Policies

Our providers are strictly out patient doctors and do not conduct rounds at the hospital.

Suburban Hospital – 8600 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20014

Shady Grove Adventist Hospital – 9901 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

New Patient Appointments

• Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled office visit.
• Please download the new patient forms, please bring them completed to the visit.
• Bring a photo ID and Insurance Card.
• If your insurance plan requires a co-pay it is due at time of service.
• If you do not have insurance payment in full is due at the time of service. All major credit cards are accepted.
• Bring all medical reports, X-Rays, and Scans that pertain to your visit.

Rockville Internal Medicine Group: Connected to CRISP

The Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients (CRISP) is a not-for-profit membership corporation advised by a wide range of stakeholders responsible for the healthcare of Maryland’s citizens. CRISP receives input and advice from patients; hospital systems; physicians; insurance providers; technology providers; privacy advocates; public health officials; and advocates for seniors, the uninsured, and the medically underserved. CRISP was formally designated Maryland’s statewide health information exchange (HIE) by the Maryland Health Care Commission, as directed by the state’s legislature and Gov. Martin O’Malley in 2009.

HIE allows clinical information to move electronically between physician practices, hospitals, labs, radiology centers, and other healthcare institutions. The goal of HIE is to deliver the right health information to the right place at the right time- providing safer, more timely, efficient, effective, equitable, patient-centered care.

For more information about CRISP please visit crisphealth.org.

What is CRISP and Why is it Important?

Visit crisphealth.org to learn more about electronic health records and how doctors who use this technology can help provide you and your family with better health care.

Medical forms that require completion will be charged a minimum processing fee of $25 per request. If you have not been seen within the last year, an office visit may be required for completion of the form.

Please allow 7 business days for form completion

Electronic Medical Records

In order to accommodate the increasing volume of clinical information that each patient generates, Rockville Internal Medicine converted its paper medical records into an electronic system in 2004. Each time you contact our office, whether to schedule an appointment, leave a message for your physician, or speak with the Billing office, this contact is noted in your electronic record. At the time of your appointment, all of your information is documented in your electronic chart including orders for procedures to be performed and laboratory orders. Should you become ill after hours, your physician has remote access to your records through a secure internet connection. This accessibility contributes to the excellent quality of care your physician is committed to providing for you. In addition, you can be confident that your records are secure and your information private, and only available to your medical care team.

Medical Records Department

Rockville Internal Medicine Group has paired with HealthMark to assist with medical record and FMLA/forms requests. If you’re a patient requesting copies of test results or requesting your medical records please complete and return these forms to our office – RIMG Medical Records Release Form

Our fax number is 301-294-7569. Please allow 7 to 10 business days to process your request. After 10 business days you may call 1-800-659-4035 to check the status of your request.

Requests may be submitted electronically to HealthMark’s Request Manager at https://requestmanager.healthmark-group.com.
Once logged in, select “Submit Request” from the menu options and enter all required fields to provide an authorization directly to HealthMark. Your medical record request will be processed, and a notification will be sent via mail or email once complete and available for download.

Please log in to Request Manager for status updates or to chat with support. If you have any questions, you may contact HealthMark at 1-800-659-4035 or *status@healthmark-group.com.

Federal and state laws permit a fee to be charged for the copying of patient records. The cost will be determined after your medical records request has been processed.

Physical Exam & Office Visit

Our goal is to provide you with the best medical care possible. Annual physical exams give us an opportunity to address your overall physical and emotional health. The preventative care we provide during a physical also includes an assessment of dietary and exercise habits, review of vaccinations, discussion of screening tests, lifestyle behaviors, etc. We occasionally also address other chronic stable problems such as high blood pressure, arthritis, and /or other ongoing controlled medical conditions.

Regular office visits differ from the preventative and wellness care provided at a physical exam because they focus on other new, ongoing or poorly controlled medical concerns. These types of problems need to be addressed in an appointment separate from a Preventative or Physical Exam. If, however, we adequately cover required Preventative and Wellness care during the physical, sometimes we will have time to discuss new problems identified by you or the physician.

We would like to correct a misperception that occurs regarding “double charges”. Please note that the insurance companies do allow providers to address additional complaints beyond a wellness visit. If new problems are found or poorly controlled problems are addressed, an additional office evaluation code will be generated in addition to a Preventative Physical Examination code. Essentially, part of the visit is preventative, but part of the visit is not part of a wellness exam.

Therefore, this generates another charge to the insurance company which in turn may require you to pay a copay, coinsurance or deductible charge.

Thank you for entrusting us with your medical care. Please also trust that we practice the highest integrity with our billing practices. Our goal is to provide excellent care and take appropriate time doing it.

Prescription Ordering

For the past several years Rockville Internal Medicine has participated in electronic prescribing of prescriptions. No longer do you need to take a written prescription to your local pharmacy and wait for it to be filled. Your physician orders or renews your prescription from your electronic chart. This order is then directed to the pharmacy of your choice and is frequently ready for you to pick up when you get to the pharmacy. To refill a prescription, simply call your pharmacy or our office and the prescription will be processed within 3 -7 business days. Please note that we do not refill routine prescriptions after office hours. Please contact the office between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday for routine refills.

If you prescribe to a mail order pharmacy, your prescriptions can be ordered or renewed electronically or by fax. For refills, most mail order prescriptions come to the patient with a refill label that only needs to be returned to the pharmacy by the patient. If you have no remaining refills, contact your mail order pharmacy and the pharmacy will contact the physician for authorization.

When calling the office in reference to a prescription please use option 2 from the phone menu to speak with a patient service representative.

For some procedures, medications, etc., your insurance will require a prior authorization. *Prior authorizations for external referrals for diagnostic tests and/or procedures require an office appointment.* Prior authorization can only be started only when *all pertinent information is acquired*. We will make every effort to process your request promptly. However, please allow  *3 to 7 business days to process* the prior authorization.

*Medications that require prior authorization require 3 to 7 business days to process.* Please call your pharmacy for any refill requests *at least one week prior to* running out of your medication. In order to process the authorization, your pharmacy must fax a prior authorization request to 301-294-7569.

The Rationale for our Prior Authorization Policy 

A “prior authorization” is similar to a referral but more time consuming and difficult to obtain. This process is required by most insurers as a means of attempting to control the cost of health care. Providers must supply a significant amount of documentation to the insurer to show that a patient meets their criteria. We do this for you free of charge. We share your frustration with the pointlessness of this process. Please be as patient as possible; we our working as expeditiously as we can to complete the task. However, keep in mind that even with our best effort, coverage may not be approved.

Referral Policy

If you participate with an insurance company that requires you to obtain a written referral to a specialist, your primary care physician can provide this for you. When you call to request the referral, please have the name of the physician to whom you are being referred, your diagnosis and the reason for your visit to the specialist. If you should be having a procedure performed, please have the complete details of the procedure. Remember a written referral from your physician is not a guarantee of payment by your insurance company. Choose option 2 from the phone menu to speak with a patient service representative to request the referral. Your referral will be ready for pick up 24-48 business hours from your request time. If you need it to be faxed to the specialist, please have the fax number at the time of your call. If you would like us to mail the referral to you, we will do so upon your request