Information for Patients
Office Hours and Appointments: Our office is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. Patients are seen by appointment - call 423-472-5423 to schedule an office visit. Our office staff takes calls from 7:30 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday (we do not close for lunch). After 5 pm, calls are received by the answering service and forwarded to the physician on call.
Emergencies: After 5pm or on the weekend or a holiday, a physician from our office can be reached by calling the main office telephone number at 423-472-5423. Listen to the instructions and press 5 to be connected to the "on call" doctor.
Before Your Visit: If this is your first visit to our office, there will be new patient paperwork to be completed. You may download the forms from the “Patient Forms” tab on this website and fill them out at your convenience before your appointment. If not filled out ahead of time, please arrive 20 minutes before your appointment so that you may complete the new patient paperwork when you come to the office.
Please make a list of all your current medications including any herbal supplements and bring it to your appointments. This is especially important for new patients or if you have not seen our doctors in several months. For follow up appointments, please update your medication list and tell us if there has been a change in your medicines or health problems.
Prescriptions & Refills: Please call Monday through Friday early in the day with medication requests and if leaving a message, state the medication name and dosage and which pharmacy you use. Narcotic pain medication cannot be called in - a printed prescription must be picked up during office hours. We do not handle requests for medications at night or on weekends.
Privacy: Your privacy and identity are important to us at Surgical Associates and we will make every effort to protect your personal and health information. As required by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act passed by Congress), we will ask you to review and sign our privacy policy. We will also ask to scan a picture ID such as your driver’s license or school ID so no one else can misrepresent themselves as you to our office. We will give you a privacy number and only you or other persons you give access to this number can be given test results or other medical information about you over the phone.
Insurance & Billing: We will file your insurance for all covered services - be sure you have given us your correct insurance information and keep us updated of any changes. If after 60 days your insurance has not responded to our attempts to receive payment for our services, we may send you an itemized statement requesting your payment or your help in getting the insurance carrier to pay your claim. We know that insurance details can sometimes be confusing. Our front office staff will be happy to answer questions that you may have.
Co-Pays and Deductibles are due at the time of service.
Our financial policy for elective surgeries is to verify your insurance coverage, determine if your procedure requires pre-certification or notification to your insurance company, and calculate what benefits your insurance carrier will pay. Unsatisfied deductibles or high co-insurance amounts will be requested to be paid prior to your procedure.
Uninsured Patients will be asked to pay $100 for an office visit. If an office surgery is done, the $100 will be applied toward the procedure fee and you will be billed for any remainder. We will match each payment you make on the balance of your bill, which gives a 50% discount. If your office procedure requires a pathology exam of tissue removed, an additional $40-$60 will need to be paid for the pathologist (this is a reduced fee arranged with a specific pathology group). Elective hospital or surgery center surgeries will require a deposit to be paid when orders are given for pre-registration. The amount of this deposit depends on the type of surgery.
Medical Records and Forms Requests: FMLA and Short-Term Disability forms may be dropped off at the office, or sent to our FAX at 423-476-5523. There will be a $10 fee for completing and returning this paperwork. At your request, a personal copy of the medical records in your office chart can be provided on paper or a disc for $5.
Surgical Associates Does Not Discriminate: For more information, please click here.
Section 1557
For more information regarding Section 1557 of the Afordable Healthcare Act please click here.