New Providence Internal Medicine Associates

Office policies and procedures:

Below is a summary of how our office functions so we can work together most effectively to keep you healthy:

A same-day appointment can be given on most days for an urgent problem, though choice of times will be limited based on availability.  Routine appointments and physicals are scheduled in advance.   Walk in visits are usually not available. 

We reserve the right to charge $25 for a missed routine appointment, and $30 for a missed physical.  Missing an appointment often prevents us from providing prompt care to another ill patient.

Many health plans require a “referral” from our office before a specialist can be seen.  A “referral” is a form, often completed by our office on-line, which includes the name and identification number of the specialist, the reason and diagnosis for the visit, and other demographic information. 

Please familiarize yourself with your health plan’s requirements and determine if a written referral from our office is needed before you can be seen by a specialist.  Even if one of our doctors “recommends” that you see a specialist, many plans require the formal written “referral.”  It is your responsibility to know if you need a referral and to request it far enough in advance so we can process it prior to your specialist appointment. 

Your insurance company requires that you pay your co-payments at the time of each visit.  We cannot see you for the visit if you do not pay your co-payment. 

If your plan has a deductible (for example, Medicare), then we will bill you after we receive the explanation of benefits (EOB).  We do expect that you will pay your deductible promptly.  We accept MasterCard and Visa. 

It is your responsibility to have the most up-to-date insurance card and present it to us at each visit.  If you give us incorrect insurance information, then we are obligated to bill you for the full cost of the visit (and then you can collect from your insurance provider). 

A complete physical at our office typically consists of routine laboratory testing done a week before (blood chemistries, cholesterol, etc.) and completion of a detailed health questionnaire (also done before the visit).  At the visit, we will review the health questionnaire, do a complete physical exam, and review lab and any other testing.  We’ll also make sure that you are up–to-date on routine testing (based on age and gender), any immunizations, and review issues of “healthy lifestyles.” 

We do our best to answer questions as soon as possible depending on the nature of the question.  If leaving a message with a question, please leave enough detail so we can respond appropriately.  Also, please leave contact information including home/work/cell phone numbers. 

Useful information can be found on our web site, including our recommendations for routine care, general office information, blank forms that are useful, and requests for appointments, referrals, and prescription refills.  Our web address is www.NPInternalMed.com.

We do our best to contact you with all test results promptly after reviewed and interpreted by our doctors.  For routine labs done at our office, that is typically less than one week (though certain tests do take longer for the lab to process).  If a study is done at an outside facility (e.g. x-ray), it will often take a week or more for the study to be processed, interpreted, and for the report to be faxed or mailed to us.  We will contact you with all results (even if normal); so if you don’t hear from us after a reasonable amount of time, please do contact us to confirm we received the result. 

There will be a fee of $30 for a returned check.