Patient Information

Before scheduling your first appointment, check with your insurance plan regarding their referral requirements. The referral requirements of your health insurance plan will determine whether your claim is accepted and paid by your insurer.

For your first appointment, you should plan for approximately ninety minutes. This will allow sufficient time for your provider to evaluate your past medical history, evaluate your current condition/injury, order and evaluate your imaging studies, and initiate your treatment plan. The length of your follow-up visit depends on several considerations, including the complexity of your condition/injury, the need for additional imaging studies, cast removal or application, staple/suture removal, and whether a hospital admission is indicated. We know that your time is valuable. We make every effort to see our patients in a timely manner.

Please provide at least 24 hours’ notice of any cancellation or rescheduling needs. New patients who do not provide us with a 24-hour cancellation notice will not be scheduled for another new patient appointment. Patients who chronically do not show up for their appointments may be dismissed from our practice. Two days prior to your appointment, you will receive a telephone reminder stating the date, time, and location of your appointment. If you enroll in our patient portal program two days prior to your appointment, you will receive an e-mail reminder.

We do not charge for no-show appointments. New patients who do not provide us with 24-hour notice of cancellation will not be scheduled for another new patient appointment. Patients who chronically do not show up for their appointments may be dismissed from our practice.

You may request to have your care transferred to another provider within our group, provided the provider specializes in your orthopaedic condition.

In our group, each provider is fellowship-trained to treat and manage conditions/injuries in a specific area of the musculoskeletal system. As a result, it is unlikely that one provider could treat all of your orthopaedic conditions.

We know your time is valuable. We make every effort to see our patients in a timely manner. However, scheduling is not an exact science. If your provider is behind schedule, our staff will keep you informed. In the event you need to alter your plans, a courtesy phone is available for you to use. Ask the reception staff for our courtesy phone. In the event you reschedule your appointment due to delays at our office, your co-payment will be waived for your subsequent follow-up appointment.

We strive to schedule each appointment on a day and time of your convenience. Every effort is made to schedule you with the provider of your choice suited to your orthopaedic condition. If we are not able to schedule your appointment with your preferred provider at a day and time of your convenience, we will offer alternatives for your consideration.

Please bring any tests or imaging studies you have related to your orthopaedic condition to your first appointment. Once your provider completes your orthopaedic history and examination, if they are needed, you will be referred for additional studies and tests.

Yes, all X-rays/MRI/CT scans on CD or film that are pertinent to the musculoskeletal part of the body being evaluated need to be available at your first appointment. If you do not bring your originals to your appointment, X-rays may need to be repeated in our office.

Yes, we have wheelchairs available and our offices are handicap accessible.

They need to be updated once every two years to reflect any changes in your health status.

585-248-5106

Our offices are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, and our phones are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

We participate with most of the insurance plans available in the greater Rochester metropolitan area. To verify that Greater Rochester Orthopaedics is a participating provider in your plan, please call the member services telephone number provided on your insurance card.

We will submit your claim(s) to your insurance company. You can help us file your claims effectively by, at the time of your office visit, providing a copy of your current insurance card and all necessary billing information.

You are responsible for any copayments, coinsurance, and/or deductible obligations that are due. Copayments are due at the time of service. Insurance payments made directly to Greater Rochester Orthopaedics will be applied to your account. If a balance remains, you will receive a billing statement. You can pay your remaining balance by credit card through our website.

Our policy regarding high-deductible insurance plans is to collect co-pays, co-insurance, or deductibles at the time of service. If, according to information provided by your insurance plan, your deductible has not been met, you are required to pay a deposit towards your deductible. You may pay your deposit by cash, check, or credit card. For your convenience, we offer a recurring credit card plan.

Any remaining balance will be due within thirty (30) days of our receipt of payment from your insurance plan. Any refundable balance will be refunded to the responsible party within thirty (30) days of Greater Rochester Orthopaedics’ receipt of payment from your insurance plan.

Your co-payments and deductibles are part of your contract with your insurance carrier. Due to government regulations and contractual obligations with your insurance plan, we are required to collect co-payments and deductibles.

Presenting your insurance card at each visit will ensure your claims are processed correctly in accordance with your insurance benefit plan. Though your insurance plan may not have changed, it is not uncommon for your group and/or plan group number to change. Those changes, if not updated, can affect the processing of your claim.

If you are injured at work or believe that your condition is related to your work, you are required by law to report your injury/condition to your employer. You cannot claim a work-related injury/condition unless you file an injury report with your employer. Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance plan will pay your medical claim, providing an injury report was filed by your employer. Your commercial insurance plan will not pay claims for your work-related injury. If you require additional information on how to file a workers’ compensation claim, please contact the Workers’ Compensation Board at 866-211-0644 or contact our billing office at 585-295-5351.

Our billing department will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have regarding your statement and can be reached at 585-295-5351.

A global period is the period of time that begins with the decision to schedule a surgical procedure or initiate treatment of a fracture and ends a certain number of days after the surgical procedure or initial treatment of a fracture. During a global period, co-payments, coinsurance, or deductibles for casting materials, imaging studies, and durable medical equipment may apply. Charges for professional services by your provider are included in the payment for the surgery or fracture. A global period typically lasts for ninety days.

A medical records release form must be signed by the patient or guardian before any records can be released. This form should state what records are requested and where the records should be sent. This form may be accessed on our website. You may contact our medical records department at 585-295-5354.

We undertake a legal and ethical responsibility to foster and preserve the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. Accordingly, we will strictly adhere to obtaining prior consent of the patient before information is released except where a specific law or regulation requires or permits such access without patient consent.

Yes. However, we may require a completed medical records release form. Please be aware that not all fax machines are secure.

1. Emergency requests involving immediate emergency care of the patient: immediate processing
2. Priority requests pertaining to the current care of the patient: within one working day
3. Patient request for access to own record: within two working days
4. Subpoenas: as required
5. All other requests: within five working days

Original C-ray images are part of your permanent medical record and, therefore, are kept by Greater Rochester Orthopaedics. Copies of your X-ray images are provided at your request. The cost you pay covers only the expense of duplicating your images.

Your records may be picked up at either of our two locations. Please inform our medical records department which office you prefer.

You may send someone in your place providing you send a written permission slip for the person you are appointing to pick up your records or films. Please notify our medical records department in advance if you will be sending someone in your place.

If your primary care physician or referring physician is treating you for the same injury for which you are seeing our provider, it is beneficial to have your current records and imaging studies available at your appointment. This will ensure that our provider has all the information available to properly diagnose your injury or condition. Your primary care physician or referring physician may require that you sign for the release of your records and pick them up prior to your appointment.

In order for records to be released, patients themselves must call. Your primary care physician’s office may or may not require you to sign a release form.

All paperwork should be delivered to Greater Rochester Orthopaedics. Please complete all required patient information, including your signature. Under normal circumstances and with appropriate information, you can expect that your paperwork will be completed within 7-10 working days. In order to submit the paperwork to your employer or insurance company, a medical records release form is needed.