Patient InformationPatient Information
Clinic HoursOffice LocationMedical RecordsPrescription RefillsHospitalizationServicesEmergency CareAppointmentsCancellationsYour First VisitCharges and BillingPayment PolicyMedical InsuranceMedicareDisability
Papers, Work Notes, etc.Visiting PhysiciansOur physicians and nurse practitioners office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (except holidays).
Each doctor's schedule will vary according to his or her practice needs, and not all our providers are here every day.
The business and administrative office is open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Our offices are on Hospital Avenue in Nassawadox, across the street from Shore Memorial Hospital. The practice is in three buildings (West, South, Pediatrics/Visiting Physician),
each with posted
physician directories and clearly marked handicapped parking spaces. A building
directory is available here
Medical Records/Privacy Policy
Your medical records are strictly confidential. It is important to your care that you confide information to your doctor. To assure confidentiality, information
contained in your medical records will not be shared with anyone without your written permission. A printed copy of our Privacy Policy is available upon request.
It is also posted
online at
There is no charge to you for providing information to a consulting physician to whom you have been referred by one of our doctors. Most other requests
for information, such as those for attorneys, life insurance applications, or disability claims, result in a charge for copying records and for our doctor's time
in reviewing the medical record in preparing a report.
In accordance with Virginia law, we maintain patient medical records for a period of ten (10) after date of last treatment or until age 21 for minors, whichever is longer.
Prescriptions are authorized only for active patients of the practice who have been seen within the previous twelve months. Certain types of prescriptions can be telephoned, others must be written.
Refill requests should be sent directly to your pharmacist who will then contact us for any information needed. You may also send a request with your name,
date of birth, medication information and pharmacy, either by FAX at 757-442-6338 or telephone to 442-6600 (choice number 6 on phone menu). You may
also bring any preprinted paper requests to the office and leave them with our receptionists.
Please request refills at least 48 hours BEFORE you run out of medications as we will not be processing routine refill requests on weekends or holidays.
Our physicians will still authorize prescriptions at anytime for true emergencies.
Please bring all your medications with you to every office visit or consultation so that we can review them. This includes medications from other physicians.
If you require hospitalization for medical or surgical treatment, your doctor will make the arrangements for your admission to the hospital. Any business
matters regarding payment of the hospital account should be discussed with the hospital. Eastern Shore Physicians & Surgeons and Shore Memorial Hospital
are separate organizations. The bill you receive from the hospital will not include any of our doctor charges. The ESPS bill will include any medical or
surgical care administered by our doctors and any of our staff who serve as consultants during your stay.
ESPS offers inpatient and outpatient care in Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pediatrics, Podiatry, and Surgery. The following specialties are available through the clinic or its visiting physicians:
We perform limited laboratory testing in our offices including:
EKG
pacemaker testing
pulmonary function testing
oximetry
blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C testing
Prothombin Time
Strep and influenza diagnostic testing
Urinanalysis
Fecal Occult Blood
Our nurses will obtain samples for other tests which are sent to the appropriate reference laboratory for more extensive testing.
Our licensed radiology technicians perform many types of x-rays in our office including chest x-rays and bone films as well as
dual energy bone density (DEXA) testing for osteoporosis.
More extensive laboratory testing and radiology procedures such as CT scans, and many outpatient tests are done by Shore Health Systems which will bill you or your insurance company directly. You may also be billed for physician interpretation of these tests.
For a medical emergency, please call 911.
Medical care is available during non-office hours through the emergency room at Shore Memorial Hospital (1-757-414-8777).
ESPS doctors are on call for the hospital twenty-four hours a day. The on-call physician can be reached by calling the hospital switchboard at 757-414-8000.
Although the on call doctor may not be your usual doctor, your medical records are available to him and he is fully qualified to assist you.
To schedule time with a doctor or nurse practitioner, call our main number, 1-757-442-6600 or our toll free number, 1-800-564-2307.
Every effort will be made to schedule your visit promptly.
If your insurance plan requires a "referral" from your primary physician, you MUST have it before being seen by our doctors. This is your responsibility and that of your referring physician.
During your appointment, if your doctor indicates that he or she wishes you to return at a later date, please tell the receptionist who will arrange for your follow up visit.
Occasionally you may experience a delay in seeing your doctor at the scheduled time. When this occurs, please remember that when a doctor is behind schedule, it is usually because he or she has been interrupted by an emergency or delayed by another appointment. Although we prefer to see our patients by appointment, urgent problems will be seen by one of our nurse practitioners or doctors during the day, either in the office or the emergency room.
Please bring all of your medicines with you to each appointment, even if they were prescribed by another doctor.
Please arrive at the office fifteen to thirty minutes prior to your first scheduled appointment and proceed to the reception desk. Information will be requested for insurance and billing purposes. Please bring your medical insurance papers with you on your fist visit. If your insurance plan requires a "referral" from your primary physician, you MUST have it before being seen by our doctors. This is your responsibility and that of your referring physician.
Although you need register only on your first visit, please notify us of any change in your name. address, telephone number, insurance, or employment status. We will verify insurance status yearly and collect new signatures for Medicare patients.
If you cannot keep your appointment, please call us as soon as possible so we can offer the time to someone else.
You will receive an itemized statement of charges at the time of any office visit. An itemized statement covering those medical services and any hospital inpatient or outpatient services which were provided by ESPS will be mailed to you monthly.
This statement will include any balance remaining on your account from the last statement as well as any payments or adjustments.
Please realize that due to mail delays, statements and payments often cross in the mail system. In these cases, the payment will appear on the next statement.
We ask that you pay your portion of the bill for services at the time of service, including any deductibles and co-payment amounts.
Please make payments to the receptionist as you leave. We accept credit and debit cards, cash and checks.
Although we assist in filing insurance claims, responsibility for payment of your account remains with you at all times. If you have problems, our business office will be happy to assist you. A patient account representative will be happy to discuss matters with you at any time.
Please call our main number and chose option 2.
ESPS is a participating provider and accepts assignment with many, but not all, healthcare insurers including Medicare, Virginia Medicaid, Anthem, MAMSI, Cigna, Virginia Premier, Optima, and Sentara Health Plans.
ESPS does however reserve the right to refuse assignment for any commercial insurance company with which we do not currently participate.
§ ESPS considers the patient to be directly responsible for the full cost of health care services rendered regardless of their insurance coverage.
§ Any disputes regarding coverage or payment issues are between you and your insurance company.
§ You are responsible for any amount that is not paid by your insurance carrier(s) including non-covered services, deductibles,
co-pay and co-insurance amounts.
§ Deductibles and co-pays are due at the time of service. All insurance companies require ESPS to collect these amounts unless extreme
financial hardship is documented.
§ If required by your policy, you are responsible for obtaining a valid referral and authorization before being seen.
§ ESPS will file a standard HCFA insurance claim form for all Medicare and Medicaid services and most private insurance companies.
As a courtesy, ESPS will file the standard HCFA form and/or a copy of the patient's insurance form to a patient’s “Medigap” insurance carrier.
§ ESPS will submit claims to any insurance carrier the patient may designate on a standard HCFA insurance forms. We reserve the right to institute
a charge for special reports required by an insurance carrier; there is an additional charge for more than 2 standard forms completed for any service.
§ A patient account representative can assist you with more information about these issues.
ESPS is a participating provider with Medicare and accepts assignment on all patients. Medicare claims are filed automatically for you, including any secondary or “Medigap” policies.
Please remember Medicare alone will NOT cover your entire bill or every service. Some services, like B12 shots, certain lab tests, and pacemaker evaluations may not be covered by Medicare. You will be asked to sign a waiver and agree to pay for non-covered services provided to you.
More specific information may be obtained from a patient account representative or by contacting a Social Security Administration office.
We will ONLY complete these forms for our active patients, and cannot issue them for non-patients, relatives, etc. or for visits to other physicians, hospitals or emergency rooms. Our physicians can not give you a note for an "occurrence" at your place of work.
Any determination of disability or monetary benefits is made by your insurance company, your employer, or the Social Security Administration.
ESPS has arrangements with a number of physicians who provide subspecialty care on a part-time basis. These physicians see patients in our new building and practice independently of ESPS. Remember that you will be billed by them (not ESPS) for any services they render.
Our receptionists and nurses can help you make appointments to see these physicians.
Click her to go to the Visiting Physicians page
Revised August 11, 2006
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