primarily by referrals from our patients. We do appreciate your recommending us to your friends and relatives who may benefit from our services.
Please note:
– We will be collecting a very thorough health history at your visit so please bring a complete list of all medications you take including dosage and frequency.
– You are welcome to bring one support person with them if needed. Please note we have a no children in office policy.
If you have any questions regarding your first visit, please don’t hesitate to call us at (253) 840-4444.