Springfield Medical - Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

  1. Are you accepting new patients?
  2. What insurance plans do you participate with?
  3. What is your Medicare or MediCaid policy?
  4. What do I need to know about coverage for my upcoming physical exam?
  5. What is the workman's comp data that I need to bring before I get seen for an injury?
  6. How do I arrange a referral and how much notice is needed?
  7. What is your chronic medication refill policy?
  8. What are your co-payment policies?
  9. What are your no show or late cancellation policies?
10. What are your late arrival policies?
11. What are your form completion fees?
12. Where can I get labs drawn?
13. How do I fast for labs?
14. How do I prepare for a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colon cancer screen in the office?
15. What are your after hours coverage policies?
16. To what hospital do you admit your patients?
17. What is your Medical Records Transfer Policy?
18. What is your cell phone policy?
19. Are there students who provide care at your office ?

Answers
1.		Are you accepting new patients? YES ! (but because this can be a shifting landscape, please check below on the plans with whom we currently participate.)

2.		What insurance plans do you participate with? Please call our office for insurance participation information

3.		What is your Medicare or MediCaid policy? See above

4.		What do I need to know about coverage for my upcoming physical exam? It has been our experience that most insurances do not cover a physical exam if repeated in less than one calendar year, so please check the date prior to scheduling. Also be aware that most insurances do not cover elective physicals for pre-adoption, pre-employment, disability,camp or school. You may be responsible for these charges, including elective immunizations. Medicare in particular does not cover routine physical exams, though we do recommend that these important preventive services be done annually. You may be asked to sign an advanced beneficiary notice for services recommended and provided to you in the office that if Medicare rejects payment to Springfield Family Medicine, you will be billed. Patients should prospectively call their insurance to verify that they are eligible for a physical.

5.		What is the workman's comp data that I need to bring before I get seen for an injury?We are happy to provide medical care to patients who are injured on the job. Please make sure that your employer/supervisor has been notified at the time of your injury so he can determine whether you can be evaluated here or else must be seen at a specific doctor/facility on their WC panel. If it is appropriate to be seen at Springfield Family Medicine, we will need the name of the person who authorized treatment here and their phone number. In addition, we will need your employer's Workman's Compensation Insurance Company information (name, address, phone#, claim #). The patient is responsible for the medical bill until this information is provided. Please arrive 20 minutes before your appointment time to make sure the paperwork and authorizations have been properly addressed.

6.		How do I arrange a referral and how much notice is needed? Please request non- emergent referrals at least 5 business days in advance. If we have not evaluated you for the condition, you must schedule an appointment here prior to requesting a referral. Often times, our providers can treat the condition here. If you have not been seen here for the condition within the last 12 months, you may require an appointment here prior to being given a referral. We do not fax referrals. You may be required to reschedule your specialist appointment if the above guidelines are not met. We cannot backdate referrals.

7.		What is your chronic medication refill policy? Our providers will prescribe enough refills to last until your next expected follow up appointment. High quality care requires that we monitor your condition and potential medication side effects on a regular basis, even if you are doing well. Please call for your appointment at least 30-45 days prior to running out of medication, as it may take 2-3 weeks to get in to see your provider. If you require a prescription refill between scheduled appointments for a medication that you use on an ongoing basis, there may be a $25 service fee billed to your account if not done during an office visit.

8.		What are your co-payment policies? Copayments must be paid at time of service, based on contractual requirements. A $10 service charge will be billed to your account if you fail to pay the copay as above. Our policy is to collect the copayment upon arrival at check-in.

9.		What are your no show or late cancellation policies? CANCELLATIONS / APPOINTMENT CHANGES / MISSED APPOINTMENTS (NO-SHOW): Cancellations and appointment changes should be made 24 hours in advance. If these conditions are not met, or if you fail to arrive for your scheduled appointment, a minimum $75 service fee will be billed to your account if we were unable to fill your unused appointment slot(s). Additionally, charges of $125 may ensue if your appointment was for a larger block of time, i.e. a physical or procedure.

10.		What are your late arrival policies? Late arrivals for appointments will be worked in at the discretion of the physician or nurse practitioner, with priority given to seeing those patients who arrived on time. Patients arriving late for an extended visit (i.e. Physical or procedure) may need to re-schedule.

11.		What are your form completion fees? If there are forms/letters that the patient requires to be generated, there may be a minimum $25 fee for completion of these forms.

12.		Where can I get labs drawn? In some cases, patients may have blood work drawn here by SFM staff, in other cases, patients will need to go to a nearby outside lab that participates with their insurance. Except for some pre-operative lab draws, SFM does not provide blood drawing for subspecialist lab requests.

13.		How do I fast for labs? Fasting labs are ideally done in the morning before breakfast, after having no calorie intake since midnight before. Water, diet soda or black coffee may be consumed. Afternoon exams that may require labs are at the discretion of the provider and could be done if no substantive calories were consumed since breakfast.

14.		How do I prepare for a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colon cancer screen in the office? This important cancer screening test is best done after a patient has electively avoided salads , aspirin, vitamin C, and rare cooked meat for the week before the exam. Two days before the exam, the patient is requested to follow a full liquid diet. One day prior to the exam, a clear liquid diet is recommended, and then nothing after midnight. A Dulcolax tablet laxative can be purchased over the counter from the pharmacy and taken just before bed. A Fleets enema should be administered the morning of the procedure about 1 hour prior to your appointment.

15.		What are your after hours coverage policies? We employ a professional Answering Service to take urgent/emergent calls after the office has closed. If appropriate, the call will be forwarded to our covering physician who will return your call. We do not call in refills for chronic medications or to out of state pharmacies, and if there is a need to return a long distance phone call, it will be collect.

16.		To what hospital do you admit your patients? We currently exclusively admit our patients at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, 2501 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, Va. 22306 (703) 664-7000.

17.		What is your Medical Records Transfer Policy? SFM requires a records release form (HIPAA compliant) for each patient record release or transfer. Most such requests are processed by a copy service whose representative comes to our office periodically to scan the records. They bill the patient directly for this service. (Download form under Patient Resources tab)

18.		What is your cell phone policy? Like many of you, cell phones have become a critical means of communication in our business and personal lives. As important as cell phones have become, it is also important to respect those around us. Please turn your cell phone off before entering the office.

19.		Are there students who provide care at your office ? Yes, occasionally Springfield Family Medicine is a site for primary care clinical exposure for medical students at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and for Nurse Practitioner students at Marymount and George Mason Universities. The patient will always be asked if they want to participate, and can decline if they desire. The medical care provided by the students will always be supervised/complemented by the mentoring SFM physician or Nurse Practitioner.