A gastroenterologist is an Internal Medicine physician who has had additional years of special education and experience in the care of patients with gastrointestinal disease.  We provide consultative services to assist other physicians caring for patients with gastrointestinal illnesses and limit our practice to the care of patients whose major problems involve the digestive tract.  You may be coming to see us because your family physician has requested our assistance in making or confirming a diagnosis of a gastrointestinal problem or perhaps to recommend adjustments in your medicines or other types of therapy for your illness.  Unless you specifically request otherwise, we prefer to work with your family or  general physician.  In most cases, your regular physician can advise you as to whether or not our services would be of benefit to you.

We participate in Medicare, Anthem Blue Shield, MaineCare, MedNet, Maine Network for Health, and Tricare along with various managed care companies.  We will accept what these insurance companies allow, however, there is usually a co-insurance or a deductible for you to pay.

Please make sure that you have met your insurance authorization/precertification requirements before coming to the office.

If you have an insurance not mentioned above, please remember that you, the patient, are responsible for your bill (not your insurance company) and are directly responsible for payment to your physician.  Whether or not your insurance company pays all, only a portion, or nothing on the bill is a matter between you and your company.  Please contact them directly if you have a question about their payment to us.

We will submit your bill to your insurance company for you.  Please be prepared to inform us of the name and address of your insurance company and any policy, ID, or group numbers we will need.

Copies of your records will not be sent to your insurance company (or anyone else for that matter) without your specific written authorization.  Be certain you understand what you are doing when you sign a blanket authorization at the request of your insurance company.

You have the right to review our records of your case (or request copies of them for yourself by paying for the reproduction costs).  When you go on vacation or move from the area, it may be well worth having a copy of your medical records to carry with you.

Telephone

Our telephones are answered by our office staff from 8 am to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.  If you call to speak to the physician, our secretaries will ask you the exact nature of your problem.  Except for an emergency, we will usually not be interrupted if a patient is in our office but will return your call later.

On weekends and after 5 p.m. the telephone answering is handled by our answering service, which then directs the call to the physician on duty.  Please limit your calls after office hours and weekends to true emergencies.

We have taken the extra years of study to become recognized by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American College of Gastroenterology as qualified to provide you with the highest standards of care in the practice of gastroenterology.  Our diagnosis and treatment plans of your illness will be explained to you.  It is important for you to know our opinions.  Proper management of gastrointestinal disease requires the patient’s understanding and cooperation.  You are urged to ask any questions you may have.  We never hesitate to request another opinion if you have any doubts; and if doubts exist, we want you to share them with us.

Your Opinions Count!

Our practice exists only because of your need for our expertise.  Since we are here to serve you, we want you to report to us any complaint you may have about our services, charges, or any inattention from any office or  telephone personnel.  Conversely, if you feel that we, or a member of our staff, has been extremely pleasant and helpful, that’s always nice to know too. Please help us to help you.