Policies

We are so glad you are considering or have chosen our practice for your care. We are committed to being the Gulf Coast's premier providers of women's healthcare. We wanted to give you some basic information about some of our office policies in hopes that this will make you visit(s) go smoother.

Now a few general notes:

• Our office closes early the first Tuesday of the following months: February, April, June, August, October, and December. Should you need to come by the office to pick-up anything, please do so by 3:00 p.m.
• There is always someone available, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through our answering service/directory, by calling our main number - (850) 476-3696.
• If you must bring small children with you to your appointment, for safety reasons, we require that children 3 and under be either confined in a stroller or held by another adult during your visit with the doctor. It's difficult for you to concentrate on what the provider is saying if you are trying to manage your children during your visit. Unfortunately, we do not have staff available to watch your children.
• Because we have limited seating, please limit the number of people that come with you to your appointment to 3.
• If this is your first visit to our office, please check-in 30 minutes prior to your appointment time in order to complete your new patient paperwork. For future visits, please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time to check-in and make any necessary changes to your demographic and/or insurance information.
• If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please give us at least 24-hours notice so that someone else may use your appointment time.  There is a $25 appointment cancellation fee that may be charged if you fail to notify us in advance.

REGISTRATION
The first time you visit us, and then at each visit thereafter, we will ask you to provide us with information about you. The information you give us goes into our computer system and becomes part of your record with us, therefore, it is important that we have accurate, up to date information. Once you have been to our practice, we will ask you to verify this information, usually with your name, address, telephone number, and insurance coverage each time you visit us. This aids us in billing your insurance company correctly, and should the need arise, allows us to get in contact with you. It may seem repetitive, but insurance coverages can change as well as telephone numbers.

FINANCIAL POLICY
The Women's Group accepts payments of cash, check and major credit cards. Payment is expected at the time of service. Monies due can include your co-pay, deductibles and percentages of charges, or the full charge amount if you have no insurance or if it is a non-covered service (some lab and routine services are not covered by insurance).
Note: Additional charges for specimens (i.e., pap smears, amniocentesis, etc.) sent to external pathologists and laboratories (e.g. Pensacola Pathology, Hyland & Pollock, LabCorp, Sacred Heart, Quest Diagnostics, etc.) will be billed separately by these companies. It is important that insurance information is current and correct for this billing to occur smoothly. The laboratories and pathologists will bill you directly if your insurance does not cover this service or if you pay privately (no insurance.)
For our obstetrical patients, there are special arrangements for you that we will go over with you after your initial appointment.

INSURANCE
Please bring your insurance card with you at each of your visits. Copies will be made for our records. Our new patient information packet goes into more detail about this. We can bill your claims for you to your insurance company. While we do contract with many of the larger insurance companies, you should check with your insurance company prior to services being provided to determine if we are considered participating with your insurance company under your specific policy. If you are a member of a managed care plan and a referral is required from your primary care provider for services you are to receive, an authorization number must be received prior to services being performed. Should the authorization not be in place at the time of service, your appointment will be rescheduled. Please contact your primary care provider personally to assure the authorization is issued, either to you to bring with you to your appointment, or to our office directly.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please call us at (850) 476-3696 or toll-free (877) 507-2200. Welcome to Our Practice!