Policies

Office Hours

We prefer to see our patients on an appointment basis, so we request that you call in advance to reserve a time. The providers' schedules fill quickly, and so we request that you anticipate and call our office well ahead of the time of your annual well woman exam. Certainly, urgent conditions and emergencies are given priority.

Appointments

We encourage new patients to arrive 15 minutes prior to their appointment so that we can properly register you and collect information from you to help your provider with your care. In addition, please arrive early if your contact information or insurance plan has changed.

In order to save time, and streamline the registration process, we encourage new patients to download our forms and complete them prior to arriving at our office:

In addition to the forms, please bring the following with you to your appointment:

  • Your insurance card, driver's license or other photo ID, and social security number
  • Any lab test results and copies of medical records you may have.
  • A referral from your insurance plan if required
  • A list of your current medications with dosage
  • Any questions you may have

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Confirmation Calls

We will text you one or two days prior to your appointment to confirm the time of your appointment. To save time, we will pre-register new patients if we have not already done so. We will ask the usual questions regarding name, address, and phone number, and we will ask you for specific information from your insurance card. We require that you bring your insurance card(s) to your appointment as we will scan it into our computer. We will also ask to see a copy of your photo ID for identification purposes.

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Cancellations

If you must cancel or reschedule your appointment, please call us at least 24 hours in advance. Patients will incur $40 fee for No-Show appointments and for appointments cancelled less than 24 hours in advance.

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Telephone Messages

Our telephone lines are open throughout the day, Monday through Friday. A triage nurse is available between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm to answer your urgent medical questions. Calls will be triaged and answered in order of medical importance and will be appropriately addressed within 24 hours. When leaving a message, please include your name, date of birth, and a phone number where we can leave a detailed message with medical information.

IF AT ANY TIME YOU FEEL THAT YOUR QUESTION MAY BE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL 911 OR GO DIRECTLY TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE OFFICE OR LEAVE A MESSAGE ON VOICE MAIL.

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After Hours Calls

After hours, our phones are answered by our answering service. The physician or midwife on call will be paged when appropriate. Please limit your after hours calls to medically urgent calls only. If you are expecting a return call from our office and you have call blocking on your telephone, please UNBLOCK your phone. Our office staff and providers cannot call back to blocked lines.

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Prescription Refills

Prescription refills will be processed for Established Patients ONLY who have been seen within the past 12 months. If you need a refill, please call your pharmacy and ask them to fax a refill request to our office to 630-655-3270. Your provider will review your chart and if she approves the refill, we will notify your pharmacy within 24 hours of receipt of your request.

If your doctor or midwife requests that she see you in the office before approving a refill request, you will be notified by phone. We may approve one additional month of birth control pills for you if you are an established patient in order to give you time to schedule your visit.

Please monitor your medication supply carefully to avoid an emergent situation. We appreciate adequate notice and sufficient time to properly process your refill requests.

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Test Results

We will notify you in writing or by telephone message of normal test results, according to the preferences you indicated on your HIPAA form that you completed upon registration. Please be aware that it may take up to one week for us to receive your laboratory or radiology results, and from 10 to 14 days for us to receive pap smear results. If you are concerned about your results, you may call the triage nurse to check on the status of your results. Please be sure to leave all of the pertinent information on the voice mail message including the date and location of your laboratory test so as to expedite retrieval of your results. Should you have an abnormal result, your provider will call you to explain them.

You may be asked to return to the office to discuss test results, as there are occasions when telephone consultation may not be appropriate. This may be true for both normal and abnormal results.

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Practice Financial Policy

Please view the Financial Policy located on the Forms page. Questions regarding the financial policy should be directed to the Practice Administrator at (630) 654-229 x 12

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Medical Records

The physicians and staff of West Suburban Women's Health will release copies of patient's medical records in accordance with the provisions in Illinois law and with the national HIPAA regulations. This means that patients requesting copies of their medical records must fully complete the form below and send or bring it to the receptionist at the office of West Suburban Women's Health, 545 Plainfield Road, Suite C, Willowbrook, IL 60527. The form may also be faxed to our office at 630-655-3270.

Please note that separate signatures are required on some of the types of records that can be released. Without a signature, we cannot release that information. Please also note that a fee will be charged for release of medical records depending on the number of pages that must be copied. This fee is allowed by law to cover the expense of copying the records.

You'll find the Medical Records Release Form on the forms page.

 

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Types of Patient Visits

Explanation of Different Types of Patient Visits

In an effort to help you, we have provided a description of the different types of visits that women may schedule with our office. Since insurance companies base their payments on the type of care your doctor provides, it is important for you to have an understanding of these different types of visits and to check with your insurance company to learn which ones are included in your benefits before you call our office to schedule an appointment.

Annual Gynecological Exam (Annual Gyne Exam)

The recommended guidelines for women indicate that every woman should have a yearly gyne exam starting at age 18. In our office, we follow these guidelines and will remind our patients via postcard when it is time to call the office to make an appointment for their annual gyne exam. These visits include examination of the following: Neck and thyroid Breast, heart, and lungs Abdomen Pelvic area Pap smear (checking cervical tissue) Order for a mammogram National coding guidelines give us a series of codes to bill (new patient: 99384 – 99387; established patient: 99394 – 99397) for these exams based on the patient's age, and a diagnosis code of V72.31 (routine gynecological exam).

Sick or Problem Visit

These is the type of visit that is scheduled when a patient calls our office and has a health issue such as headaches, pain, problems with their menstrual cycle, swelling, etc. Our doctors will ask questions about the patient's health history, perform an examination, possibly order tests, procedures, or medication, and provide the patient with the best care possible based on their skill and judgment.

The national coding guidelines give a series of codes to bill for these kinds of visits based on whether the patient is new or established, and based on the amount of work the physician does and documents in the chart. (New patients: 99201 – 99205, established patients: 99212 – 99215.) The physician also assigns a diagnosis code based on the symptoms of the patient. This kind of visit is usually subject to deductible amounts included in most insurance plans.

Scheduling Your Visit

When you call our office, our staff will ask you what kind of appointment you wish to schedule so that we may allow the appropriate amount of time. If you schedule your yearly gyne exam, but also have a medical issue that you wish to discuss with your physician, national billing guidelines require that we bill for two kinds of service provided…your annual gyne exam and also a problem/sick visit. We strongly suggest that you contact your insurance company so that you understand your benefits with regard to each type of visit.

If you have questions, with regard to visit types, please call our office (630-654-2229) and ask to speak with a receptionist, one of our billers, or the practice administrator. We will be happy to assist you.

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Credit Card on File Policy

Please read the Credit Card on File Policy

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Location

West Suburban Women's Health Ltd.
545 Plainfield Roads Suite C
Willowbrook, IL 60527
(630) 654-2229

Office Hours

Office Hours are by Appointment
Monday-Thursday 8:00am-7:00pm
Friday 8:00am-3:00pm

Contact

24 Hour Answering Service:
Phone: (630) 654-2229
Fax: (630) 655-3270