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Frequently Asked Questions


 

Insurance

We currently accept many different insurance companies to provide you with quality care. There are many types of HMO, PPO and idemnity plans that our providers participate in. Please be advised that upon arrival to our office, our front staff will confirm your insurance information to make sure that we have the most up to date plan that you are enrolled in. Please be advised that many different insurance companies cover different services; that said, one cannot assume your insurance company will cover each and every service that you have at our office or referrals that the provider recommends. It is in your best interest to educate yourself on your own plan by contacting your insurance company’s customer service department.

The patient is responsible for the co-pay/deductible/co-insurance at the time of each visit. If we are not a provider for your insurance or if you are not insured, you will be responsible for the entire charge at the time of service.

Please contact our office if your plan is not listed and we will be happy to assist you.

AARP-We do not accept United Health AARP
AETNA
AMERIGROUP
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD
CIGNA
FALLON
HARVARD PILGRAM
HUMANA
INTERNATIONAL
MASSHEALTH
MEDICARE
TUFTS
TUFTS NETWORK
TRICARE STANDARD
UNICARE
UNITED HEALTH GROUP

WELLSENSE
WORKERS COMP
Self Pay Pricing


It remains our priority to help all patients including those that do not have insurance. If you would like to have an appointment and you currently do not have insurance, we ask that you contact our office to get an estimate on how much an office visit would cost.

Please contact our office to discuss 781-646-4345.

Appointments

Please call the office to schedule your next appointment

The Day of Your Appointment
If you are a new patient to our practice, please arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. Upon your arrival, please check in at the front desk. At your first visit, please provide the following information:

  • complete a patient registration form
  • complete a medical history form
  • present your insurance card
  • sign an authorization to release confidential health information
  • If you are a returning patient, please arrive 5 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. At your return visit, our staff will confirm your name, address, telephone numbers and your insurance information to ensure our records contain the most current information.

Well Child Visits, School Physicals and Annual Appointments
We encourage our patients to plan in advance for routine annual exams, as these can take several weeks to schedule. Our office will send out physical reminder forms 8 weeks in advance. Please note that most insurance companies allow 1 physical per calendar year for adults. Families with children are encouraged to contact our office in the spring to begin scheduling upcoming school and sports physicals to ensure that children are seen before the start of the school year. Follow-up well child examinations should be scheduled before you leave the office to ensure that your child is seen in the appropriate time frame.
All forms necessary for school, college, camp or sports physicals should be brought in at the time of your physical or child’s physical. In the event that you are not due for a physical and you need the forms filled out by the provider, we ask that you allow the office 1 week to complete the forms. If you have not been seen within the past 6 months, we will ask that you schedule an appointment to have these forms filled out so that the provider can insure the state of your health.

What if I want to leave a message for the provider to call me back?
If you have a medical question that the Medical Assistants cannot answer and does not require an office visit, we will be happy to take a telephone message for the provider. We will ask you to provide as much information as possible, in order for the provider to best be prepared to respond. We try to return non-urgent phone calls on the same day, but we cannot guarantee that; however, your phone call will be returned.

How do I call in for a perscription refill?
You can either call the pharmacy or call our office during normal business hours and request a refill. All calls regarding refills are transferred to a prescription refill voicemail. If you are approved for a refill, it will be sent to your pharmacy that we have on file. In the event that your refill is not approved, we will contact you to schedule an appointment. Refill requests will be processed within 48 hours. We ask that you plan accordingly.

What if I need a referral to a Specialist?
If a provider from this office has referred you to a specialist and you have scheduled an appointment, you will need to call this office to request a referral. You will be transferred to our referral voicemail to relay the following information:
Patient’s name
Date of Birth
Insurance
Specialist Name
NPI#-National Provider Identification Number
Specialist telephone number & fax number
Reason for your visit
Date of your visit

Can I get an appointment with your office the same day that I call?
Yes. Each day we set aside some same day sick appointments for emergency situations. If we do not have a time that works with your schedule, we can get you in the next day for non-emergency situations. Please be aware that you may not get an appointment with your usual provider.

What if I have been in a Motor Vehicle Accident and need to see a provider in your office?
No problem. Upon check-in at the front desk, please mention that your appointment is for a Motor Vehicle Accident. We will have you fill out an MVA form that we will submit to our billing department, along with your office visit. Please be aware that you can only be treated for the motor vehicle accident at that appointment. Please make sure that you provide us with the following information at the time of your appointment:
Name
Insurance Company
Date of Injury
Insurance Claim #
Contact Agent name and telephone number

What if I have been injured on the job?
You will need to inform the front desk upon check-in that your appointment is Worker Compensation. You will need to provide us with the following information:
Name
Employer
Date of Injury
Insurance Claim #
Contact Agent name and telephone number

How do I get a copy of my medical records?
Medical records can be obtained by the patient or patient's guardian by signing a medical release form. We follow the HIPPA guidlines in regards to charging for these records from persons other than the patient themselves. In the event that you need to send you medical records to a Doctor’s office, please provide us with the Doctor’s mailing address and we will be happy to mail your records to the requested office.

I have some paperwork that needs to be filled out, what should I do?
In the event that you or your child have paperwork that needs to be filled out , you may drop off the paperwork at the front and we will get that back to you within one week. There is a $25 fee for all paperwork that needs to be filled out by the Provider. There is no fee if it is associated with an office visit.

What is the cancellation policy?
Your scheduled appointment is a time that is reserved just for you. If you are unable to keep your appointment, please let us know 24 hours in advance so that we may schedule a new time for you. There is a $25 fee for appointments that are cancelled with less than 24 hour notice.

What happens if I forget to bring money for my copay?
All co-payments are due at the time of your visit. There is a $10 administration fee for co-payments not paid at the time of your visit.

Will you call in an antibiotic for me without seeing me?
Your provider cares enough about you to not prescribe an antibiotic without seeing you. If you are not feeling well, please call office to schedule an appointment.

How do I get my lab results back to me?
If you had your blood drawn at our office, you can expect your results to be mailed to you within 3 weeks. Our office recently established a patient portal that allows the patient to view some of their medical chart. Labs, medication, immunization, etc. can be viewed from the patient portal. No child under the age of 18 can have access to the patient portal. If you would like your results sooner, you can schedule an appointment for a follow-up visit with your provider. If there is an urgent lab finding, the office will call you to schedule a follow-up visit or to come in for further testing.

What hospital do I go to in case of emergency?
Arlington Family Practice is affiliated with Mt. Auburn Hospital. Mt. Auburn Hospital is located at 330 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA.

 

Location

Arlington Family Practice
22 Mill Street, Suite 101
Arlington, MA 02476
Phone: 781-646-4345
Fax: 781-646-5091

Office Hours

Get in touch

781-646-4345