APPOINTMENT POLICIES
Appointments
When you call for an appointment, the receptionist will ask questions about your illness or problem. She's not trying to be nosy! She needs to know so she can schedule enough time and give the provider an idea of the nature of your visit.
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How long does it take to get an appointment? |
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EMERGENCY | |
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Call for instructions |
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URGENT NEED OR SUDDEN ILLNESS | |
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Usually same day or next day |
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ROUTINE FOLLOW-UP | |
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Varies by provider |
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PHYSICALS (CPEs) | |
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2-3 months, depending on the provider |
For Emergencies Urgent Need or Sudden Illness Saturday Morning Hours (8:30 to Noon) After Hours and Emergencies Fasting Labs No Shows! Appointment Confirmations Running on Time Winter Weather—Policy Changed in 2006
Call us! The receptionist or medical assistant will discuss your needs with a physician and tell you what to do.
We try to have same day or "work-in" appointments available every day for our established patients. Please call early in the day (8:30 am) as these spots fill up quickly. If there are no available spots with your physician, the receptionist will offer an appointment with one of the nurse practitioners for same-day problems.
Either the Athens or the Watkinsville office is open on Saturday mornings. Please call us after 8:30 a.m. The person who answers the phone can tell you which office is open. Although on weekdays we usually ask that you schedule appointments with your primary doctor, on Saturday you can schedule with whichever doctor is available. Some physicians will schedule physicals on Saturday, some do not. Sorry, but we cannot schedule you to come in just for lab work on Saturdays.
We use Athens Regional Medical Center's phone messaging department to answer your calls when the office is closed. When you call after hours, your call is automatically transferred to the answering service. ARMC asks you to please call them back if you do not receive a call within 15 minutes of the page being sent.
Some lab work requires that you be fasting, which means nothing to eat or drink except water or black coffee for eight hours prior to blood being drawn. We save the early lab appointments (between 7:45 and 10:00) for these patients. If you need non-fasting lab work we will schedule your appointment after 10:00 a.m.
Call at least the day before to let us know if you won't be keeping an appointment, so we can use the time for someone else. Since a no-show is a wasted appointment, we keep track. Too many no-shows and we might dismiss you from the practice. Don't be a No-Show—call us!
We use Televox House Calls to call your home two days before an appointment to remind you. We will leave a message if you have an answering machine. If you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment for ANY reason, PLEASE call to let us know. We most appreciate it if you call us at least the day before if you won't be coming to your appointment. This way we can use the time for another person who needs to see the physician.
We know your schedules are busy and that your time is valuable. Please let us know if you have waited more than 15 minutes so we can double check to see if you have been properly checked in! Remember that we are running several different schedules. If someone who arrived after you is called before you, they might be having blood drawn or seeing a different provider.
When there is bad winter weather, we will do our best to keep the offices open. Please call our main telephone numbers to make sure the offices are open.