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About The Hand Center of Ventura County |
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Our Goal
The goal of the Hand Center of Ventura County is to provide our patients with the most expert, thorough, and compassionate care possible. Urgent/Emergency Care |
HCVC
Quick Facts:
Address: 2001 N. Solar
Drive, Suite #275 Oxnard, CA 93030 |
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The Hand Center of Ventura County is fully equipped to accept nearly all urgent and traumatic injuries to the hand and upper extremities including fractures, lacerations, dislocations, and infections. In these cases, patients will be seen immediately without delay, and whatever emergent care is necessitated will be provided. Whether these injuries occur at home or in the work place, accessing subspecialty care on an urgent basis is far preferable to the normal delays in an urgent care or emergency room setting. Office Visits - Registration/Appointments Patients can be referred by attending physicians, workers compensation carriers, urgent care facilities or can be self-referred. All visits (except emergencies) are scheduled in advance so that we may service your needs in an expedient manner. you may phone the center for an appointment at (805) 485-7764 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Your First Visit The initial consultation and evaluation of new patients may be a slightly prolonged process involving the taking of a history, physical examination, radiographic evaluation, and possibly splinting or casting. Upon arrival, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire for your chart. Your signature on the office registration form is essential as it gives our staff the authority to complete and submit your insurance forms. If you have been treated elsewhere, we recommend that you bring along your previous x-rays, office notes, or laboratory findings. Your assistance in this area may help to minimize waiting time. Please bring insurance or medical cards as well as any special forms required by your insurance carrier. Completion of the initial evaluation can be streamlined should the proper preparations be made. Follow-up Visits Dr. Walker will wish to see you for follow-up visits regardless of whether surgery has been involved in your treatment plan. These visits are critical to the success of your treatment. He asks for your cooperation in this area in order that untoward complications can be avoided and/or recognized as early as possible. please avoid rescheduling your appointment if at all possible. Dr. Walker realizes that your time is as valuable as his. The office staff makes every effort to run on schedule. However, unforseen circumstances such as emergencies or postoperative complications sometime result in schedule disruptions. We apologize in advance for any delays that may result on such occasions. May such a significant delay arise, waiting patients may be offered an opportunity to reschedule their appointments. Whenever possible, we encourage you to contact our office on the day of your appointment to see if we are running on schedule, and if not, to receive an estimate as to when you should plan to arrive. Your gracious understanding is greatly appreciated. Prescriptions Whenever possible, prescriptions or refills should be requested during the Center's regular hours. As a solo practitioner, it is impossible for Dr. Walker to fill prescriptions in the evening and during weekends. The policy of the Center is that all prescriptions need to be requested by 3:00 p.m. Thursday. We realize, however, that at times there are extenuating circumstances but ask that you remain aware of this policy throughout your care. When calling the office for prescriptions or refills, please have the phone number of your pharmacy available and if possible the number of the prescription. For your convenience, certain prescriptions are filled in the office. If a medication is prescribed on the date of your office visit, please ask any questions before leaving the office. Prescriptions filled in the office for patients covered by workers' compensation will be billed directly to your insurance company. Reporting/Forms If you are referred to Dr. Walker from another physician, he wil make every effort to keep him appraised of your condition and treatment plan. This is routinely accomplished through written correspondence. Please be aware that Dr. Walker would be happy to discuss your condition at any time with either yourself or the treating physician by telephone. On the job injuries covered by workers' compensation require constant status reporting regarding the patient's condition. Our office has developed an intricate system to facilitate this reporting in an effort to keep employers and insurance companies fully aware of our patients' progress. Many individuals have disability insurance policies which supplement their income or provide mortgage or automobile payments while they are disabled. Should you have such a policy, our office will be happy to complete the necessary forms and answer any questions that you may have. There is a $5.00 charge for completion of standard disability forms. The charge may be slightly higher for completion of other more specialized medical reports. While every attempt is made to complete these forms expeditiously, intricate forms may take additional time to complete. Cost Effectiveness In this dreaded world of managed care, patients are often forced to wait weeks, even to see their primary care physician. Primary access to subspecialty care of the upper extremity is tremendously cost effective. You the patient are availed of Dr. Walker's expertise immediately, therefore eliminating time consuming serial referrals through other physicians. This is particularly relevant in the scope of workers' compensation. At times, patients are unaware that they are entitled to choose their own treating physician by law thirty days after their on the job injury. Referral in this setting expedites care while minimizing costs and allows the patient to return to their usual and customary employment as soon as possible. Workers' compensation injuries are billed directly to the patient's insured and therefore patients receive no invoices for these services. Payment is requested for office visits for standard patients at the time of each visit. Our office will bill your insurance carrier directly. However, patients have the responsibility to keep the balances for uncovered services and co-payments current. You are welcome to discuss fees, insurance, and other financial arrangements with our billing specialist. This allows us to anticipate potential problems and avoid misunderstandings. |
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