Office Policies
Appointments
Appointments are generally scheduled Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm with some variation by practice. Every effort is made to keep your waiting time to a minimum. New patients should arrive 30 minutes prior to your first appointment in order to complete the initial new patient paperwork.
Medications
Please bring all prescribed and over the counter medications you are presently taking with you to each office visit.
Cancelling Appointments
If you are unable to keep an appointment, please call at least 24 hours in advance to reschedule.
If we need to cancel your appointment, we will reschedule you as quickly as possible. We regret that this may happen without advance notice.
No Show Policy
Insurance Claims / Billing
SouthCoast Medical Group, LLC participates with most major insurance carriers. Please bring all of your medical insurance cards with you to each visit. It is ultimately your responsibility to know the benefits provided under your insurance plan. As a courtesy to our patients, we will file insurance claims for those insurances with which we participate. Please remember, any amount not covered by insurance is ultimately the patient's responsibility. A list of the major insurance companies we participate with is on this website, but please contact your insurance company to confirm that we are still participating or call a SouthCoast account representative at 912.691.3530.
Workers' Compensation
All patients receiving treatment under Workers' Compensation must have employer verification prior to treatment.
Financial Responsibility and Fees
Payment will be requested at the time of service for all services which are non-covered or determined to be the patient's responsibility, including co-payments. For your convenience, we accept cash, check, Mastercard, Visa or Discover. Co-payments not paid on the day of service will result in a service fee. Monthly statements are sent to patients with personal balances (amount owed after insurance companies have processed the claim).
Our fees are comparable to the reasonable and customary charges for this area. If you have a question regarding insurance, billing or our fees, please call our business office at 912.691.3530.
Emergencies / After Hours
For emergencies that might arise after hours or on weekends, please call your physician's office. The answering service will contact the physician on call. If this is a life threatening event, call 911 immediately, or go to the nearest emergency room.
Prescription Refill Authorization
We require 48 hours to authorize a medication refill. You may prefer to have your pharmacy call our prescription line or fax the request on your behalf. This is available Monday - Friday during office hours only. If your medication refills have expired, use this as a reminder to schedule your next office visit. Refill authorization protocols may vary by practice.
Medical Records
We assure the confidentiality of your medical records. No information will be released by our office without your consent to any parties other than your physicians. Our medical records department handles information requests; however, some forms require a service fee for completion.
Advance Directives
If you have an advanced directive, it is important that you provide a copy and any subsequent updates to your physician.
