Patient Center
Patient Information
At the practice, our philosophy is to treat each patient with compassion and respect. Our staff includes physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and support staff, each of whom plays a critical role in ensuring we provide quality, timely care.
Hospital Affiliations
Aultman Orrville Hospital
Office Appointments
Regular office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Appointments are scheduled in advance by calling the appointment desk. However, if you need to be seen on an emergency basis, every effort will be made to take care of you as soon as possible.
Should it be necessary to miss an appointment, please notify us one day in advance of your scheduled appointment time. Patients who cancel appointments with less than 24 hours of notice will be charged $25.
Initial Office Visit
The initial visit to the doctor involves a consultation and may take from 30 to 45 minutes. Please be sure to bring your insurance card and photo I.D. to every visit. Completing your paperwork prior to your visit ensures that you will be seen for your scheduled appointment.
If you have had X-rays of your stomach, colon, or gallbladder taken within the past 6months, you will be advised to have your results sent to us or have your referring physician fax them to us. You can also sign a release form and bring the results personally with you to your appointment with us.
Likewise, copies of any recent blood work done in or out of the hospital, can be obtained the same way. Bringing these results with you can be helpful to the doctor and save time and money.
Minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for the first visit.
Procedures
M2 Endoscopy (pill cam) is done in our office.
In addition, we also have an onsite Endoscopy Center which is certified by the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health, Inc. (AAAHC). The Center is also state licensed and Medicare approved. If approved by your insurance, the Endoscopy Center provides a convenient and comfortable alternative to hospital out-patient procedures.
The Endoscopy Center performs the following procedures:
- Colonoscopy
- Upper Endoscopy / EGD (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy)
- Hemorrhoid treatment by Infrared Coagulation (IRC)
- Flexible Sigmoidoscopy
Patient Portal
For your convenience, we offer gPortal – an interactive, secure online portal that allows our patients to communicate with our practice. Through gPortal, you can request appointments, request a prescription renewal from the physician or nurse practitioner, check test results, and update personal medical records. The portal’s functionality will continue to grow to allow the patient to access many aspects of their care here at GAI.
The portal is available 24/7, however, the portal is not for emergency situations.
Patients interested using our patient portal can call the office for further details.
(Billing Department: 330-493-1485)
Payment is due in full at the time service is provided in our office. Please be sure to bring your insurance card and photo I.D. to every visit.
For patients with insurance coverage, including Medicare, we bill most insurance carriers for you as long as we have the proper paperwork. We will also bill most secondary insurance companies for you. Copayments are due at the time of service.
To help us serve you better, know the details of your insurance policy. Please make us aware of any changes in coverage or stipulations.
Please bring your insurance cards and a photo ID to the office at the time of your appointment. If you are or become eligible for welfare please supply us with a copy of your card to ensure that we have the correct number.
For your convenience, we accept VISA, Mastercard, Discover, Cash and Checks.
There is a $35 charge for each check returned from the bank.
Questions about fees and payments should be directed to the Billing Department personnel who will be happy to discuss billing services and payment options with you. 330-483-1485.
If payment from your insurance company is not received in a reasonable amount of time, you will be expected to pay in full. We will refund any insurance payment to you once it is received by our office. If you receive an insurance payment that should instead have been sent to our office, you may sign that payment over to us by writing “Pay to the order of Gastroenterology Associates, Inc.”, followed by your signature, on the back of the check.
Please be aware you are responsible for any balance that has not been paid by your insurance company. If our office does not have a contract with your insurance company, the responsibility of payment of your bill is yours.
A processing fee of $25, paid in advance, is required for Family Medical Leave Disability forms or any forms over two pages. Single-page forms cost $10. Because of the time needed to process the forms, they cannot be completed on an “emergency” or “while you wait” basis.
Our staff is trained to respect confidentiality in all matters pertaining to you – medical and financial. No medical records are released by our office without your written consent. Please refer to our Notice of Privacy Practices (Review Privacy Practices Policy) to see how we may use your confidential medical information in our practice.
We are sincerely interested in providing the highest quality of medical care in the most efficient, economical and personal manner.
However, sometimes due to medical circumstances, our physicians and nurses can fall behind with our time schedule in the office. This bothers us very much and we always try to do our best to avoid any delays. However, we hope you can appreciate that situations do arise and ask that you be patient.
Please remember that you, the patient, are most important to us.
We invite your comments, and constructive criticism given politely is appreciated. Whether it has to do with our providers, answering services, officer personnel, office procedures, office décor, magazines, or anything that will help improve our service to you, your input is important to us. If we can assist you in any way, please feel free to ask any staff member for help or assistance.