Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay

OFFICE POLICIES & PROCEDURES FOR OUR PATIENTS

Thank you for choosing Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay. We realize that you have a choice in medical providers and are pleased that you have chosen to seek care with us. The staff at Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay strives to exceed expectations in care and service in order to make your experience with us as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Our goal is to provide quality medical care in a timely manner. In order to do so we have implemented an appointment/cancellation policy. The policy enables us to better utilize available appointments for our patients in need of medical care. Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions regarding our policies.

OFFICE HOURS

Our office is available Monday-Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm, and may be reached at 813-490-9495 (Tampa/Wesley Chapel) 813-654-8100 (Brandon). If you need an appointment, prescription refill or test results, please call during regular business hours.

APPOINTMENTS

Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay is committed to providing quality care to our patients. To ensure timely continued care, we encourage patients to schedule appointments in advance of follow up due dates. When calling for an appointment, please provide your name, telephone number, chief complaint/reason for visit, as well as any updated contact or insurance information. To ensure quality care, Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay, will not call in prescriptions or offer medical advice for patients prior to their initial visit. Follow up may be required to be scheduled after testing has been completed, so that results may be reviewed together, so an effective and appropriate plan for your healthcare can be determined.

CANCELLATION OF AN APPOINTMENT

In order to be respectful of the medical needs of our patients please be courteous and call Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay promptly if you are unable to attend an appointment. This time will be reallocated to someone who is in need of treatment. This is how we can best serve the needs of our patients. If it is necessary to cancel your scheduled appointment we require that you call one (1) working day in advance. Appointments are in high demand, and your early cancellation will give another person the ability to have access to timely medical care.

NO SHOW POLICY

A “no show” is someone who misses an appointment without canceling it within one (1) business day in advance. No-shows inconvenience those individuals who need access to medical care in a timely manner. A failure to present at the time of a scheduled appointment will be recorded in your medical chart as a “no show”. An administrative fee of $35.00 will be billed to your account. You will be contacted by phone and text message alerting you to the fact that you failed to show for a scheduled appointment and did not cancel the appointment within one (1) business day in advance along with the bill for the administrative fee. Three (3) “no-shows” within one (1) calendar year may result in a temporary suspension of services. **Please note that No-Show charges are patient responsibility and will not be billed to your insurance company.

INSURANCE

Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay accepts most insurance plans. If you have specific questions regarding your insurance, please contact our billing department at 813-490-9495 and ask for the billing department. It is patient responsibility to inform our office of any changes in insurance coverage. Failure to do so could cause delay or denial of insurance payment. Patients are responsible for co-pays at time of service. If applicable, you will be billed for coinsurance, deductibles and services not covered by your insurance (as stated in your insurance contract) by our billing department.

PAYMENTS

Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay accepts cash, personal checks, MasterCard, Discover, Visa, American Express and CareCredit. Checks can be made out to Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay. It is the policy of Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay to make all reasonable attempts to collect outstanding balances’ should they accrue, including, convenient payment arrangements. Following these attempts, accounts in poor standing will be outsourced to a third party for the purpose of collection.

FORMS/LETTERS

We understand that at times, various forms or letters may be required to assist you with your healthcare needs. The staff at Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay will be happy to complete forms and write medical letters as necessary upon your request. However, because this can be time consuming, please allow 7-14 days for completion of requested forms/letters.

MEDICAL RECORDS

Per HIPAA guidelines, copies of medical records must be requested in writing. To ensure your privacy, a form for release of medical information must be completed prior to receipt of these materials. All patients can request a copy of their medical records one time, free of charge. Additional copies may be requested at a cost of $0.75 per page. The law allows Medical Offices 30 days to complete requests for records. However, our medical records department puts forth every effort to respond to these requests in a timely manner.

PRESCRIPTION REFILLS & PHARMACY INFORMATION

Please inform Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay of which Pharmacy you use and update us if this should change. Please allow one to two business days for refill requests. We encourage our patients to review their medications prior to their office appointments. Please note that we do not fill Narcotic Medications or order Antibiotics over the phone. Our Practice does not routinely order Narcotic Pain Medicine, therefore you may be required to obtain these medications through Pain Management.

Office Policies