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903A South Greeley Highway, Cheyenne, WY 82007
307-633-8100 Fax: 307-633-8108
New Patient Information
Welcome to Pain
Consultants of the Rockies and the Pain Treatment Center of
Wyoming! We are pleased to be provided the opportunity to assist
with the management of your chronic pain. The goals of this
handbook are to answer introductory questions about our practice,
review policies and procedures, and provide names and telephone
numbers of staff members available to assist you.
Please take a
moment to read this handbook before completing the enclosed new
patient information packet. Should you have any questions, please
feel free to contact our office at (307) 633-8100 or (800) 990-6824.
Pain Consultants of the
Rockies
Providers:
Harlan Ribnik, MD, Robert Weinland, FNP-C
Office Manager:
Toni Keslar
Clinical Staff:
Holly Nemitz, CA
Medical
Records:
Margi Reardon
Receptionists: Danelle
Medina, Erica Smith
Billing Specialists: Trish
Ciccone, Lana Talkington
Clinical Coordinator:
Annemarie Flores, RN
Pain Treatment Center of Wyoming
Administrative Director: Toni
Keslar
Radiology Technologist:
Shelly Osterman, RT
Nursing Staff:
Stacey Wyatt,
RN, Deb Mutter, RN
Our main clinic
and base of operations is located at 903A South Greeley Highway in
Cheyenne. All appointments being scheduled or canceled and all
billing questions should be directed to this office. Our
practitioners travel to other locations throughout the state but can
be reached through our office in case of emergency.
BUSINESS HOURS:
8AM TO 4PM, Monday through Friday
We are closed on all major holidays
TELEPHONE
NUMBER:
307-633-8100 OR 800-990-6824
FAX NUMBERS:
307-633-8108 Pain Consultants of the Rockies
307-633-8196 Pain Treatment Center of Wyoming
EMERGENCIES:
One of our
practitioners is on call after regular business hours to handle
emergencies as they arise. Our answering service will gladly
connect you with our on-call person. However, we do no refill or
change medications after hours or on weekends.
CASPER OFFICE:
4140 Centennial
Hills Blvd, Casper, WY 82601
Two of our providers travel to our Casper office every other
Thursday.
If you reside in Casper, please indicate this when calling for an
appointment.
BILLING & INSURANCE POLICIES
Cancellations and “No-Shows”
Please provide
24 hours notice in the event you should need to cancel your
appointment. We ask this because we have an overabundance of
patients on cancellation lists that desperately need to be seen, but
cannot be, as there are no appointments available. By calling and
canceling, we are able to offer your time to someone else in need.
A “no-show” is
any appointment to which you did not come and did not call to
cancel. Our office policy regarding this subject states that any
patient who “no-shows” 3 (three) appointments in one year will be
dismissed from the practice.
Medicaid
We are not
currently accepting any NEW patients covered under Colorado or
Nebraska Medicaid.
For Wyoming
Medicaid (Title 19) there is a “cap limit” of twelve office visits
per year. This limit includes visits to all doctors
including the Emergency Room. As a courtesy to you, we will write
one letter to Medicaid to ask that the cap limits be waived for our
office only. If there is not a response from Medicaid, all
medical bills are your responsibility and payment will be expected
at the time of service. **NOTE: You must bring your current
coupon or other proof of coverage to each visit; we cannot see you
without it. If you have a $2.00 co-payment, it must be paid
at the time of service. There are no exceptions. If you do not pay
your co-pay, your prescriptions will be held until you return with
the proper amount due.
TriCare
As our office is
not a member of the TriCare Network, we are not accepting any NEW
patients who have TriCare as their primary insurance.
Co-payments
There are
several commercial insurance companies whose plans have
co-payments. This is an agreement between you and your insurance
company and are not conditions determined by this office.
These
co-payments are due at the time of service. There are no
exceptions. If you do not have your co-payment, your prescriptions
will be held until you return with the proper amount due.
Delinquent Accounts
After your
insurance has paid, the remaining balance on the account, if any,
will become your responsibility. If the balance is $300.00 or
greater, you will be asked to meet with one of our Billing
Specialists. The scheduling of future appointments is contingent
upon the results of this meeting.
Unpaid accounts
will be referred to an outside source for collection. Any unpaid
balances, including bankruptcy, may lead to your dismissal from this
clinic.
CLINIC POLICIES
In order to better serve our patient
population as a whole, we have found it necessary to put some
long-standing “unwritten rules” on paper. It is our hope that by
doing so, our patients will better understand the rationale behind
these rules.
Narcotic Agreement:
In your new patient information packet you probably read and signed
an Informed Consent for Narcotics. This is a contract between you
and Pain Consultants of the Rockies. The purpose of the contract is
not to convey mistrust, intimidate or make us appear inflexible.
Rather, it is a tool used by our office to help us efficiently
monitor and treat your pain. By requiring patients to call before
increasing their narcotic usage, we are able to assess the situation
and possibly make other suggestions or order tests such as x-rays or
lab work. By requiring patients to decline narcotics from other
providers and to use only one pharmacy, we are better able to assess
your narcotic usage and therefore your requirements. We also remain
in compliance with State and Federal laws pertaining to prescribing
narcotics.
Compliance Contract:
The purpose of this contract is to make clear our expectations
regarding appointments and behaviors. We have designed a program
that requires input from different specialties like Psychological
Services and Physical Therapy. We rely on these services to aid in
our assessment and treatment of your pain. We understand that some
of you may come to us having already attempted some of these
services and may have had less than desirable outcomes. However, we
are confident in our referrals and ask that you comply with our
recommendations. (**NOTE: Matters discussed with Psychological
Services are confidential. Pain Consultants of the Rockies is
provided a report from them that addresses only your pain issues.)
There are
certain behaviors and/or actions that will not be tolerated by our
office. First, we will not abide threatening words or acts. Our
“zero tolerance” policy states these are grounds for immediate
dismissal from this practice. Second, we can understand that
problems, concerns and questions come up which require our
attention. We ask that you call the office and leave a detailed
message for Holly or Annemarie. Messages are answered as quickly as
possible. Please do not stop in to speak with a staff member
without an appointment, as this will delay our interactions with
patients scheduled for that day. Multiple telephone calls for the
same issue will not change our response time. Problems or concerns
are handled in order of severity.
Primary Care Physician
Requirement:
Pain Consultants of the Rockies is a referral service only;
therefore, it is mandatory that you have a primary care physician
(PCP) prior to your first appointment at our clinic. We will inform
your PCP of our treatment recommendations after your initial
evaluation and of your progress thereafter. At the time of your
discharge from our service, your care will be referred back to your
PCP.
Medication Management
Policy:
The number of telephone calls received daily for medication refills
has grown immensely. Please read the following before calling the
office for a medication refill. The main goal of treatment with
narcotic medications is to improve your ability to function and/or
work. With that in mind, you must agree to help yourself by
following a healthy way of life including exercise, weight control
and limiting/ceasing the use of alcohol and tobacco.
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It is
important to take your medication exactly as prescribed. If you
need to change how you take your medications, you must contact
our office first. If your medications are taken other than as
directed and you run out early, please do not call for a refill,
as we will not be able to honor your request.
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Please call
your pharmacy if you need refills of your non-narcotic
medication. Once you have called your pharmacy, please do not
call the office. The request will be dealt with as quickly as
possible.
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We require 2
business days’ notice when requesting a refill. It can take
this long to obtain approval from your doctor. Please plan
accordingly, taking holidays and weekends into consideration.
Refills of narcotic medications will not be made as an
“emergency” because you suddenly realize you will run out
tomorrow. You must keep track of your medication and plan
ahead. PRESCRIPTIONS WILL NOT BE REFILLED AFTER OFFICE
HOURS, ON FRIDAYS OR ON WEEKENDS.
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Refill
requests will be taken Monday – Thursday from 8:30am to 4pm.
Requests received after 4pm will be addressed on the next
business day. Some narcotics require a handwritten prescription
that you will need to come and pick up. NARCOTIC
PRESCRIPTIONS
ARE NOT
FAXED, MAILED OR OTHERWISE DELIVERED TO YOUR PHARMACY.
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Medication
changes (switching from one to another) will not be made over
the telephone except in a dire emergency. Please wait until
your next appointment to discuss these changes.
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Medications
will not be refilled if you did not keep your last appointment
or did not make a follow up appointment as requested by your
doctor.
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Violation of
the above conditions can lead to termination of your association
with our clinic. If the violation includes obtaining controlled
substances from another practitioner, we may also report this
action to your PCP, local medical facilities and other
authorities.
WHOM DO I
CONTACT?
Appointments
Erica schedules office visits and post-procedure follow up
appointments for Pain Consultants of the Rockies. She works very
hard to accommodate everyone. If she is not readily available,
please leave a message in her confidential voice mailbox and your
call will be returned promptly.
Scheduling surgeries & procedures
Danelle
schedules all surgeries and procedures. Again, she works very hard
to accommodate everyone. Most surgeries and some procedures require
pre-authorization from your insurance company. One of our Billing
Specialists can advise you if this is required through your
particular plan.
Medical Records
Margi is
our Director of Medical Records. Any information regarding medical
records should be directed to her at extension 126. Medical records
are the property of Pain Consultants of the Rockies and the Pain
Treatment Center of Wyoming. It is our responsibility to keep them
safe. Copies of medical records are NEVER released without a signed
authorization from the patient or legal guardian. A fee will be
charged to you when medical records are requested for personal use
or to be sent to third parties (i.e., attorneys, insurance,
disability or other sources). However, no fee will be charged if
sent directly to another provider for continuing care.
Billing
Pain Consultants of the Rockies and The Pain Treatment Center of
Wyoming currently employ two Billing Specialists who can assist you
with any financial concerns or constraints that you may have. It is
far better to address your financial issues before they become
problematic than to wait and let them overwhelm you. Your financial
obligation to us is your responsibility and any concerns should be
directed to the Billing Office and not to the medical staff. Trish
can be reached at extension 127 and Lana at 125.
Clinic
Holly is our Clinical Assistant. She works very closely with Dr.
Ribnik and Mr. Weinland and, therefore, is available only via
confidential voice mail during clinic hours. Please feel free to
leave a message and your call will be returned in order of severity.
Holly handles calls regarding prescriptions for medications or
physical therapy.
Calls regarding the Patient Assistance Program (PAP), forms
submitted for completion, or the need for assistive devices
(walkers, canes, etc…) should be directed to Annemarie.
Referral requests should be directed to the Clinical Coordinator
(see below).
Radiological Services
Shelly is our full-time Radiology Technologist. Please feel free to
call her for assistance with any issues regarding x-rays taken in or
delivered to this facility. Please leave her a message at extension
129.
Nursing
Stacey is a Registered Nurse (RN) and works primarily in the Pain
Treatment Center of Wyoming. Please feel free to call her with any
questions you may have about an upcoming therapeutic injection or
any complications you may be experiencing after your injection. Her
extension number is 130. Please leave her a message and your call
will be returned as soon as possible.
Management
Toni is the Office Manager and Administrative Director. She is
available to our patients who have unresolved issues surrounding
their finances or medical records or who wish to report a grievance
with a member of the Billing, Reception, or Medical Records staff.
Annemarie is the Clinical Coordinator. Please ask to speak with her
if you have unresolved issues regarding appointments, prescriptions,
or medication complications or if you wish to report a grievance
with a member of the clinic or nursing staff. She can assist you
with letters of medical necessity to insurance companies as well as
referrals to other physicians as needed.
We hope that this booklet will be used as a guide to help you
navigate through our clinic’s policies and procedures. Again, if
you have any questions, please feel free to call us. We welcome you
to Pain Consultants of the Rockies and the Pain Treatment Center of
Wyoming!
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