Office Hours

Regular office hours in our Rockville office are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday. If you have an emergency and must be seen the same day, every effort will be made so that you may see one of the doctors as soon as possible.

Appointments

Patients are seen by appointment only. Should you have a gastrointestinal problem, call (301) 251-1244 during our regular office hours or (301) 294-8208 at other times. After regular office hours, only emergency calls will be transferred to the doctor on call.

Telephone

Please feel free to call during regular office hours to make or cancel appointments or to discuss medical problems.

If you need to talk to the doctor, please explain the nature of the problem to the medical assistant taking your call. The problem will be discussed with the doctor and an answer to the question will be returned as soon as possible. This is the most efficient method of handling the large volume of calls we receive daily. Please do understand that it is physically impossible for the doctor to personally return all calls. As well, patient authorization is needed before we can discuss your illness with any family members.

Prescription Refills

We would appreciate your pharmacy calling or faxing our office during office hours to have your prescriptions refilled. All prescription authorizations need to be approved by the physician; therefore, twenty-four hours notice is required for all renewals.

Referrals

If another physician has sent you to us, please tell us so that we may send a report to him or her promptly.

Office Records

All information given to us is confidential. Information will not be provided to a third party (insurance company or attorney) unless we have written authorization in our office. This is to protect you so that no one can request information about you without your permission. There will be a copying fee charged to the patient for all requested information.

Hospital Services

The hospital to which we have admitting privileges is Shady Grove Adventist. If you are taken to the Emergency Room you are entitled to request that we be notified and if necessary, provide your medical care. We can handle certain emergencies in the office during regular office hours, so you may want to call the office first about minor emergencies, rather than going directly to the Emergency Room.

Financial Policies

The fees charged by our office are comparable with other Gastroenterologists in the area, and we will make every effort to keep down the cost of your medical care. We send out laboratory studies, pathology specimens and x-ray tests, and therefore are unable to control the cost involved in performance of these studies. The same is true for outpatient hospital and endoscopy center costs.

We recognize the need for a definite understanding between the patient and the doctor regarding financial arrangements for medical and surgical care. Our office participates with Medicare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, MAMSI, and a number of other health plans. If you carry health insurance through one of these plans, an insurance form will be filed for services rendered. You will be billed for any deductible, non-covered charge, co-insurance, or other items noted as patient responsibility. Please bring your insurance card, co-payment, and referral, if applicable, to the office at the time of your appointment so that your plan can be identified and your claim can be submitted promptly and correctly. Patients who carry health insurance should remember that professional services are rendered and charged to the insurance company according to our contract. However, the responsibility of payment of these fees is a direct obligation of the patient with no exceptions. Only emergencies will be considered on an individual basis and must be discussed with our patient accounts manager. In cases where billing must occur, statements are sent on the first of the month and payment is due upon receipt.

The receipt form we give you at the end of each visit is called a “superbill” which is an itemized physician’s statement for services rendered. It contains all the information needed from the doctor for your insurance company to process your claim.

If you have any questions or problems regarding the above stated policies, please do not hesitate to speak with us.

Doctor-Patient Relationship

These are best when based on a mutual understanding. We make a special effort to explain everything to you regarding your condition, medications, treatment and procedures. If you have any questions or if something is not clear to you, please do not hesitate to ask. We have chosen our personnel, office procedures, medical equipment, and office layout with much thought and care to provide quality medical services in a pleasant, efficient, and friendly atmosphere. If you have any suggestions or complaints regarding our services, please tell us so that we may better serve you.