Thank you for choosing Cardiology Associates, PC for your cardiology consultation.

We are pleased you have chosen our practice for your cardiovascular care. Our goal is to provide you with the highest quality health care. Your concerns and needs are of great importance to us. We welcome any questions, comments or suggestions.

An introduction of our practice protocols:

Your Appointment:

·	Please complete and bring the enclosed forms to your appointment
	Patient Registration
	Medication List
	HIPAA Authorization
·	Please arrive 20 minutes prior to your appointment time so that we may complete your registration.
·	Please bring recent lab work you have had done - especially lab work that includes cholesterol levels and liver function.
·	Please bring a recent EKG - if you have had this performed.
·	Please allow plenty of time for travel and parking. If you are more than fifteen minutes late, your physician may ask you to wait or to reschedule.
·	Please do not apply lotion or cream to your chest, arms or legs on appointment day.
·	If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, please notify us as soon as possible so that we may accommodate another patient seeking an appointment.

Wait Time:
We sincerely attempt to see each patient at the scheduled time and we rarely "double book" patient visits. We understand that your time is valuable and that postponing a visit or test and repeating registration/pre-testing preparation is stressful. However, cardiologists routinely see new or established patients with emergencies or urgent problems. We attempt to communicate any delay time and alternatives as we become aware of them. Please be assured that we will extend the same access courtesy should you develop an urgent cardiology problem.

Contacting Us:

·	Our core visit hours are from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.
·	Our phones are answered by staff from 8:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00.
·	If you have an emergency when the office is closed, our answering service will triage your call.
·	We attempt to handle your treatment questions as expeditiously as possible. Your call will be directed to our registered nurse and the nurse, in turn, consults with our physicians.
·	We will try to return non-emergency calls within 24 hours; however, it may take longer to review your record with your cardiologist, who may be in the hospital.
·	Please keep in mind that we are assisting scheduled appointments and we will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Prescription Refills:

·	Please request CARDIAC medicine refills during your visits, if possible.
·	When you have no less than one week of medication remaining, please have your pharmacy fax a refill request to the office.
·	Refills cannot be handled after regular office hours.
·	If you call the office about your prescription, your call will be routed to the prescription refill line, which is monitored by our clinical staff. Please follow the prompts and we will review your chart, get approval from the doctor and contact your pharmacy.
·	We do not call out to mail away pharmacies, but we can fax to them if you provide the necessary paperwork.

Test Results:
Once we receive your test results and the physician reviews them, we will contact you if there is a need to adjust your medication or the results necessitate action.

Financial Issues:
Questions regarding your billing issues may be directed to our billing office at 202.723.5524.

We look forward to meeting you and participating in your cardiovascular care.