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Appointments:

The following information is provided to you, the Carolina Heart Specialists patient, to help you receive your medical care in a timely manner, to answer basic questions and minimize confusion, and to reduce excessive telephone calls to our office that delay our ability to assist you promptly.

Test Results

  • Normal test and laboratory results will be communicated to you or your physician within two weeks. Certain tests may take longer.
  • Abnormal test results will be communicated to you or your physician as soon as the physician has reviewed them.
  • If you have not heard from us within two weeks, please call our office at 704-867-2141.
  • If you are currently taking Coumadin, your pro-time test results will be reviewed by your doctor and you will be called within 24 hours. If you have not heard from us after 24 hours, please call and ask to speak to your doctor’s nurse.
  • Other than the situations/exceptions above, please do not call for test results unless you have not heard from us after two weeks following the test(s).

Prescription Refills

  • You should make routine prescription refill requests to your pharmacy at least three days before you run out of medicine.
  • The pharmacist will call us once you have made your request.
  • Please check with your pharmacist to see if we have approved the refill before you visit the pharmacy.
  • Please do not call to inquire about your prescription refill unless the pharmacist has not heard from us after three days.

Medication Samples

  • Sample medicines are used when a new medicine is introduced to the patient (e.g. to see how well you tolerate this new medicine, etc.), and to provide an initial dosage to allow time for you to have your prescription filled.
  • Sample medicines are not to be used in place of a prescription or to preclude the cost associated with having a prescription filled.
  • We are not able to provide more than an initial quantity of sample medications. We will not be able to honor requests for monthly supplies of samples.
  • Sample medicines are stocked in limited quantities and may not always be available at the time the prescription is written.
  • Please do not drop in to check on the availability of sample medicines or to see if your sample is ready if you have not received a call from us to do so.

Appointments

  • Routine follow-up appointment cards will be mailed to you at least three weeks before the actual appointment due date. When you receive this card, please call our office to schedule an appointment.
  • At times it may be necessary to leave a message with our appointment desk. If this is the case, you can expect your call to be returned as quickly as possible.

Calls for Medical Questions

  • When you have a question regarding a current medical situation you are experiencing, please call our office at 704-867-2141 and ask to speak to a doctor’s nurse. At times it may be necessary to leave the nurse a message. Please be sure to leave your name, date of birth, telephone number and a detailed message in order for the nurse to assist you as quickly as possible.
  • You can expect your call to be returned the same day if your call is received by 3:00 PM.

Care at Other Hospitals or Emergency Rooms

  • If you receive care at another hospital when you are away from home, ask for a copy of your medical records and bring them to our office to help us provide the right follow-up care for you.

Cancellations

  • If you must cancel your appointment, please call our office at least 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time. This will allow us to use that appointment time to serve another patient.

Walk-In Patients

  • You are encouraged to call our office rather than walk in without an appointment. If you do walk in, we will first look for a convenient appointment slot for you. If there are none, a nurse will assess your needs. There will generally be a charge for services provided to walk-in patients.

Forms that You Need Completed

  • If you have forms that need to be completed by our staff (e.g. disability forms, work leave, VA, etc.), please bring them with you at the time of your next appointment or schedule a visit for this purpose. Please do not drop forms off at our office for completion.
  • There will be a minimal charge of $15 for form completion.

Medications

  • Please bring all of your medications with you at every visit.

Miscellaneous

  • As a courtesy to other patients, we encourage you not to use strong perfumes, colognes, soaps or lotions.