Patient Information

Hospital Affiliations and Inpatient Care | Your First Appointment
Office Hours and Appointments | Prescriptions
Fees and Billing | Privacy Practices

Hospital Affiliations and Inpatient Care

We are affiliated with the following medical facilities:

In the event of a hospitalization at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center 570.621.4000 or the Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic 570.621.5000, one of our physicians will coordinate your care. You may be scheduled for follow-up visits at one of our offices.

Your First Appointment

Please arrive early so that we can complete your initial paperwork. Also, please bring the following:

Office Hours and Appointments

The Pottsville office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday except Thursday when the office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Pine Grove office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday with the exception of Tuesday, when the office is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Our answering service is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. If you have an emergency, please call 570.622.1887 and you will be connected to our answering service.

We ask that patients schedule appointments to see our physicians. If you are ill and do not have an appointment we will try to accommodate you.

If you have an appointment and are unable to keep it, please cancel 24 hours prior to the appointment. There may be a charge for missed appointments.

Prescriptions

We ask that you have your drugs refilled at your regular visit, but if that is not possible, please call the office to make arrangements. Please do not wait until your prescription has expired to call, as we want to ensure a doctor is available to authorize a refill. We DO NOT FAX prescriptions unless it is absolutely necessary. If a drug ordered by our physicians is not covered by your insurance plan, it is your responsibility to inquire with your provider about a substitute and contact our office with the information.

Fees and Billing

Our office works to provide you with superior service at a reasonable cost. To contain costs we anticipate payment of co-pays and anything for which the patient is responsible on the date of service. It is costly to bill these services and you may incur a billing charge. We file insurance claims as quickly as possible. If you receive a bill you feel should be paid by your insurance, please call your provider, then our office.

We accept most major insurances — including but not limited to: Medicare, Blue Shield, Blue Cross, Teamsters, Berkshire and Schuylkill Health Plans, Aetna, Geisinger, Health America/Assurance, Keystone Health Plan, and Access. Dr. Russell and Dr. Scalia in Pine Grove are our primary care physicians for Aetna, Geisinger, and Keystone.

We file claims for services that fall under one of these insurance programs. Payments from insurance providers will be sent to our office and you will receive an explanation of benefits from your insurance company. If you are not a member of one of the insurance programs, payment in full is expected at the time of service.

It is the patient's responsibility to obtain a referral, if needed, for HMO insurances. If a referral is not presented, the patient will be responsible for payment of that service at the time of service.

Privacy Practices

Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. It is given to all new patients, and a copy is available upon request.

We believe in the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship. To protect your privacy, none of your personal records will ever be released from this office without your consent. There may be a fee for copies of medical and financial records.

A copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices will soon be posted on this website.

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