Introduction
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Sometimes the amount of new information given to you when you come for medical treatment can seem overwhelming. We hope to summarize the basics that you need to know about the services and operations most frequently performed by the doctors of the Front Range Center for Brain & Spine Surgery, P.C. We have outlined what you should do before and after these procedures and surgeries according to the recommendations of Drs. Wirt, Turner, Coester, and Viola.
This Patient HelpBook will also clarify often confusing issues regarding billing, paperwork, and administration.
If at any time you still do not fully understand what it is you should do, please do not hesitate to contact our office and ask either the office staff or the physicians to clarify the information. Helping you to follow the medical treatment plan that you and your doctor have agreed upon is the reason for this booklet.
What to do before you arrive
If you are not a local patient, please call our office and leave a phone number where you can be reached as you travel and when you reach your local destination. We ask every patient to call our office to confirm your time of admission for your procedure. The doctors are sometimes late due to emergencies or to prolonged surgery. In rare cases, circumstances can cause all or parts of the day’s appointments to be rescheduled. We will reschedule your appointment at the earliest time available.
When bad weather hits, call us to make sure that we can fulfill your appointment. If you are coming from a long distance, please use care when traveling in severe weather conditions. Please do not hesitate to cancel your appointment rather than risk unsafe travel.
If you are an out-of-town patient coming to the hospital for your medical treatment, you may call the hospital’s Social Work Department to find out about hotel and motel discounts. Call the Social Work phone number for the hospital you will be going to. Phone numbers are listed for each hospital on page 2 of this booklet.
An important note about bringing your x-rays
If you are having surgery and your x-rays were shot someplace other than the operating hospital, please make sure that you have given your x-rays to our office, or that you bring them with you to the hospital, and that we know you are bringing them. If you take your x-rays to a second-opinion doctor for review, please make sure that you bring your x-rays back to our office or to the hospital where you will be having surgery. If the appropriate x-rays are not available to the physician, your surgery could be cancelled. It is important that the surgeons have your x-rays during the operative procedure.
Remember to bring your operative permit
The operative permit describes the risks, benefits, and possible complications of your surgery. Your signature on the permit indicates that you have read and understood its contents. When you come to the hospital for surgery, please bring your signed permit with you.
A note about cancellations
The procedures and surgeries that are performed by Drs. Wirt, Turner, Coester, and Viola are scheduled either through the office or the hospital. If you are unable to keep an appointed procedure or surgery time, please call both our office and the hospital as soon as possible to cancel.
Find out about your insurance company’s guidelines
Your insurance company may require that you go through a review process before you are admitted to the hospital or before you undergo a procedure or a surgery. This review process is often called preauthorization, and it may include one or more of the following: your arranging for a second medical opinion about your condition, receiving from the insurance company a preadmission certification for going into the hospital, or the insurance carrier’s financial permission for surgical treatments.
Knowing about your insurance company’s preauthorization guidelines is very important because if you fail to follow them you may not receive the full financial benefit that you expect.
Insurance companies vary in their policies about preauthorization. We will assist you in any way we can in insurance matters. But it is very important for you to realize that it is your full responsibility to follow your insurance company’s requirements.
One of the ways we hope to assist you is through a financial conference with our office’s payment counselor. The payment counselor regularly contacts many insurance companies and can estimate for you what amount of your bill will be paid by your insurance company and what balance may remain to be paid by you.
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