General Office Information
The Hand Center is devoted to the care of the Hand, Upper Extremity and Shoulder. Our staff wants to provide you with a high quality of care. We are committed to successfully returning you to your daily work and leisure activities.
We strive to work closely with our patients and their families, doctors and other medical professionals, employers and insurance carriers to provide you with timely and needed care. We know that for minor to major injuries the path to recovery can be a difficult one. Our highly specialized physicians and caring staff are interested in your success.
Our physicians are on staff at Baystate Medical Center, Shriners Hospital, Pioneer Valley Surgicenter and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. They are also on staff at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Noble Hospital in Westfield and Mary Lane Hospital in Ware, Massachusetts.
Our convenient central location in Springfield provides many services including in suite digital diagnostic imaging as well as being located adjacent to NovaCare Hand Therapy and immediately above Pioneer Valley Surgical Center. For added convenience we have an additional location at 85 South Street, Ware, MA.
We are committed to providing care and are pleased to discuss our professional fees with you. Your clear understanding of our Financial Policy is important to our professional relationship. Please ask if you have any questions at all.
We hope this provides you with the basic information you will need. If for any reason you have any other questions or concerns please contact an office staff member at (413) 733-2204 and they will be happy to assist you.
Appointment Information
Our office values your time please plan to arrive on time. Please call the office if you are running behind so we can either accommodate your late arrival or schedule you on a day and time that may be more convenient for you. If you are unable to make it to your appointment please contact the office immediately so we can make that time available to other patients. There is a $25 “NO SHOW” fee for an appointment not cancelled within 24 hours. Although we make every effort to run on time there are instances when emergencies occur. Please be patient we will give you the same full attention as soon as we can.
If this is your first time at our office please plan to arrive 15 minutes before your actual appointment so that you can complete paperwork. Some of the forms can be completed ahead of time and have been made available online under the patient center in patient forms. The Hipaa Privacy Practices is for you to review you do not need to print that out but the Hipaa Privacy Practices Signature form will need to be printed, completed and returned to the office. The Medical Questionnaire Form and Patient Consent Form should also be printed, completed and returned to our office. If you do not wish to complete these prior to we will have them available at your appointment for you to complete. Patients must fill out information forms prior to seeing the doctor.
We will also need to copy you license, insurance card, medication list (if available), or previous surgeries list (if available). If you have had recent Xrays, bone studies, nerve conduction studies, MRI or CT scan please make sure you have notified our office. You may be asked to bring those records and results to your appointment. These results are very important to evaluating and treating you.
Referral Information
If your insurance requires a referral please contact your primary care to obtain. We will need the referral at the time of the visit to bill your insurance. If you are unable to obtain a referral prior to the appointment you can chose to either complete a referral waiver in order to keep your appointment that day or reschedule your appointment to a time in which you are able to obtain the referral.
Payment Information
Your insurance mandates that we collect your designated co-pay at the time of service. Please be prepared to pay the co-pay at each visit. Payment is expected at the time of service for all copay, coinsurance and deductibles. Without it, you may be required to reschedule. There is a $15 processing fee for any unpaid copay. Chronic non-payment can constitute severance from the Practice. The office accepts payments by cash, check, debit card, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Any returned check from the bank for non-payment or insufficient funds shall result in the patient’s account being assessed a $25.00 fee per check returned.
The office payment policy on account balances is payment is due within thirty (30) days from the date of the private pay invoicing to avoid collection activity.
Insurance Information
Health Insurance
We are providers for many different insurance plans. The office accepts most health insurance including: Aetna Healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Cigna Healthcare, Connecticare of MA, Coventry/First Health, GIC Indemnity, Health New England, Medicare, MultiPlan/PHCS, Pinnacle Health, Pioneer Health, Tufts Health, Unicare of Western MA, and United Healthcare. If we do not participate with your insurance you may still be able to treat here at our office. Please contact us at (413) 733-2204 for any questions about plan participation or your individual insurance. Please contact your insurance carrier to determine any limitations of your insurance coverage.
If you have any changes in insurance carriers before or during treatment please notify us immediately.
Workman's Compensation
We also accept many Workman’s Compensation carriers. In order to see and treat your work related injury there is an approval process that we need to go through. Please provide us with the name of your carrier, phone number of the adjustor, claim number and date of injury. Once we have approval we will work with you to schedule an appointment that is convenient for you.
In Office Procedure Information
If you have a fracture please note that when you receive your explanation of benefits from your insurance you may see the word surgical associated with your bill. Some insurance companies require that fracture care codes be done on a “global” basis. This means that for a pre-determined amount of time all professional services related to the “surgery” or fracture care are included within the initial fee. X-Rays and casting/splinting, along with related supplies are not included within the global fee and are billed separately. Please note, that there are other situations that require each visit to be billed separately.
Injections, joint aspirations and fracture care are all procedures listed as “surgical” for billing purposes by insurance companies. Though these services may be provided in the office or emergency room, they are generally listed on your explanation of benefits or bill as “surgical”. We have provided a detailed explanation of this which can be found in the patient center under forms called Fracture care information sheet. Please feel free to call us after reviewing this information for any questions or concerns.
If you are interested in a waterproof cast please note that it may not be appropriate in certain situations. Furthermore, all insurance carriers do not cover waterproof casting material. A $40.00 charge at the time of service would apply. We will still bill your insurance carrier for the service as a courtesy if they cover that service a prompt refund will be issued. Please see the waterproof cast information sheet.
Tests, Studies and Surgeries Booking Information
Scheduling for tests, studies and surgeries are booked as soon as possible. Please make sure to notify us of any schedule constraints so we can book at the appropriate times and in a timely fashion. Prior to the actual scheduling that is done we are required to go through several steps which may include, insurance approval, medical necessity approval, reports to be completed and faxed. Please be patient we are trying to expedite the process as quickly as possible. Unfortunately it may take a few days or longer.
Work, School and Gym Note Information
Let us know if you will need a note for work, school or gym. We will be happy to provide you with one.
Disability, Accident and FMLA Paperwork Information
You can drop off or mail all forms at our office on 3550 Main Street, Suite 204, Springfield, MA 01107. Make sure to review the paperwork-fill in all areas necessary and sign the form prior to dropping off or mailing the form for completion. Attach a note as to how you would like to receive the completed forms (i.e. call when to pickup or mail to home address). Please allow at least 1 week for forms to be complete. Due to physician changing schedules they may not always be able to complete in this time frame. Please contact the office for any questions about form completion at (413) 733-2204.
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