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Hours8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. EmergenciesDuring office hours, someone will be available to talk with you or return your call
promptly. After hours, call the office number as well; you will get a recorded message
allowing you to either leave a message for us to get when the office re-opens or hold for
the answering service to have the doctor on call contacted right away. We respectfully ask
your cooperation in keeping calls about prescription refills, medication problems, and
non emergency concerns to the office BillingBoth billing and repayment have become increasingly complex due to the proliferation of managed care companies. If we have signed a participating agreement with your insurer, we will bill them and expect appropriate co-pays or payments relating to your deductible at the time of service. Please be aware that referrals may be required prior to the appointment, depending on the details of your managed care plan. In cases where we do not participate in your insurance plan, we prefer payment at the time of your visit. As a service to you, when appropriate we can bill your insurance company on your behalf if you provide us with the necessary information. If you are self pay (paying out of pocket), please know that discounts are given for payment at the time of service, and that arrangements can be made to help manage your account. VISA, MasterCard, and personal checks are accepted. Some Thoughts About InsuranceUnfortunately, it falls upon you to be your own advocate with your insurance company or HMO. Be sure to read the fine print, or you may receive an unpleasant surprise when coverage of all or part of some fees is denied. The company is not necessarily trying to deceive you In these cases; but some policies have very intricate rules about what is and is not covered. For those of you with traditional major medical coverage, you will find that you are reimbursed based on the company's own schedule of reasonable and customary fees for each procedure or exam. These will often be less than what we and other OB-GYN physicians in the area typically charge. We hope that all the plain talk hasn't discouraged you. As with any relationship, we feel that that of a patient and a doctor is enhanced by honesty from the start. We look forward to working with you! HospitalsOur primary hospitals are Swedish Medical Center and PorterCare Littleton Hospital. Both have proven reputations in providing excellent services. Office SystemsIn an effort to increase our efficiency, you may find that for routine, non-emergency phone requests a voice mail messaging system may be used. This allows us to take care of your needs in a timely manner, and to minimize the amount of waiting on hold while your chart and the nurse or provider are readied for your call. Anonymous Call BlockingMany decisions made to improve the quality of life result in unexpected consequences. The office phone system has been improved to include caller ID information. However, after business hours the problem can occur with the on-call physician phoning from other sites such as cellular, pay, or home phones. When placing an after hours call, please disable this feature by lifting the phone receiver and dialing *82 (1182 for rotary). Doing this will facilitate our ability to answer your call in a timely fashion. For questions, call the US West business office at 1-800-244-1111. Children in the OfficeWe have always enjoyed a child-friendly atmosphere at The Women’s Group office. Recent incidents have made it necessary to make a few points on the subject of bringing children to your appointment. Depending on their age, personality, training, and mood at the moment, some may have a very difficult time “standing by” either in the exam room or the waiting room while you are being seen. We have had times where partially supervised kids have wandered around the office, into various rooms and work areas where they really shouldn’t be. In exam rooms, clean instruments and supplies may get pulled out of drawers. There are floor containers where ”contaminated” waste is collected - a serious potential hazard. We’ve had children pinch fingers, fall off stools, or trip and hurt themselves on the equipment in the room. Their needs can become a dominant factor during your visit. Please, help us to avoid these uncomfortable situations when possible. |
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