What to Expect at your Visit
What to Bring to Your First Visit
- Medications. Please bring a complete list of medications you are currently taking, including the strength and how often you take each medicine. You may bring the actual prescription bottles if you prefer. Please include over-the-counter medications also.
- Medical Records. Please bring copies of any recent tests related to the problem for which you are being seen. This may include xray reports, labs, or other records. It is not necessary to bring anything which has already been forwarded by your referring physician.
- Insurance Cards. Please bring all active health insurance cards, primary and secondary. Your card(s) will be scanned and entered into your chart. If you are being referred for a screening colonoscopy (free from symptoms), you may want to verify with your insurance company that you have screening benefits (see also #10 in our financial policy).
- Photo ID. Please bring your driver’s license or other ID with you. This will be scanned into your chart.
About Registration
Effective December, 2011, our office has integrated the services of Phreesia to help automate and facilitate ease of the registration process. On arrival, you will be handed a PhreesiaPad. This portable “kiosk” will allow you check in by entering all demographic, billing, and clinical information, including medications and past medical history.
After you enter in your insurance information, Phreesia will automatically verify insurance eligibility and benefits. You will be asked to pay any applicable copays, deductibles, or open balances. You have the option to pay via the PhreesiaPad by swiping a credit or debit card, or if you prefer, you can also pay by cash or by check. Whether you pay by credit card, cash, or check, you will be expected to satisfy any outstanding financial obligations.
Our registration clerk will be available to assist you if you have any difficulties with the registration process.
About the Visit
Once you have been checked in, you will be called back to the triage room by the Medical Assistant. The MA will take your weight and blood pressure and ensure the appropriate clinical information has been entered into your electronic health record. You will then be escorted to a room where you will wait to see either Dr. Curtiss or Nancy Jo.
Most new patients present with issues that will require a procedure such as a colonoscopy (lower scope) or an EGD (upper scope). If this is the case, all physical exams will be performed at the time of the actual procedure and not during your initial office visit.
After seeing Dr. Curtiss and Nancy Jo, you will next visit with our Scheduling Specialist who will counsel you about any procedure preps. You will either be scheduled for any applicable tests and procedures that day at your appointment, or you will be contacted by phone the next day with the appropriate information.
Length of Visit
Our goal is to have you in and out in about an hour. This obviously will depend on the length of your and other patients’ actual encounters, which is difficult to predict. We appreciate your patience as we strive to give all our patients excellent medical care. If you have a scheduling conflict and are unable to wait, please notify our office personnel, and we will be glad to reschedule you to a more convenient time.
Financial Policy
It is important that you understand what is expected of you in meeting your financial obligations for services received. Please read our financial policy by clicking here.
Prescription Refills
Neither Dr. Curtiss nor Nancy Jo will prescribe narcotic or other non-GI medications. Patients on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) will need to be seen back in the office every 3 months and reassessed prior to refilling their PPI prescription.
Patients requesting refills may do so by calling the office and either speaking to office personnel or leaving a message. Please give 2 days’ advance notice for any refills whenever possible. We will generally not call you back to notify you the prescription has been refilled. Please check with your pharmacy directly.
Your Privacy
Your privacy is very important to us, and we make every effort to protect it. It is your responsibility to notify our staff of any special requests or needs you may have with regard to your privacy. Please ensure we have the necessary information on file for us to be able to communicate (or withhold) your medical information to appropriate family members or friends to the extent to which they are involved with your health care.
Please read our Notice of Privacy Practices and Patient Rights here. You will be asked to sign an acknowledgement of this document at your initial encounter.
Medical Records
Your medical records will be made available to any medical providers as needed. You are entitled to one free copy of your medical records. Additional copies will be made available at a cost of $1.00 per page.
Telephone Calls
Our staff is available to take your phone calls during our normal business hours (see Contact Us page for Office Hours). Your phone call will be directed to the most appropriate person; however, because we are a small office, and staff may be with other patients, you may need to leave a message, especially if you are calling between the hours of 1:00pm and 5:00pm. We will return your phone call as soon as possible, usually on the same business day, if received before noon. If the message is received after noon, a return call may carry over to the next business day.
After Hours Emergencies
If you have an emergency after normal business hours, please present to your closest emergency room.