Appointments

Where we are and how to make an appointment

Common problems Do I need to see the Doctor?

Appointments

Current patients (those already seen and being treated with a scheduled appointment) may modify or change previously scheduled appointments by E-mail.

To change the date and /or time of your previously scheduled appointment please E-mail http://officemanager@orthodocsreno.com more than 24 hrs in advance. You will be contacted by telephone to reschedule your appointment or to confirm the date you request in your E-mail.
To cancel an appointment permanently you may use E-mail but please call us so that we may note the reason for the change i.e. moving or changing doctors (we can forward your records/xrays or recommend a new doctor), feeling better, rescheduling later, or insurance problems (no referral approved yet). A serious problem undergoing treatment which absolutely requires follow-up visits may result in a call from us or a letter to you.
Missed Appointments- current patients that "NO CALL NO SHOW" are a big problem for all doctors offices. You may be billed an "inconvenience fee" since this delays appointments for other patients and results in increased waiting room time and slower office flow. If you are going to be more than 15 min late please call and we will probably be able to accommodate. If you can't arrive in that time you may be asked to reschedule to another date.
Changing Appointment times- during the routine office day your doctor may be called for an emergency consultation/ surgery or may have a previously scheduled commitment (i.e. hospital/office meeting or conference) immediately before or after your appointment time. We may call you to ask whether you can come in earlier or later than your scheduled time. We will always give you the option to keep your previously scheduled time unless it involves a true emergency since we know your time is important with work and school schedules.

Prior patients (those treated anytime in the past by our doctors) may make appointments for new or recurrent problems by phone.

To ensure you get the proper appointment type with the appropriate time to review your problem please call to speak with your doctors medical assistant and determine if this requires a Follow-up or New Injury appointment or a specialized appointment for a Spine, Fracture, or Second Opinion consultation.
You will be asked about your symptoms by the nurse/medical assistant
You may be offered an appointment with a different doctor for a number of reasons if your prior doctor agrees. 1. For example only one of our doctors (Dr Preston) performs spine evaluations and surgery so if your prior doctors nurse/medical assistant can determine after asking you about your symptoms/problem that this is the likely issue you will be offered Spine appointment. 2. Your doctor may not be available the date you would like to be seen i.e. out of town, in surgery, etc. 3. Your doctor may have retired, moved, etc but you would still like to continue care at Orthopaedic Associates. 4. Your doctor may not be able to treat your new problem if it is out of the area of his/her orthopaedic practice expertise (i.e. some complicated problems may be best evaluated by an orthopaedic surgeon sub-specialist either at Orthopaedic Associates or another Orthopaedic office). Some specialized orthopaedic care is not available with us i.e. children with neuro-muscular disease (cerebral palsy). We are always happy to provide other referral options.
YOU MAY BE REFERRED TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM- If you have an urgent or emergency problem our nurses/medical assistants are trained to recognize that requires immediate attention that your current doctor is unavailable to provide you will be instructed report to a hospital Emergency Department or Urgent Care Center or call 911 for an ambulance. The Emergency Room doctor will usually contact your doctor or the On Call Orthopaedic Doctor to determine whether you need to be admitted to the hospital or be seen in the office (usually within 3 days).

New patients should call the office to make appointments and verify insurance status and confirm referral authorizations from their primary care physicians then PRINT OUT NEW PATIENT FORMS BELOW.

Same Day Appointments- a limited number of emergency appointment slots are available. ONLY A NURSE OR DOCTOR CAN MAKE THESE APPOINTMENTS. PLEASE BE PREPARED TO ANSWER THE RECEPTIONISTS QUESTIONS AND REMAIN ON HOLD TO SPEAK WITH ONE OF OUR MEDICAL ASSISTANTS.

Appointment times are generally scheduled every 15 min. We make every effort to stay on time but delays do occur. Previous patients are late, more xrays are required, emergency patients are added to the schedule or the doctor is delayed in surgery. Please call if you will be late. New patients should arrive 15-30min early to do paperwork. You may download and print blank forms to fill out at home prior to your appointment. This will surely save time and allow you to be seen by the doctor earlier. Click here for New Patient form 1.then use the NEXT command at the top of each page to get new_patient_form_2.htm and new_patient_form_3.htm. The UP command will return you to the directions page for a map.

HMO patients require approval from their primary care doctor/family physician prior to seeing any specialist. This can be frustrating for you AND us. Our staff many times have to call your regular doctor to find out why a referral has not been put into the computer. This can result in you sitting in the waiting room or even rescheduling your appointment. Please bear with us as we try to ensure you won't get a bill for an unauthorized office visit.

Office visit/specialist consultations insurance approval is based on an evaluation for a specific problem. If you have multiple body parts involved i.e. right knee AND left knee, we may not be allowed to address both complaints at the same appointment unless both approvals are in the computer or your specific plan does not require pre-approval.. We know it's ridiculous but those are the HMO rules, not ours.

Please bring your insurance card to the appointment so we can verify your coverage. Insurance is not required to obtain treatment but payment is expected at the time of service. Speak with our billing office with specific questions mailto:billing@orthodocsreno.com or to arrange a payment plan mailto:officemanager@orthodocsreno.com. CLICK HERE TO SEE A LIST OF INSURANCE PLANS WE ACCEPT Which insurance Insurance co-pays are required at the time of service and are determined by your plan benefits.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE- our doctors treat a limited number of patients who will be paying bills using cash/credit card/check or Health Savings Account (HSA). Although full payment is expected at the time of service we can always arrange negotiated payment arrangements. A minimum partial payment is required at the first office visit and may be up to $200 which covers the doctors fee, and most X-rays but may not be the full cost after casting/braces or injection charges are added. We are not required to see any patient without insurance unless they have been seen in the Emergency Room and one of our doctors was on call.