Policies
Maple Internal Medicine provides medical services by appointment. Patients cannot walk into the office and expect to be seen by their provider. When we see patients without appointments, we create situations that are unfair to other patients. True emergency treatment needs should always go to the hospital emergency room. Please contact the office prior to going to urgent care.
Our phone lines are open 8AM-4:30PM Monday through Friday and 9AM-12PM on Saturdays. Established patients may use the online patient portal to communicate with the office for administrative (appointments, billings, non-urgent questions) matters.
New Patients must be seen for a physical exam appointment to establish a doctor-patient relationship before we can begin to provide medical care or prescribe medication. New Patient appointments necessitate extra time and it is important that new patients keep their initial appointments.
New Patients who fail to keep their new patient appointment without proper cancellation notice will be sent a letter informing them that the practice will no longer be able to accept them as a patient.
Established Patients phoning for appointments for urgent or sick visits are offered our sick visit appointments for that day. If there are no more available appointments for that day, the call will be taken by a nurse so that we can establish the nature and severity of your illness. They will determine when you can be seen or refer you to an immediate care center or emergency room for urgent care.
In an attempt to minimize everyone’s time in the waiting room, we must advise that if patients are more than 15 minutes late for an appointment they may need to reschedule their appointment.
Appointments must be cancelled in a timely manner or there may be a missed appointment fee. No show physical is $50.00, other appointments there is a charge of $25.00. In most cases, timely cancellation means informing the office at least 24 hours prior to the appointment time. Established Patients who do not show for more than three appointments without timely cancellation will be sent a letter discharging them from the practice.
As a courtesy, we remind our patients of their upcoming appointments by phone, postcard, and email (if provided). Lack of an answering machine, busy signals, and unlisted/changed/non-working phone numbers mean that we cannot always accomplish the reminder.
If you are 15 minutes late for your appointment, you will be asked to reschedule. If the physician’s schedule allows, you may be able to be seen later that day or the next, however, this will not always be possible.
Our office strives to stay on schedule, as it facilitates higher quality care and lower costs. One or two late patients cause the entire daily schedule to fall behind. We ask that you are punctual to your appointments. The physicians, staff, and your fellow patients thank you.
MISSED APPOINTMENT OR “NO-SHOW” POLICY
While we make every effort to provide a reminder call at least 24 hours before your appointment, it is ultimately the patients’ responsibility to remember the appointment date and time. We do charge a $50 missed appointment fee to patients who do not keep their scheduled appointment time or who cancel less than 24 hours in advance. All fees must be paid before a new appointment can be scheduled.
After (3) missed appointments, the practice may, at its discretion, choose to discontinue your care. Patient noncompliance is taken very seriously as it impacts the quality of care you receive. We strive for excellence, and highly encourage our patients to keep their scheduled appointment times.
Maple Internal Medicine & Pediatrics has partnered with your insurance carrier to improve the quality of healthcare. It is our policy that all patients, adults and pediatrics are seen on an annual basis. Our schedule is always open for the following year, so please schedule your physical at the time of check out, otherwise our staff will be reaching out periodically to schedule your next appointment.
Childhood is a time of rapid growth and change. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and numerous other professional sources, children should have a yearly well visit until age 21. The medical community believes firmly in the importance of these well visits that they have become one of the few medical services for which there is no copay.
Failure to adhere to this policy could result in a discontinuation of care/release from our practice. Thank you in advance for seeing your provider on an annual basis and entrusting us with your health.
Maple Internal Medicine & Pediatrics is not a Walk-In clinic. If you have an immediate and unforeseen injury or illness, and the time needed to contact your physician may result in permanent damage to your health, you should seek treatment from the nearest emergency room or call 911 for assistance. If you need to schedule a sick appointment, then please call our office and follow the prompts to discuss your symptoms with our clinical staff, at which point we will discuss your needs of seeing a provider. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Maple Internal Medicine & Pediatrics works with Abbott Answering Service to provide our patients with care 24/7. There is a doctor on-call daily after hours. To reach the answering service, call the main office number at 716-634-5410.
Maple Internal Medicine & Pediatrics does not accept any Workers’ Compensation cases.
There has been an increasing frequency of requests from insurance companies, lawyers, governments, and patients to complete forms on behalf of our patients. This has created an increased workload for our providers and staff. Completion of a forms by Maple Internal Medicine takes 8-10 business days and charge $15 for FMLA and Disability forms. There is no charge for NYS Daycare/School Forms.
Maple Internal Medicine & Pediatrics is committed to serving our patients with professionalism, care and concern. We expect the same commitment from our patients. This includes being on time for your appointments and calling to cancel an appointment in advance if you can’t make it. This commitment also includes financial responsibilities, like presenting your identification and insurance cards at every appointment and making your copay and deductible payments at the time of your visit with cash, check, or credit card.
Your responsibility is to provide us with accurate and complete information concerning your primary and secondary insurance medical benefits, including documents from other providers. Current identification and insurance benefit cards are to be presented at each office visit. As a courtesy, Maple Med Peds will file your insurance claim for you. If you are a Medicare patient, we will bill Medicare and your secondary insurance for you.
For services rendered outside of our office, like radiology, certain laboratory tests, surgery centers, physical therapy, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers, it is the patient’s responsibility to know which facility you are is covered by their insurance company. Please speak with your insurance member services or one of our staff before scheduling outside services.
Patients of Maple Med Peds agree to pay any balance remaining on their account after any insurance payments have been paid upon receipt of a billing statement. The patient must provide Maple Med Peds with a current address and other contact information. Our patients further understand that if they fail to pay the balance on their account this will result in Maple Med Peds pursuing collection of the debt and possible discharge from the practice.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex.