Office Information

Listed below are links to information regarding various aspects of our practice.  We hope that you will find this information useful in answering some of the more common questions asked of us.  If you have any additional questions or you would like to speak with a staff member about any of the topics listed below, please feel free to contact any of our offices using our toll-free phone number, 855.894.HOPE (4673).

Appointments

Appointments can be made through the receptionist in person or by telephone Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

In order to facilitate a complete consultation during your initial visit, you should bring your medical records if you are unable to have them sent in advance by your referring physician. All medication that you are currently taking should be brought to the office at the time of your first visit.  You will also need to bring a driver’s license or photo ID card and your insurance cards to your first visit.  Out of respect for our patients who may be undergoing chemotherapy, we ask that you refrain from using strongly scented lotions, perfumes, or colognes, since these products may be quite bothersome to those individuals.

For follow-up visits in the office, you will be cared for by the physician who saw you initially. In the event that the physician is on vacation or unavailable you will be seen by one of his or her partners.

In each of the hospitals in which our physicians have privileges, we have one physician from the practice who sees all the patients in that hospital Monday through Friday. He or she will be available to take care of you, communicate any medical information to your family, as well as other consulting physicians and your attending oncologist in our practice. Copies of your medical records will be sent to your doctor in our office so he or she is aware of your hospitalization and the medical care you receive.

On the weekends we have one physician who covers all three hospitals and takes all the patient calls from Friday 4:00 p.m. until Monday 7:00 a.m.

Telephone calls

At Space Coast Cancer Center, we have receptionists available to answer the telephone during office hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and for after hours phone calls we have a telephone answering service with a full staff of individuals who can personally take your messages and contact the physician on call. We do not use an automated answering service at this time, but due to the cost of these types of services, there is an increasing number of medical offices utilizing an automated answering service and voice mailboxes. Our office has noted an increasing number of phone calls after hours which are non-emergency questions, prescription refills, etc. Because of the expense incurred in trying to provide the best service possible, we ask that you help us in this regard by utilizing the telephone responsibly. We do not prescribe pain medication after hours.

If a patient is unable to communicate or if relatives desire information concerning the status of a patient, we request that one family member be designated as spokesperson to talk with the physician and relay appropriate information to other family members so as to avoid duplicate requests or inquiries.

Again, we appreciate the opportunity to serve you and to help preserve your life and health. With your cooperation we hope to be able to maintain open telephone communication services without resorting to an automated answering service. You must also recognize the limitations of medicine practiced over the telephone and the increased risk to your health by relying too heavily on this service.

In the event of an emergency you can reach the doctors by calling the office number.

Emergency Calls

Emergencies arising after hours should be called to the office number, and you should expect a response from the physician within a reasonable amount of time. If the physician does not call you back within a reasonable period of time, please call back to the answering service and ask them to page the physician again. Of course, if there is a life-threatening emergency, it is recommended that you call 911 to obtain emergency medical services to take you to an emergency room.  In the event that you go to the emergency room or are admitted into a hospital for any reason, we ask that you inform the medical personnel that you are a patient of our practice.

If you have a medical emergency during office hours you can call the office and request to speak with a doctor or nurse. Please inform the receptionist that you consider the case a medical emergency. Examples are fever, chill, nausea, pain, etc. If it is a life threatening emergency (chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness – blackouts, seizures.) please call 911 and an ambulance will take you to the hospital emergency room.

Non-Emergency Calls

Non-emergency medical problems and questions, as well as non-emergency office requests, such as an appointment change, an insurance payment, or laboratory and x-ray results, should be reserved for telephone calls during office hours. These are received by the receptionist and then transmitted for review to the physician and/or appropriate staff member to respond to you. We try to respond during the same day that you call. If you have questions regarding your medical care, we feel it would be best done during your office visit where you can have face to face communication with the physician.

Patient Financial Services

Our Patient Financial Services Department has well trained staff in all aspects of patient accounts from the initial visit to adjudication of the last insurance claim.

We are a Medicare Assigned Facility. This means that we accept what Medicare allows for payment, and submit 90% of the claims electronically. We also file supplemental insurance for our Medicare patients. 70% of the claims are filed electronically for patients with commercial insurance. Electronic claims filing has reduced processing time from 40 to 20 days.

Patient Financial Services is kept informed of changes that are taking place in our dynamic medical industry, such as changes in coverage for reimbursement policies. This is achieved through in-service programs as well as seminars and continuing education programs.

Patient Financial Services is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.   For assistance with billing inquires, claims follow-up, procedure or coding issues, and payment arrangements, call our business office at 855.894.HOPE (4673), x3988.

Most patients have health insurance to help pay their medical bill. By having insurance, the patient has a contact with their insurance company. As a physicians office we render services to our patients, not their insurance companies. We may or may not have a contract with your insurance carrier. We strongly advise our patients to be aware of their policy provisions, exclusions and limitations, as well as network providers and authorization requirements if applicable.

Space Coast Cancer Center provides the service of filing primary insurance as a courtesy. In some cases, we will also file secondary claims. This courtesy does not negate the patient’s responsibility for their balance, and we recommend that our patients be actively involved and aware of their insurance claim’s payments.

All patient deductibles, co-payments and payment for medical service not covered by your insurance are due at the time of service. Any co-insurance that will not be covered by insurance’s is also due at this time. Any other arrangements must be made prior to the visit.

Insurance Authorization

Space Coast Cancer Center participates in several managed care insurances that service Brevard County. It is the patient’s responsibility to be aware of their insurance coverage, policy provisions, exclusions and limitations, as well as authorization requirements and network providers if applicable. This information is furnished to the patient by the insurance carrier.

Please be advised that outpatient diagnostic tests, referrals, inpatient or outpatient hospital stays, and your visits to this office may require prior authorization and/or precertification. Space Coast Cancer Center will attempt to obtain these authorizations from your primary care physician or insurance carrier as a courtesy. You, as the patient or insured party, remain ultimately responsible for obtaining this authorization. Failure to obtain authorizations and/or precertification may result in rescheduled visits, rescheduled tests or denial of payment by the insurance carrier. Please call your primary care physician or your insurance company if you have authorization questions.

List of Participating Insurances and Networks

  • Medicare
  • Medicaid
    • Regular non-HMO
    • Medipass
  • Aetna US Healthcare
    • All lines of business
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
    • All lines of business
  • Cigna Healthcare
    • All lines of business
  • Tricare / Champus
    • Standard, Tricare for Life and Champus Prime.  
  • United Healthcare
    • HMO & PPO only
  • Health First Health Plan – Medicare and Commercial
  • Beechstreet
  • Southcare
  • First Health / CCN
  • Choicecare / Humana
  • Mail Handlers
  • PHCS (Private Health Care Systems)
  • Champ VA
  • Multi-Plan

Due to relationships between insurers, third party administrators and ‘umbrella’ networks, patients are strongly advised to contact their insurance carrier for the most current participating provider information.

Fees

Fees are due and payable at time of service. They conform to the usual and customary fees and services charged by other members of our specialty in Brevard County. We encourage our patients to discuss their financial circumstances with our insurance department. Our business office will be happy to assist you with routine insurance and payment plans. You may call the business office at 855.894.HOPE (4673), x3988.

To assist the office in filing your insurance claims, we ask that you provide us with all pertinent insurance information including membership cards and any other items that may be required in filing your claim. There may be a nominal fee for completing insurance forms or cancer policies that you request us to fill out.

If you require your chart to be copied in it’s entirety for a transfer of records, we will do this once at no cost. Any further copying of the chart will include a fee for the copying and labor, which has been approved by the Brevard County Medical Society.

Treatment and Procedures

If you are scheduled to have chemotherapy or a bone marrow biopsy, we recommend that someone accompany you, since medication may be given which may impair your driving ability.

Bone marrow procedures are outpatient procedures performed at the hospital by the physician with which you are established. You may receive an additional bill from a hospital pathologist for processing and interpretation of a biopsy.

In the event that you are to receive chemotherapy or any other type of infusion, please feel free to bring to the office reading material, music or books on tape using head phones, since some treatments in the office last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. Blood products such as red blood cells or platelet transfusions are administered at the hospital. Chemotherapy, phlebotomy, medication shots and infusions are provided in the office setting.

Blood Tests

Patients returning to the office for laboratory studies should come any of our four locations during the hours of operation listed below.  Laboratory services are offered in any of the offices that you may see your doctor in.

Due to the large number of tests performed and ordered (lab work, x-rays, etc.), we do not routinely call all of the results to you. We will contact you, however, with any test result the doctor feels is necessary to inform you of prior to your next scheduled visit.  If you wish for any test results to be called to you or mailed to you, we will do so upon your request.   If you have any questions regarding any of your test results, please call the office and we will assist you in this regard.

Prescription Refills

With respect to medication refills, it would be best to bring your medications with you on your office visits, so the physician can review all your medications and refill the appropriate prescriptions and help avoid any adverse drug-drug interactions or medication errors due to different physicians prescribing different medications.

If you do not have an office visit scheduled in the near future and this is a routine medication prescribed by one of our physicians, we ask that you contact your pharmacy to have them FAX us a refill request so that we can ensure a timely response as well as accuracy of information for the refilled medication. Controlled medications cannot be refilled in this manner, since to fill a prescription for a controlled medication, you will need to present a written copy to the pharmacy.  To refill these medications, you may call the office in which you usually see your physician during office hours so that we may obtain the prescription for you to pick up in our office. Please take the appropriate measures to request a prescription refill at least 48 hours prior to finishing your current prescription.  If you request a prescription to be written for you to pick up, you will be called when it is available. We do not refill prescriptions after hours or on weekends.

Hospice Patients

Hospice patients should contact their hospice nurse or call the hospice answering service as their first point of contact for their medical problems. If hospice does not respond in an adequate amount of time or if the problem does not appear to be handled satisfactorily by hospice, then a direct call to the office would be appropriate. We do not prescribe pain medication after hours unless requested by the hospice nurse.

If a patient is unable to communicate or if relatives desire information concerning the status of a patient, we request that one family member be designated a spokesperson to talk with the patients’ Space Coast Cancer Center physician and relay appropriate information to other family members.

Nights & Weekends

Emergencies arising after hours should be called to the office number, and you should expect a response from the physician within a reasonable amount of time. If the physician does not call you back within a reasonable period of time, please call back to the answering service and ask them to page the physician again. Of course, if there is a life-threatening emergency, it is recommended that you call 911 to obtain emergency medical services to take you to an emergency room.  In the event that you are taken to an emergency room, we ask that you inform the hospital personnel that you are a patient of our practice.

If you have a medical emergency during office hours you can call the office and request to speak with a doctor or nurse. Please inform the receptionist that you consider the case a medical emergency. Examples are fever, chill, nausea, pain, etc. If it is a life threatening emergency (chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness – blackouts, seizures.) please call 911 and an ambulance will take you to the hospital emergency room.  We do not refill prescriptions after hours or on weekends.