FAQs
To help you navigate your way through your GI care, we have created this list to share our most frequently asked questions. The below provides answers to questions and inquiries about our patient services, medical records, and billing and insurance policies.
New Patient Information
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.
Appointment times vary based on the nature of your visit. Initial visits may last 30-45 minutes. Follow-up visits may last 15-30 minutes. These times are estimates and do not include time spent completing any necessary paperwork or scheduling further tests or procedures.
You can find all of the required forms on our New Patients page. Please follow the instructions to get this information back to us prior to your scheduled appointment, so we can reduce your wait time when you arrive for your appointment.
For returning patients, the office may ask you for updated demographic information, health information, and medications list.
It depends on your insurance. If you have an HMO and are a new patient to the practice, then yes, a referral is required to request an appointment with the office. If you have a PPO, no referral is needed. Simply call the office to schedule a visit.
Yes, you should bring recent labs, ultrasounds, stool test results, and CT scans to your visit. For your first visit and every visit thereafter, you should bring a list of all medications you are taking, including over-the-counter or herbal supplements. This way, the physician can have all records available when determining the proper course of treatment. This will also save you the cost and hassle of repetitive testing.
Medical Records
To retrieve your medical records, simply contact your physician’s office. The office can either print or email your medical records. If you are requesting that these records be forwarded to another provider, this service is provided as a courtesy. If you request copies for your own purposes, there may be a small fee for the cost, which varies by the size of the record. Retrieved records can be mailed or emailed as you direct, but only to an address on file.
Protecting your privacy is of utmost importance to us. In most cases, we may not be able to release any information or records unless we are speaking directly with you. In order for an office to disclose medical information to your mother/father/spouse/child, you must sign a release and name the family member you are authorizing to access your records.
One of our top priorities is protecting your privacy. E-mails we send you are encrypted to protect that privacy. However, we cannot accept medical information via email, because we cannot guarantee that your private emails are secure. We ask that you send medical information or health history to us via fax or U.S. mail. You may also complete the forms online on the gMed portal by providing us with your email account and confirming your demographic information.
Patients can retrieve a summary of their visits and health information if the office uploads a clinical summary to the portal. The clinical summary gives patients their medical history. We are working to provide access to procedure reports or lab reports – these are not yet available via portal.
Billing
For questions regarding your outstanding balance or to pay your balance, please contact our billing office. Please refer to your statement for specific contact information. For general billing questions, please call (866) 630-0612 and press 2.
The total balance may be shown for a few reasons. First, it is possible your insurance didn’t cover the charge, so you are being billed for the full amount. Second, your office may have incorrect insurance information on file.
If you see the full charge amount on your statement, it is best to call the billing department number found on your statement. You can determine why your insurance was not billed, correct any wrong information the office may have on file, and have the billing department resend the claim to your insurance company.
If you cannot pay the amount you owe in full, please contact the billing department to make payment arrangements with our billing specialist. We can accept payment by check, credit card, and debit card.
You may receive three to four different bills for outpatient surgeries. These may include:
- Your gastroenterologist for performing the actual procedure (inSite Digestive)
- Pathology for evaluation of any biopsies taken (inSite Digestive)
- Facility fee for use of the facility and equipment (in the name of the surgery center)
- Anesthesiologist if you were sedated with Propofol (that is, if you were “knocked out”) (in the name of the anesthesiologist)
Please note that if your procedure results in a biopsy, you will receive two bills that may look similar, both from inSite Digestive Health Care. While they will appear similar, you will see differences in the name of the rendering provider and in the account number. Please make two separate payments, noting the different account numbers on each payment.
For your convenience, inSite Digestive Health Care participates with the majority of major health plans. We accept Covered California plans for HealthNet, Blue Shield and Blue Cross.*
Click here to access our list of contracted insurance companies.
If you have any questions regarding participation with your specific health plan, please inquire at the time of scheduling, or contact our central billing office at (866) 630-0612 and press 2.
* Please note, patients with Blue Cross “Pathways” narrow network plans should call their health plan for confirmation of participating providers.
We accept cash, check, and all major credit cards. Checks may be mailed, but we do not accept checks over the phone.
To pay your bill online, log in to www.quickpayportal.com. Simply enter your billing statement ID number, found in the upper right upper corner of your billing statement, into your browser. The site will prompt you with further directions.
After our system generates a statement, it calls patients as a friendly reminder that you have an outstanding balance, which can be paid via online portal.
We accept patients without health insurance. Depending on the type of appointment or procedure, you may be asked to make a deposit in advance. For specific fees and arrangements, please contact your physician’s office directly.
For more information, visit the location nearest you.