Office Procedures

Below is a list of common protocols and procedures that our office has in place when it comes to keeping patients informed of their treatment and providing them with the best care possible.

Authorizations

Occasionally, authorization may need to be obtained from a patient's insurance in order for that patient to undergo a certain course of medical treatment (i.e., surgical procedures, bone density scans, birth control, etc.). This authorization must be obtained prior to treatment. When authorization is needed, our staff will take the necessary steps to obtain that authorization and will then notify the patient of the results. Please note, that authorization can take up to 10 business days to be obtained.

Bone Density Tests and Their Results

Bone Density Testing is ordered by the physician as needed. Upon the physician's request, our office will schedule patients for bone density tests at a facility that is contracted with their insurance. Depending on insurance coverage, authorization may need to be obtained before scheduling a patient for the test. Our office will notify all patients of their bone density test results by either telephone or email. Patients whose bone density results suggest the need for additional treatment, will be scheduled for a follow-up appointment to discuss further treatment options.

Disability Forms

Disability forms can be filled out by our office for a fee of $15.00 per set of forms. State disability forms can be obtained in our office. EDD forms may be filled out and mailed or submitted online at www.edd.ca.gov. If opting for the online submission, please call our office with your receipt number, which begins with the letter R and is 15-digits long. Job specific disability forms will need to be obtained from your job and then brought in to our office. In both cases, you MUST complete the patient portion of the forms before our office can complete the doctor's portion of the forms. State disability forms must be sent from our office, and can be sent no earlier than one (1) week before the first day that your disability will begin. For disability forms other than State Disability forms, you have the option of mailing the forms yourself or having our office do it for you. Please notify us of your preference when dropping off the forms in our office.

Lab Results

Our office makes sure to notify all patients of their lab results with the exception of routine prenatal labs. Patients are notified of results by either telephone or by email (through RelayHealth). If you have a follow-up or upcoming appointment with our office, you will be notified of any pending lab results at your visit. You WILL NOT be notified of the results by phone or email. It can take up to ten (10) business days for our office to receive lab results. If after two (2) weeks, you have not been notified of your lab results and you DO NOT have an upcoming appointment with us, please call our office for the results.

Mammograms and Their Results

Mammograms are scheduled on a yearly basis after the age of 40, normally when you are seen for your annual exam and/or pap smear. At this time, our staff will schedule the appointment for you at a facility that is contracted with your insurance. Our office prefers that the mammogram be scheduled after seeing the physician so that we can be sure to order the most accurate test(s) needed. Once the mammogram is performed, the mammogram facility will notify you of the results within ten (10) business days of having the test done. If after two (2) weeks, you have not heard from the mammogram facility, please contact our office for the results as the facility will also send a copy of the results to our office. If the radiologist recommends additional imaging studies, our office will contact you regarding the recommendation and will be happy to assist you, if necessary, in scheduling your follow-up appointments.

Pap Smears and Their Results

Pap smears are scheduled on a yearly basis unless otherwise noted. A reminder email or postcard will be mailed to you approximately one month in advance of when you are due for your annual pap smear to remind you to schedule your appointment. PAP SMEARS CAN NOT BE PERFORMED IF YOU ARE MENSTRUATING. Results can take up to 10 business days to be received in our office. Our office notifies ALL patients of their pap smear results regardless of the result. Patients with a normal pap smear, will be notified of their results through a message on the Patient Portal. Patients with an abnormal pap smear result will be notified over the phone of the result and its significance and the recommendations for follow-up treatment. In these instances, it is IMPORTANT, to follow through with the physician's recommendations.

Prescription Requests and Refills

Prescription requests and/or refills can be emailed, faxed, or phoned in to our office. When emailing or phoning in a prescription request, be sure to provide our office with the location and phone number of the pharmacy where you want that prescription to be filled. Our office will then EMAIL the prescription to the pharmacy of your choice. If you are unable to provide us with the pharmacy information, the prescription will be sent to the pharmacy on record in your chart. Prescription requests must be approved by the physician and will be sent to the pharmacy within one business day of our office receiving the request. Our medical assistant processes prescription requests during the hours of 12pm - 2pm and 5pm - 6pm. **Please note: BY LAW, our office can only fill a prescription for a maximum of one (1) year from the date of your last office visit.**

Release of Records

Patients' medical records are the property of our office, but our office is able to release patient records to the patient, to another doctor, or to insurance companies. In order for this to be done, a Release of Records form must be signed by the patient. The Release of Records form can either come from our office or from the facility to which the records will be released. By law, our office has 15 business days to copy and release the records once the Release of Records form is signed. Please note that our office does charge a fee for the copying and release of medical records. This fee is $25.00 for the copying of the first 10 pages and $0.25 for the copying of each page thereafter.

Surgical Procedures

Surgical procedures are scheduled at the request of the patient and the physician. Patients thinking they want to undergo a surgical procedure must make an appointment to first discuss this with the physician. All surgeries are performed at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley on Tuesday mornings. Once it is determined that a patient will undergo a surgical procedure, the physician will notify our surgery scheduler, who will then take care of scheduling the surgery. This includes scheduling the surgery at the hospital, and obtaining authorization for the surgery from the insurance (if needed). Once this is done, the surgery scheduler will contact the patient to inform her of the surgery date and time and to also schedule the patient for her pre-op and post-op visits with the physician. All patients having surgery must be seen in our office for a pre-operative consult prior to having the surgery performed, and again for a post-operative visit approximately two (2) weeks after the surgical procedure.

Ultrasounds and Their Results

Ultrasound appointments are scheduled at the request of the physician. Upon physician request, our office will take care of scheduling the ultrasound for you at a facility that is contracted with your insurance. All patients are notified of their ultrasound results by email or telephone regardless of the outcome. It is standard protocol that the physician go over the ultrasound results with the patient in person, so it is not unusual for our office to call you to schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss your ultrasound results. If you already have an upcoming appointment scheduled with our office prior to having the ultrasound performed, the physician will wait to discuss the results of the ultrasound with you at that appointment. In this case, you WILL NOT receive an email or telephone call from our office informing you of your ultrasound results.

Urinary Tract Infections (UTI's)

Patients thinking they have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or bladder infection will need to come to the office to leave a urine sample. Symptoms of a bladder infection or UTI (i.e. burning with urination or frequent urination) are not enough to diagnose a bladder infection or UTI, so a urine sample is necessary in order for our office to run a urinalysis and confirm the diagnosis. If the urinalysis shows that a patient has a UTI, our office will be able to prescribe medication to treat it. Our office CAN NOT prescribe any medication without having a urine sample be left first. If the urine sample does not show that a patient has a UTI, the patient will need to be evaluated by the physician for further treatment.

Vaginal Infections

Patients thinking that they might have some type of vaginal infection (i.e a yeast infection or a bacterial infection) MUST be seen in our office by a physician before medication can be prescribed. This action is taken for the patient's benefit, so that our office ensures that we treat the patient for the correct condition.