Surgery of the Hand, Wrist and Upper Extremity
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Office Policies

 

Please review our office policies. If you have any questions that are not answered below, please feel free to contact us.

Appointments

  • Please leave sufficient time for your new visit. Depending on the complexity of your diagnosis, appointment times vary. Our doctors strive to get other patients well and often this takes time and should not be rushed.
  • You must check in with the receptionist for each and every appointment. Please give us 24-hour notice if you need to cancel.
  • Your scheduled appointments are subject to change due to emergencies in our schedule. You will be notified as soon as possible, should we need to make changes. We know that your time is valuable and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We will strive to do our best to make changes and delays as infrequent as possible.

Emergency Care

In the event of an emergency, refer to the guidelines set out by your insurance company. If you go to the hospital emergency room, ask them to contact Dr. Besh or the covering physician. If the situation is not severe and arises while the office is closed, call 510.857.1000 and the answering service will notify Dr. Besh or the physician on call.

Telephone Calls

If you have questions concerning your hand or upper extremity care, please call the office. The staff is well trained to answer most questions. If your call requires that you speak to the doctor, please leave a message and the doctor will return your call at the earliest opportunity. Should you have an urgent question while the office is closed, call 510.857.-1000 and the answering service will promptly contact Dr. Besh or the covering physician.

Insurance

We accept most insurance plans. Please review the list of plans we accept.

Please check with your insurance plan if you need a referral request. You may need to see your primary care physician prior to seeing a specialist.

If you do not see your insurance plan listed here, it does not mean that we will not see you. Please contact your insurance plan about out- of-network benefits.

Authorizations

Authorization from your insurance provider is necessary for most tests and all surgical procedures. To obtain authorization, our staff must contact your insurance company and make a formal request. This process takes time and we ask for your patience. We request authorization within three working days following your appointment for routine requests and immediately for emergent requests. Each insurance company's response time varies. If you do not hear from our office concerning a request for authorization within five working days, please call us to inquire the status of the request.

Cancellations

Should you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, we ask that you contact the office at least 24 hours in advance. We reserve the right to charge for the appointment if you do not show.

New Conditions

If you are a current patient with a new condition, please notify our staff. New conditions often require prior authorization to be treated. Without authorizations, your appointment may be delayed.

Cellular Phones

We ask that you please refrain from using your cell phone while in with the doctor.

No Smoking Policy

Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the building.

Office Policy for Filling out Forms

  • Please allow 48 hours for all forms to be completed. We will strive to do this in a shorter time frame but that is not always possible.
  • We would be happy to fax out forms, mail them to you, or arrange for pickup, whichever you wish.
  • There is a nominal $5.00 charge to fill out disability forms.
  • If you would like us to mail out forms directly for you, please make sure they are signed, completed and dated in advance.
  • For disability papers involving surgery, forms will be filled out after the procedure. Surgery procedure codes are required and these are not always known until the operation is completed.

Medical Records

  • Please allow 48 to 72 hours for chart copies. There's a $15 charge for the copying of medical records.
  • If we are referring you to another physician, there will be no charge for copying or mailing of your medical records.

X-rays, MRIs, etc.

  • Radiographic studies are part of your legal medical record. We would be happy to sign your films out to you, but we respectfully request that you return them in a timely fashion.
  • Copies may be requested. Please allow approximately 1 week for copies to be made. There may be a small nominal charge based on the number and the size of the films.  Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to make copies of outside films.