For Patients
Thanks for choosing Florida Joint and Spine Institute.About your visit
We can assure you that you will receive the best in orthopaedic and spine care. If you are not sure which doctor you would like to see please refer to our physician profiles or one of our friendly appointment specialists will assist you.
When calling to make your first appointment please have the following information on hand:
- All Insurance cards, primary and secondary
- Your Social Security Number and the policyholder’s number (if applicable)
- The name and number of your primary care doctor, if you have one
- The name and number of the referring doctor
For your convenience, New Patient Registration Forms are available for download so that you may print out and complete them prior to your visit.
Insurance & Billing
What Does Medical Insurance Cover?
Your medical insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance provider. Coverage for medical services and levels of payment depend on the terms of this contract. In contrast, the actual medical services and fees are an agreement between you and your pain management physician.
Therefore, you are responsible for any amounts, including deductibles and co-insurance, not covered by your insurance policy.
We encourage our patients to call their insurance provider to estimate insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs prior to their office visit.
We are pleased participate in the following plans:
Aetna
Avmed
Auto
Baycare
BCBS
Careplus
Champ VA
Cigna
Coventry
Devoted
Freedom/Optimum
Health First Health Plans
Humana
Medicare
RR Medicare
Multiplan/PHCS/Beechstreet
Polk Healthcare
Simply Healthcare
Sunshine Health Plans
Tricare For Life
Tricare Select
United Health Care
VA
Wellcare
Work Comp
Billing and Payment Information
For questions regarding billing and payment information, please contact our Billing Department at (863) 385-2222 Ext. 5219
Fees
We strive to assure you receive the best spine care available, and we also work to keep our fees as low as possible. Our fees are comparable to other orthopaedic, spine and interventional pain management groups in central Florida. Estimates can be provided for surgeries or procedures, and deposits are required. We are always willing to discuss our charges with our patients.
It is customary to pay for medical care the day it is received. If you are covered by an HMO, PPO or Medicare plan, you should expect to pay any co-pays or deductibles at the time of each visit to our office. For your convenience we accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, cash, or personal check. Note: There is a $30.00 charge for any returned check.
We will be glad to work out an individual payment plan with you if necessary, and if you request it in advance. In return, we expect you to make regular, on-time monthly payments. We can, however, charge your unpaid balance to your credit card at any time. We reserve the right to charge interest on any account that is sixty days past due.
Finance
We mail statements monthly. Payments are due in our office fifteen days after you receive your statement. If you have a hardship and need more time to pay, please contact a billing representative right away. Should you need additional time to pay for our services, you must contact us to see if you qualify for a payment arrangement to avoid late fees and other collection activity.
Record Request
We know there are many situations for which you will need a copy of your medical file. For legal purposes there is a form that MUST be completed and mailed, faxed or dropped off to one of our locations.
Please allow seven to ten business days for your records to be available.
- There will be a fee of $1 per page for the first 25 pages, $0.25 for every page after 25.
- Films (disks) are $5 each.
- Via secure mail: $6.50 (flat rate)
- Via CD (disk) / Flash Drive: $6.50 plus cost of CD/Flash Drive
- Postage: We may charge for actual postage.
You will be notified by the office when your records are available.
Medical Records & Form Completion
All requests for medical records must be made in writing and signed by the patient or legal representative.
Please allow a minimum of 10 business days for processing.
Patients are encouraged to Register for our Patient Portal where you may obtain copies of your visit summary.
With a properly signed consent, patients may request to:
- Have a copy of their medical records forwarded to their personal email address FREE of charge.
- Have a copy of their medical records mailed to their home address (pre-payment may be required).
- Have a copy of their medical records forwarded to another provider FREE of charge.
Radiology Imaging:
Copies of x-rays taken in our office will be provided on disc with a properly signed consent.
Patients will be charged a fee of $7 for the disc. There will be a charge of $15 to mail to your home address (pre-payment is required).
Please allow a minimum of 10 business days for processing.
FMLA (Family Medical Leave) & Disability Forms:
Forms will not be completed without pre-payment. Patient is responsible for all fees!
FMLA = $30
Disability forms (1 page) = $15
Disability forms (2 or more pages) = $35