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The
information below provides more information about our
office policies.
Office Hours
Our offices
are open from 8:30 am to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday.
Appointments
To
schedule an appointment, please contact our main office
at 510-886-3138 or 925-355-9537.
Initial Appointments may require 30-60 minutes.
Please bring any pertinent medical records, films
(x-rays, CT scans, MRI scans) and current insurance
information. Please arrange to bring us the
actual films, and not just the written report. The
doctor will want to review these films with you. We
find that having you bring your films yourself is more
reliable than depending on another office or facility to
mail them.
Follow-up appointments are usually scheduled at the
completion of your visit. If not, since we book several
weeks ahead, please call 3-4 weeks in advance to
schedule your appointment.
Cancellations
If you
cannot keep an appointment, please inform us as soon as
possible. This courtesy allows us to give time to
another patient. There will be no charge for an
appointment cancelled at least 24 hours in advance.
We make
every effort to keep the office running on time but, due
to the nature of our specialty, emergencies occasionally
make it necessary to reschedule appointments. Should
this happen, we appreciate your understanding.
Emergencies
If you
have a neurosurgical emergency, please call our office
immediately at 510-886-3138 to reach the doctor on
call. We always have a physician on call, so our
patients are assured quality care 7 days a week.
Insurance
There
are over 1,000 insurance companies in America and over
1,000 different insurance plans. These companies,
plans, and medical groups are making changes all of the
time. It is therefore almost impossible for our staff
to know the covered benefits of each and every patient.
Our
staff is happy to assist with your insurance billing,
but we cannot bill your insurance unless you furnish us
with all insurance information and bring your ID card
with you to your appointment. In
order for us to assist you as much as possible, please
keep our staff updated with any changes of address,
phone, and/or insurance information.
We will make every effort to determine eligibility,
covered benefits, and authorization requirements before
seeing a patient or ordering a particular test or
procedure. It
is, however, ultimately the patient’s responsibility to
know and understand policies and benefits of their
insurance coverage.
Due to changes in today’s healthcare, your insurance may
not always pay for all services. You will be
responsible for paying any claims that are not covered
by your insurance. If we are unable to verify a
particular requirement of your insurance carrier, plan,
or medical group, we will ask you to sign an “Informed
Consent” notice before you see the doctor or have
surgery. This document allows us to bill for any
charges that your insurance company will not cover.
We
will collect any co-pay due at the time of service or
reschedule the appointment. For your convenience, we
take cash (exact change only) or check as well as Visa,
MasterCard and Discovery.
If
your insurance plan requires a physician referral
authorization number, please bring that with you or have
it called or faxed to us ahead of time. Failure to do so
could result in rescheduling the appointment.
Review our Financial Policy Acknowledgement Form
If
you have any questions regarding a bill you have
received from us, or any other insurance questions,
please feel free to contact our billing department at
925-355-2937
Prescriptions and
Prescription Refills
Please have your pharmacy fax the refill request to
510-373-1616.
Since
our doctors are surgeons and often working away from the
office, we ask that you allow us 3-4 days to process
your refill request.
Privacy Practices
This notice describes how
health information about you (as a patient of Pacific
Brain & Spine Medical Group, Inc.) may be used and
disclosed, and how you can get access to your
individually identifiable health information. Please
review this notice carefully.
Download Privacy Practices (PDF). |
