TO OUR PATIENTS
We appreciate your selection of this office to serve your needs and we will do all we can to provide you with the very best care.
In order to do so we ask that you take a few minutes to review this information. We feel that the more you know about our policies and us the better we can be of service to you and avoid possible frustrations through unnecessary misunderstandings.
We hope this information has provided some help in understanding our practice. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Our entire office staff is here to provide you with the best possible care with the least amount of inconvenience for all concerned.
Our medical care is limited to Pulmonary Medicine (diseases of the chest and lungs), Critical Care Medicine (patients requiring intensive care treatment) and Sleep Disorders Medicine.
Medical care is provided in the following hospitals: AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (City and Mainland Divisions) and Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation.
For your convenience our office is centrally located on the corner of Route 30 (White Horse Pike) and Second Avenue in Galloway Township, NJ, where we have a complete line of state of the art pulmonary function equipment and a professional staff to deal with all your health care needs. We also schedule appointments in The AtlantiCare Physician Offices in Cape May Court House every Monday and one Friday a month, AtlantiCare Physician Offices in Hammonton one Friday a month and AtlantiCare Physician Offices in Manahawkin one Friday.
There are many inquiries that can be handled efficiently and promptly through the office. The staff is available Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. When the office is closed (evenings, weekends, and holidays), the telephones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week by an answering service. A physician is always available for emergencies. Since the answering service cannot renew your medications, schedule appointments, or answer billing questions, please call during regular office hours concerning these matters or for you can send a message by using the Patient Portal (if you haven’t been set up for the Patient Portal please contact our office to obtain access to the Patient Portal).
When you call the office please explain the nature of your call so it may be directed to the correct individual.
If you are calling with a medical problem or for a prescription renewal please always have available the medications you are taking and your pharmacy phone number. Since we have office hours every day, at times you may need to leave a message on the nurse’s voicemail. Our office nurse will check messages twice a day please be patient and allow the nurse to return your call by the end of the day.
If you are calling with a billing inquiry please have your account number and date of service at hand.
If it is determined that it is necessary for you to speak with a physician directly please explain the nature and degree of urgency of your problem and the call will be returned by the doctor as quickly as possible. Please do not be alarmed if your call is not returned immediately as the physician can frequently assess your problem and offer more assistance if he speaks with you after office hours.
Patients are seen by appointment only. We have hours on Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:00pm and you may call to schedule appointments between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. We also have hours at the AtlantiCare Physician Offices in Cape May Court House every Monday and one Friday a month, AtlantiCare Physician Offices in Hammonton one Friday a month and AtlantiCare Physician Offices in Manahawkin one Friday a month. Although patients are generally seen by the same physician the members of our group are associates and as such one is available when another is not. Should you have a problem that requires immediate attention and your physician is not available you may be asked to see another member of the group. We encourage you to become acquainted with all the physicians in the group since they rotate hospital coverage on a regular basis. This way should you require hospitalization both the patient and the physician covering the hospital will be familiar with one another.
If you call the office with a less serious problem and would prefer to see your personal physician, we will be happy to schedule an appointment at the earliest possible time.
If it becomes necessary to cancel a scheduled appointment please call the office immediately, so that the time can be made available to another patient. This is an extremely busy office and your cooperation in this regard will be appreciated.
If you need to cancel an appointment for PFT’s (Pulmonary Function Test) we require a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to your appointment. If you do not show up for your PFT appointment a fee of $50.00 will be charged to you for missed appointment (no call / no show charge) and future appointments will not be made until the no call/no show fee is paid. This will not be billed to your insurance.
We are participating physicians in Horizon Blue Shield HMO, POS, PPO, and traditional plans, Aetna UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, QualCare HMO PPO products, AmeriHealth/Keystone Products, Medicare as well as many other insurance plans. However, under all these programs the patient is responsible for obtaining their own referral and following the necessary program guidelines.
Our billing office will submit the claim to your insurance company and upon receipt of an explanation of benefits from them you will receive a statement showing insurance payment and balance due. We request that all balances, whether from office or hospital services be paid within ten days of receipt. Please call our billing office with any billing questions or concerns you may have. If no payment is received after the 3rd billing statement and we do not hear from you, your account will be turned over to a Collection Agency and you will not be able to schedule any future appointments without satisfying your account in full. For your convenience in paying any bills we accept Visa and MasterCard.
For any patients whose insurance plan has a co-pay, payment is required at time of visit. If you are not prepared to pay your co-pay you will be asked to reschedule your appointment. We have a contract with your insurance company and we are required to collect co-pays in order to remain compliant with that contract.
Information will not be provided to a third party unless we have a written authorization from you. If you wish information about your condition to be provided to an attorney or an insurance company they must request the information in writing and provide a written authorization signed by you in order for us to release your records.