Appointments

We try to see all patients on an appointment basis, and we request that you call in advance so that we can reserve a time for you.  We make every effort to adhere to our schedule, but when Dr. Baptist has to attend to an emergency, there may be a short wait.  Whenever possible, we will let you know in advance if there will be a delay. Likewise, we request that you let us know ahead of time if you are unable to keep your appointment.

Emergency Care

If you have an emergency after hours, please call the office number, and the answering service will relay the call to Dr. Baptist.  You will receive a response within a few minutes.

In the case of dire emergencies, such as auto accidents, please dial 911 or go to the hospital.  There is no need to call the answering service, as the hospital will contact us for you.

Whenever you go to a facility after hours, please notify our office the following day if we need to send a referral form to your HMO or insurance company.

Telephone Calls

We encourage our patients to call our office with any medical questions.  We will return your call at the earliest opportunity and depending on the urgency of the call.

Prescriptions and Renewals

All prescription requests and authorizations for renewals should be made during office hours, as far in advance as possible.  Please give us sufficient time to prepare prescriptions that you must pick up.

When a prescription is given at an office visit, it is difficult for the nurses to call it in, because the phone call to the pharmacy might take 5-10 minutes, taking valuable time away from other patients.  Please remember that unlike several years ago, pharmacy calls are not picked up immediately, but go into an automated system, which keeps the nurse on hold.  Alternatively, the nurse is sometimes asked to leave the prescription on an answering machine, which takes a longer time for retrieval by a pharmacist.

Fees and Payments

We have tried to set our fees at a reasonable level based on community standards.  If you have any questions, please feel free to talk to one of the receptionists.

All copays must be paid at the time of the visit, since billing for copays places an undue burden on the office staff.

Financial Problems

If there is a problem with payment of your bill, please let us know so that we can make other arrangements.

Insurance

We ask that, as our patient, you study your health-insurance policy to understand what kind of coverage you have.  In particular, it is up to you to determine which visits are covered, whether immunizations are covered, and which hospitals are preferred by your health plan.

It is your responsibility to pay for charges not covered by your insurance.  We advise all patients to find out the status of insurance payments to ensure that your insurance company is not rejecting your claims.  This should be done when you come to the office on a subsequent visit or by calling the office after a reasonable time has elapsed.