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Pregnancy Care |
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This relates to your medical care during pregnancy, delivery
of the baby and a six-weeks checkup after delivery (allowing
some variance for C-Section or other complications). The office
and hospital nurses are important participants in your obstetrical
management. You may need to go to the hospital obstetrical unit
for monitoring or to be checked - especially if there are problems
in late pregnancy. For emergencies such as heavy bleeding or
severe pain during early to mid pregnancy, call the office, the
doctor or go to the hospital emergency room.
Be sure to call us for any non-obstetrical problems during your
pregnancy. This would include colds, urinary tract infections
or other illness or injury. In some cases, a consultation may
be needed. |
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Some people have special requests or their own ideas of how their
labor and delivery should be managed. If you have any questions
or conflict about the overall management of your obstetrical
care by either the doctor or the hospital, we urge you to discuss
this at the beginning of your prenatal care.
Your physician usually delivers 90 - 95% of their own patients
even if they are not on call that day.
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Gynecological Care |
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By Washington State Law women can self-refer to their Gynecologist
in most cases. Specifically, this allows women to see their
OBGYN for maternity care, reproductive health services and
GYN care which would include preventive care with follow
up care. Although this is true for most insurance plans,
you should check with your individual plan as many managed
care plans have their own requirements. Your Primary Care
Physician may need to refer you to us for special care and
treatment. Pap smears and mammograms are recommended on a
regular basis.
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| Insurance |
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Our
office staff will file insurance claims for you provided
you bring your insurance card with you when you come for your
appointment.
Any change in coverage needs to be brought to the attention
of an account representative. |
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| On-Call Schedule |
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Our individual practices
are separate, therefore the doctor you choose will generally
manage your complete care (hospital
and office). In the event your doctor is not available, one of
the other Lower Columbia Women’s Clinic Board Certified
OB-GYN doctors will attend to your needs. To reach your physician
or the doctor on call, after hours call 360-636-9500. If he is
gone, the after hours service will call the covering doctor or
give you appropriate instructions.
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Medical Records and Confidentiality
We follow HIPAA guidelines. We keep a record of the health care
services we provide and all records are confidential. With appropriate
authorization, copies of a portion or all of your medical records
will be released to the appropriate party or designated person(s).
We will not disclose your record to others unless you direct
us to do so or unless the law authorizes or compels us to do
so. A charge is made for copying records. |
Telephone |
We encourage
you to call if you have questions. The nurses will handle
many routine calls. If you need to talk to the
doctor, it will usually be on a “call back” basis,
which generally will be during the lunch hour or after office
hours. Inform the receptionist if there are limitations on
your time or location for a return call or if this is an
emergency.
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Prescriptions Policy |
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Call your pharmacy for all routine prescription
refills. New prescriptions or changes to your current prescription
are handled during office hours. We do not refill restricted
or classified drugs at times when your chart is not readily
available.
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Smoking
Policy
Lung
cancer has become the leading cause of cancer deaths in
women (ahead of breast cancer) and is directly related
to cigarette consumption. Besides lung cancer, smoking
is a known cause of severe lung and heart problems and
is also related to cancer of the cervix and bladder. Smoking
is so devastating to your general health (and to your baby
if you are pregnant) that we feel a statement as to our
unrelenting opposition to it must be made! If you need
help to stop smoking, we will do everything possible to
assist you.
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| Fees |
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| We are sensitive to the effects of rising medical
costs and keep our fees within the customary range for this
area. Feel free to discuss any questions you may have with
our account representatives.
Co-payments are required on the date of service.
New patients are required to have a $50 down payment if
we are not contracted with their insurance company.
Obstetrical fees include all prenatal care visits, delivery
and the postpartum visit. Lab work and other surgical procedures,
such as cesarean birth or postpartum tubal ligation, are
extra and might result in receiving a bill from an outside
source.
You may receive a separate billing from other doctors,
such as a pathologist for reading the smears, x-rays and
other laboratory interpretations. Most major operations
will require an assisting doctor. This is a separate bill.
Regardless of what your insurance company pays, you are
responsible for full payment of all bills.
Payment in full is expected within 30 days. Budget arrangements
can be made.
We accept Visa, MasterCard and debit cards.
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