Greensboro Medical Associates FAQS

Please take a look at some of our frequently asked questions.

HOW DO I GET AN APPOINTMENT?

Our office sees patients by appointment only. The office is open from 8 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) 8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (Friday). You may call our main number, 336-373-0611, anytime during regular office hours to schedule an appointment.

For non-urgent appointments you can use our established patient form and send us an electronic message by clicking here. This is only for appointments needed at least 5 business days in advance. For appointments needed within 5 days, please call us directly.

You are encouraged to describe the nature of your problem so that adequate time may be scheduled for you. If you are ill and have an urgent problem that must be cared for that day, please make it known to the receptionist and an appointment will be scheduled. We leave time in our schedules for urgent problems that must be cared for that day.

Delays sometimes may occur due to emergencies and if this will result in a great inconvenience to you please ask for another appointment time and accept our apology. If you are unable to keep an appointment please make every effort to notify our office 24 hours in advance so that we may give your appointment to another patient in need. If you have a problem that requires immediate attention but is not a life-threatening emergency, please call our office and we will try to work you in to see a physician or physician extender. It is important that you call before coming to the office. For all life-threatening emergencies, call 911.

After Hours Emergencies

For all life-threatening emergencies, call 911 for emergency medical services.

For emergencies that are not life-threatening please call 336-373-0611 before going to the emergency room. Our doctors are available 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year. An answering service will answer our main number after hours and will contact the physician, if necessary. Please call 336-279-8755 to reach the on-call doctor for urgent issues when the office is closed.

HOW DO I SCHEDULE A NEW PATIENT APPOINTMENT?

Use this website and click here for our new patient contact form or call 336-373-0611.

HOW DO I CANCEL MY APPOINTMENT?

We ask you to be courteous to other patients and cancel at least 24hrs in advance. A “no-show” is when you do not inform us that you are not coming. It deprives another patient the opportunity for a needed visit. You can leave us a message if you would like to, or visit our patient portal. If you are arriving late, please also call us to let us know. We will do our best to accommodate you but may have to reschedule you.

WHAT DO I BRING TO MY NEW PATIENT OR ESTABLISHED PATIENT APPOINTMENTS?

If you are a diabetic, please bring a written log of your recent readings or bring your glucometer.

If you are addressing blood pressure readings at home, bring your home BP machine so we can check its accuracy.

  • Current insurance information and cards
  • Co-pay and deductible payments
  • All medicines you are currently taking including herbals and vitamins
  • Any recent medical records from other physicians

HOW DO I CONTACT MY PHYSICIAN IF I HAVE A PROBLEM?

Our main goal is to treat patients that have appointments in our office in a timely fashion. We ask that you please do not come into our clinic unless you have an appointment so that the patient flow is not disrupted. If you have a question or a message for your physician you may call our office during regular office hours or leave us a non urgent message on our patient portal. Your question may be answered immediately by a nurse or returned at a later time by a physician. The physician’s number one priority is to deal with the patients that have appointments so there may be a delay in returning your call. In most cases, you can expect your morning calls returned by the afternoon and your afternoon calls returned before the end of the business day.

Diagnosing and treating over the phone provides an inferior quality of medical care. It is the firm policy of the physicians in this office NOT to diagnose or prescribe any medication over the telephone without first examining and evaluating a patient. Our philosophy is that if a patient is ill enough to require a new prescription medicine, then they should be examined and evaluated.

WHAT HOSPITALS DOES GMA ADMIT THEIR PATIENTS?

Moses Cone and Wesley Long Hospital.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL, WILL I SEE MY DOCTOR?

We are partnering with Triad Hospitalists. This has been a recent national trend for doctors to allow hospitalists to see their patients in the hospital. We agreed to do this for the main reason that patients have been found to have better care when they have a doctor specifically assigned to them on site in the hospital around-the-clock. This also allows GMA doctors to concentrate on you in the outpatient setting without having to rush to the hospital for emergencies and thereby delaying your office visit.
We also emphasize the importance of keeping in close contact with the Incompass hospitalists regarding your medical history and current status in the hospital. The hospitalists often call us directly to gather more information. However, GMA physicians continue to keep our hospital privileges at Moses Cone and Wesley Long. In appropriate situations, we may admit you directly during office hours to the hospital to the care of Triad Hospitalists.
Our specialists on the other hand do make hospital rounds and will have direct care with you. They may also use InCompass to assist them in your care.

WHAT DO I DO IF I NEED A PRESCRIPTION RENEWAL?

For most prescription renewals, it is not necessary to call our office. Please call the pharmacy from which you bought the original prescription at least two days before it runs out. Have your medicine container to be refilled in hand so that you have all the necessary information for the pharmacist. The pharmacist will then call our office, if necessary. You must follow this procedure even if you have zero refills left unless your physician has told you differently. We may ask you to make an office visit if we have not seen you as a patient for a year or in a time deemed necessary to monitor your medications safely.
To avoid running out of medications, bring a list of the refills you need each time you see your doctor. It would be helpful also to bring all of your medication bottles each office visit. Include all nonprescription products such as herbals, vitamins, etc. Sometimes illnesses are directly related to specific medications mixed with other nonprescription products and this helps us tremendously in caring for you.

WHAT IS YOUR POLICY FOR PAYMENT FOR SERVICES/INSURANCE?

We gladly accept most major forms of insurance. Please ask our front desk office staff if we accept your specific plan. Payment for your portion of the bill (co-payments, deductible, co-insurance, etc.) from your visit is required at the conclusion of your visit. We accept cash, check, MasterCard, Visa, and debit cards. If your account becomes “past due” and there is no valid reason for your payment delay, we will take action to recover the outstanding amount through the Credit Bureau. If you have financial problems, please contact our office to discuss your problems and arrange a payment schedule. Ignoring your bill may result in dismissal from the practice.

Monthly Statements
Each month you will receive a statement detailing any unpaid charges. Although your insurance company may be covering fees, you will continue to receive statements to inform you of the status of your account until all charges have been paid in full for the services rendered.

Hospital Charges
If you are admitted to the hospital or are treated as an outpatient by a GMA physician, we will automatically submit charges to your insurance company for payment. Patient responsibility is the same as stated under “Office Visits”.

Diagnostic Services
Laboratory, Radiology, and diagnostic services provided at GMA will automatically be submitted to your insurance company for payment. Some blood work or other tests may be sent to an outside lab for processing due to your insurance. You may receive a bill for services from that outside lab. Some Insurance plans and many times Medicare will not pay for certain laboratory services or other specific diagnostic services ordered by your physician and therefore we may require that you sign a waiver and agree to pay for this noncovered service.

WHO ARE NURSE PRACTITIONERS AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS?

Recently Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) have taken on an important role in almost all health care settings. They are highly qualified to perform physical exams and treat common, acute and chronic illnesses. While most NPs and PAs are found in primary care medicine (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology), many are found in surgical specialties. Similar to physicians, NPs and PAs may have individual areas of expertise. Currently, GMA has several extenders in these positions. They are Cacky Barefoot and Lonnie Kendall. As a result, we are more prepared to deal with sudden needs of our patients. You may see a NP or PA for your appointment if you have a same day sick visit or if you request to see one. You can feel confident that you are receiving the highest quality care. Not only are NPs and PAs extensively trained to deal with your needs, they also consult with our physicians on a regular basis to make sure we are providing you with the best care possible.

WHAT IS PREVENTIVE CARE AT GMA?

Prevention is an important part of the doctor-patient relationship. It allows us to work together to stop health problems before they happen. Preventive care works when it lets us find problems early so that we can treat them better, or when it keeps the problem from happening in the first place.

We understand if preventive medicine is confusing to you. It is a very important area of medicine that you will read about and hear in the media on a regular basis. At GMA, we believe certain diseases such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and several others can be found earlier or even prevented when regular prevention tests are done. There are other areas of prevention that may only help smaller groups of patients.

It is very important that you work with your physician to determine what preventive care is appropriate for you.

I WOULD LIKE TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT A PATIENT WHO IS A FAMILY MEMBER. HOW DO I GET THIS INFORMATION? WHAT IS YOUR PROVACY POLICY?

We respect our patient’s privacy and take it very seriously. Click here to see our privacy policy. Please be aware that employers and even family members are not able to request any patient’s medical information unless we have direct authorization on paper by your signature. Please confirm at the front desk during each appointment the family members that are authorized to receive your medical information.

I AM MOVING AND NEED MY RECORDS TRANSFERRED. HOW DO I REQUEST A COPY OF MY RECORDS?

A release of information form can be obtained from GMA or from your new provider. Complete this form in its entirety, providing the name and address of physician you want to receive your records. GMA outsources the copying of medical records to CIOX corporation. Note: There is a charge for this service. Fax requests to 336-373-1589.