For emergencies, please call or go to the nearest hospital emergency room. Please do not contact the doctor before proceeding to the emergency room, as valuable time may be lost. Dr. Santiago will then be contacted by the hospital staff.
AFTER HOURS & WEEKEND CALLS:
Dr. Santiago shares call coverage with other highly qualified physicians for urgent, after-hour calls, and/or hospitalized patients.
Please remember that after-hour and weekend calls are for urgent or emergency purposes only. If you are ill , you will need to be examined by a doctor to ensure that you receive the correct treatment. Since it is not in your best interest, physicians on call for Dr Santiago are not expected to diagnose and treat you over the phone. If you think you have an emergency, please proceed to one of your local hospital emergency rooms. Memorial Herman and St. Elizabeth Hospitals also provide after hour and weekend coverage for minor care issues. All other calls should be made during our office hours.
RETURNED CALLS:
Call backs will be returned after office patients have been seen. If your call is of an urgent nature please let our receptionist know, so she may relay this message. We experience a high volume of phone calls to the office throughout the day. Unfortunately, it is impossible for the doctor and the nurse to handle the phone calls , and see our patients at the same time. We ask that you be patient, understanding, and courteous with our staff when you call. Please leave a correct phone number that you may be reached at , and the nature of the call.
TEST RESULTS:
We understand that you are eager to know test results as soon as possible, however you will be notified if there is a serious problem. Otherwise, you will receive this information upon your next doctors visit.
REFERRALS:
When you have scheduled appointments with other specialist, and your insurance company requires the you have a referral, we ask that you call 5-7 working days before your sheduled appointment. We are unable to issue referrals on the same day, as they require time to process.
APPOINTMENTS POLICIES:
In order to provide prompt quality service to all of our patients, we ask that you request appointments with the receptionist for any office visits. Do not attempt to contact the nurses for appointments. Please let the receptionist know if you need to be seen the same day. Appointment time will vary, depending on the intensity of care required by the patients ahead of you. We strongly recommend that you do not schedule important activities within a 2 hour period after your appointment time.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
We request that you kindly provide us with 24 hours notice when canceling or re-scheduling an appointment, so we may provide this time to others in need. For the first appointment "no show," no cancellation, or no response we may send you a reminder letter of our policy. After the second occurrence, we will again send you a remind letter, but you may also be charged a $25.00 fee. After the third occurence you may be given 30 days to seek another physician.
CHECKS POLICY AND ACCOUNT BALANCES:
We will gladly accept your check with proper ID. If we should receive a returned check, there will be a $30.00 fee, per check. After receiving two "non-sufficient funds" checks, you will be asked to pay cash for any further services. Outstanding balances will accrue interest at the following rates:
8% for balances over 30 days old; 11% for balances over 60 days old; and 15 % for balances over 90 days. Past due balances greater than 90 days may be consider grounds for dismissal from the practice and referral to a collections agency.
REFUND POLICY:
Credits will be applied to your account ,or either reimbursed to your by individual request.
GENERAL INSURANCE INFORMATION:
We will need to verify your insurance coverage prior to your visit. Please bring your insurance identification cards with you, so we may obtain a copy. If at any time your insurance changes, or you are issued a new card, please notify us ahead of time. We also request that you fax us a copy ( front and back ), or come by our office with your card, before your appointment time. This will help shorten your waiting time upon your next visit. If your insurance company does not honor your claim, you will be responsible for payment.
MEDICARE AND COMMERCIAL INSURANCE COMPANIES:
Contractual agreements with these organizations require that we bill these plans directly for your care. Co-payments and deductibles required by your specific plan are your responsibility, and are collected before you see the doctor. We are not contracted with, and are not accepting any Medicare HMO ( Managed Care Programs) plans.
PATIENT INFORMATION FORM:
It is necessary for you to complete a patient information form prior to your first visit and yearly thereafter, to provide our office with current demographic and insurance information . It also provides us with your authorization to bill your insurnace company for services rendered, and to accept assignment of your benefits. Your signature further signifies acceptance of responsibility for your bill, whether you have insurance or not. Please notify us as soon as possible of any changes of your address and / or phone numbers.
MEDICAL HISTORY FORMS:
New patients are asked to complete a medical history form as an integral part of their evaluation and treatment. Completion of this history form helps provide your current and any new health care problems with more accuracy.
PRESCRIPTIONS
REFILLS: Prescription refills should be called into your pharmacy, who in turn will contract our office for approval. Return calls to the pharmacy will not be made until after all patients have seen for the day. Due to the high call volume of medication refill requests , we ask that you call for refills within a week of running out to allow us time to process them. Authorization for prescription refills will be given during regular office hours. Therefore, we strongly discourage refill request after hours.
Please do not call in for prescription refills after hours or on weekends.
It is our policy not to treat patients over the phone, unless the doctor has instructed you to call. If you are ill you will need to be examined by the doctor to ensure you receive the correct treatment.
