About Surgery
Preparing you for surgery & recovery
Your first surgery visit
Your first visit to discuss your surgery at The Surgical Clinic will be a time to complete basic information about you and your insurance coverage. You should plan to arrive 30 minutes before your appointment time in order to have ample time to check in.
You will need to bring your insurance card and a photo identification. We will record things like your address, phone number, social security number, date of birth and your employment. We will also ask for the name and number of the person you want to include as your emergency contact. While it will not take so much time for your next visit, you will be asked to verify everything each time you come.
If you have questions regarding your account please call our billing office at 615-292-5722. Many times a simple telephone call can clear up any misunderstandings.
Medical records release
You must authorize the release of your medical records and allow us to request those records from other physicians and facilities. These will be provided for you before your first visit.
The Surgical Clinic will not share your medical records without your permission. Sometimes your other physicians or your insurance provider will ask for copies to be shared with them. You can bring the form by the office, mail it or fax it to the location where your surgery took place. This form can be completed online and downloaded, saved and/or printed.
HIPAA Privacy
HIPAA laws require that we inform you about our adherence to federal patient privacy regulations. Please read this Privacy Notice and then print and sign this HIPAA Acknowledgement to bring with you.
Payment Policy
You are ultimately responsible for payment for all of the care that you receive, so you will want to check with your insurance company prior to your appointment to make sure that you understand what they cover and what they don’t. The Surgical Clinic will be filing claims for you with your insurance company. However, a call to your insurance company will help you anticipate your out-of-pocket co-pays and deductibles. The Surgical Clinic will collect payment when you come for your appointment. You can pay in cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Remember that if your insurance includes a co-payment, you will be required to pay this amount each time you visit.
Billing & Insurance Information – click here.
RX Forms
Please bring a list of your medications.
Your privacy is our policy
The Surgical Clinic is in full compliance with the healthcare guidelines that protect your privacy as our patient. We also urge you to protect your own privacy by being thoughtful about what you chose to share with others – and especially what you decide to post on social media sites. Take a moment to review our patient privacy policy below.
Preparing for surgery
Your surgeon will give you a specific list of things to do to prepare for surgery.
These may include:
Do not eat after a certain hours prior to your surgery.
Questions?
Items you will need
The Surgical Clinic will need certain items when you arrive on your day of surgery:
- Your insurance card.
- A Photo Identification.
- The bottles of any medications you are taking, including over the counter things.
- X-Rays or other radiology reports that your Surgeon does not already have.
- A credit card to pay for any co-pays or deductibles.
Things not to bring
Purses / wallets
Work from your office – let this time be about you. The office can wait.
After your surgery
A certain amount of discomfort will follow any surgery. There is a difference between discomfort and emergency symptoms. Should you experience any difficulty breathing or swallowing, chest pain or other emergency symptoms, call 911.
If you do need to return to the hospital after surgery in an emergency condition, the hospital will alert your Surgeon once you are at the hospital. These complications are rare, but sometimes they happen. Your Surgeon has staff during the day that can provide reassurance and help you understand whether your symptoms are normal. Depending on where you receive treatment, you may get to meet one of our excellent physician’s assistants, they will be happy to help you in any way that they can.
After hours you can reach The Surgical Clinic by calling your Surgeon’s main office number. The Surgeon on-call will return your call.
We will be checking up on you! Expect a phone call after you have been home for a day or so to make sure that you are recovering normally. That is a good time to ask any questions about things that concern you. The best recoveries will take place when you are partnering with your Surgeon to make sure that you are doing everything that you can to get better.
Here are tips for a speedy recovery:
Follow directions about taking care of the wound area.
Going back to school or work
You and your surgeon, along with the entire care team, wants to get you back to work as quickly as possible. Your surgeon will be able to give you some ideas about what an average recovery would be, but everyone is different and your recovery could take less time or maybe longer. However, as a general rule, recovery from open surgery takes longer. While recovery from laparoscopic or robotic surgery generally takes less time.
No matter your treatment plan, you and your surgeon should discuss your work requirements so that you will better understand any limitations you may have in returning to school or work. It is always recommended that you talk with your employer before your surgery so that they can plan for your absence and you can pick up any “back to school” or “back to work” forms that they may want from your surgeon before you are allowed to return. Make sure that you fill out all of YOUR part of the form(s) before you give them to your physician or physician’s assistant.