On the day of your office visit, please bring:
- Your insurance card
- Previous test results including the actual films, images, or CDs
- A list of the medications you are taking, including vitamin supplements and over-the-counter medications
- Information about the doctor who referred you, including name, office address, telephone number, and fax number.
Providing the above information will help our doctors become familiar with your case, and will help us keep in touch with your physician regarding your case.
If your insurance requires a referral, please call your primary care physician as soon as you have made your appointment with our office. If you do not get approval from your insurance carrier before your office visit, the insurance company may not cover the services.
During the Office Visit
Our staff will go over your medical history with you and will examine you. Your doctors may want you to have more tests. Often these tests include radiologic studies, blood work, or laboratory tests. You may also need an ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy or vocal cord exam. We will help you to schedule these tests.
Depending on your age, medical condition, and other health problems, you may need to be evaluated by anesthesia or cardiology specialists before surgery. You may also need to see your primary care physician for a check-up before surgery.
Waiting Time
Please allow ample time for your first office visit. As a new patient, you will have a general medical form to complete in addition to being examined. The amount of time the doctor spends with each patient will vary depending on the patient’s condition.
We try to see our patients on time. However, emergencies sometimes occur, and some patients require extra time. For these reasons, occasionally there are delays in our schedule.
When delays occur, we hope you understand. If you find it inconvenient to wait, we will be glad to reschedule your appointment.
Testing Results
Your doctor or nurse will tell you the date on which test results are expected. Patients often have follow-up appointments to go over test results. Please do not call our office before the day results are expected. If you have not been called by the day after test results are due, please call
412-647-0577.
Cancelling an Appointment
If you must cancel an appointment, please call 412-647-0467 as soon as possible. This courtesy allows us to schedule another patient for medical care. Please do not fail to keep your appointment. Failing to keep appointments may cause delays for other patients.
Parking
Take your parking ticket with you to your appointment. The receptionist will validate it and you will receive a discounted parking rate.
For valet parking:
Falk Medical Building. Turn right off Fifth Avenue onto Lothrop Street. You will be in the main drop-off area for UPMC Presbyterian. Bear to the far right and look for a blue sign on the right that says Falk Valet Parking. Call 412-647-3194 for valet parking hours of operation and more information.
To park your vehicle yourself:
UPMC Garage. Turn right off Fifth Avenue onto Lothrop Street. There are two entrances to the UPMC Garage. Each entrance is on the left side of Lothrop and is marked by a blue sign bearing a white "P" for parking.
Hospitalization
If you are scheduled for surgery and need to be admitted, we will arrange for your admission.
Individual surgeons do not have privileges at every hospital.
A number of insurance plans designate a preferred hospital. When it is necessary for you to be hospitalized, we will make the best recommendation given your special needs.
Postoperative appointments
After surgery, please be sure to call our office at 412-647-0467 to confirm your postoperative appointment. This will allow our staff to have your medical records and reports available for your visit.
After hospitalization
You will receive discharge instructions on what to expect as you recover at home.
If you are having a problem after discharge, please call our office at 412-647-0467. Your doctor or nurse will tell you what to do. If you call after regular hours, you will reach our answering service. Give the necessary information to the answering service, and they will contact a doctor who will then call you back.
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Insurance and Billing
Please call your insurance carrier before you are admitted to the hospital. Most insurance carriers now require patients to get approval before a hospital admission.
If you do not get approval from your insurance carrier before you are admitted, the insurance company may not cover the services.
Disability claims and forms
If your illness requires you to miss work or become temporarily disabled, our office will assist you with completion of your disability forms. Please complete your portion of the claim forms and mail them to our office at:
UPMC Endocrine Surgery
Kaufmann Building
3471 Fifth Ave., Suite 101
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Please enclose a stamped envelope addressed to the company or individual who is to receive the completed forms.
Billing
We are here to help with your billing questions and concerns. Please call UPMC Patient Financial Services Center or UPMC Customer Service or visit our Paying My Bill site to learn more about the services we offer, such as payment plans, price estimates, and Financial Assistance.
- UPMC Patient Financial Services Center: 1-800-371-8359
- UPMC Customer Service: 1-844-591-5949
Additional fees for service
You and your insurance company will receive separate bills for the hospital and doctor services you received. Bills will include charges for outpatient services and hospital care. In addition, you will receive separate bills from the doctors who helped care for you.
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Prescriptions
If you need to renew a medication we prescribed, please call 412-647-0577, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, several days before your last dose. Please have the telephone number of your pharmacy ready when you call us. We will call the new prescription into the pharmacy. We can not renew prescriptions for medications we did not prescribe for you.
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