Welcome to Academy Allergy Asthma and Sinus Center

We are honored you have chosen the Academy Allergy Asthma and Sinus Center and have decided to trust us with your care. Your appointment time has been reserved exclusively for you. Therefore, we respectfully request that you notify us as soon as possible (preferably before 48 hours) if you cannot keep your scheduled visit. During your initial appointment, you will visit with Dr. Ashok Patel and discuss the reason for your visit with us and your allergy/asthma/immune history. Based on the findings, it may be determined that you will need allergy skin testing. Should that be the case, we offer patient clinic visits and consultations. 

 

For more than 30 years, Dr. Ashok Patel and his staff have helped tens of thousands of patients. We have implemented procedures in hopes of providing you with the best medical care we can. 

 

Again, thank you for choosing us! We look forward to meeting you!

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Please use the checklist below to ensure that we will have all the information needed for your visit.

• 1 day before your appointment  

  • Please submit the paperwork to help@pateloffice.com for Dr. Patel and his staff to review. If you need help filling it out, please call 719-542-7222. 

  • Patient forms can be found here.

  • Submit your insurance card and the details required by the staff. 

  • Be prepared to pay the copay/amount toward your deductible. 

  • Please remember that you are ultimately responsible for the cost of your healthcare if your insurance provider will not cover it. 

• On the day of the appointment

  • Please arrive at the clinic at least 15 minutes before the appointment or be around your phone before the telemedicine visit. We will be calling on the number you provided for the telemedicine visit. 

• During the appointment

  • Explain the reason for your visit, discuss your symptoms, and allow time for Dr. Patel to provide directives regarding your treatment plan to the nurses.

  • Please let the nurses know if you have any questions. After consulting Dr. Patel, the nurses will take a note and answer them for you. 

• After the appointment

  • The nurses will call you later on the same day as the appointment day to explain the medications and treatment plan. 

  • They will also help you to schedule the follow-up visit.

  • If Dr. Patel thinks he cannot help you, he will refer you to another provider or advise you to see your PCP for further health consultations. 

 

Please note

 

Prescriptions: We send prescriptions electronically. If your pharmacy does not receive the prescriptions, please contact us.

 

Labs and X Rays: We will recommend lab centers that promptly provide us with the results. However, if you are free to go to other labs of your choice. The responsibility of bringing copies of lab results before the follow-up visit will be entirely yours. 

 

Prior authorization: We will try our best for the prior authorization of a medication or a procedure. If your insurance recommends an alternative medication, please provide the exact name of the medication. If you do not know the alternative, please bring your formulary to the office so that we can look up the alternative. We will prescribe you the most cost-effective medication. Please check out the conflict of interest section below, as Dr. Patel owns some pharmaceutical companies' stocks. He is committed to putting your health interests first and will only recommend what is best for you.

 

Paperwork for schools and employment: Dr. Patel will review and sign the standard paperwork for no charge if requested. He is at sole discretionary authority to decide whether or not he will sign the paperwork. If the paperwork needs to be customized, there will be a charge of $25 per request. 

 

Extra Children: We love them. They have boundless energy, which can interfere with proceedings at the clinic. We would appreciate it if you could arrange not to bring your toddlers with you for the appointment unless they are patient. 

 

Cancellation policy: You will be charged an extra $50 per canceled appointment if you didn’t provide at least 48 hours notice before the scheduled time. This may also lead to your discharge from the medical practice. 

 

Prescription Refills: To refill your prescriptions, please consider a telemedicine appointment. Dr. Patel will either refill or adjust the medication depending on your progress. Telemedicine will cost you $100 for existing and $250 for new patients if your insurance company does not pay for it.

 

Vaccinations: 

• We recommend a flu shot to patients older than 6 months. The flu shot can prevent flare-ups of breathing problems, ER visits, hospitalizations, and death. 

• Experts recommend pneumonia shots for asthma, COPD, and other medical problems. The schedule for pneumonia shots is complicated. Please talk to your primary care physician or your pharmacist. 

• Resources to refer to:

  • https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/vaccination.html 

  • https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html

• Other vaccines: Please talk to your primary care physician. 

 

 

Conflict of Interest:

 

Dr. Ashok owns stocks and other securities of companies making drugs and devices. As his portfolio continues to change, he cannot provide you with the list of the securities. Anytime you want to ask about a drug or a device, please ask us a question. Most of the time, your insurance company controls what medications we choose from the formulary of your health insurance plan. Please tell us immediately if you find a cheaper alternative to the drug. We go the extra mile to save our patients the drug cost.  If you do not want to follow our recommendation, we will counsel you about the problems which may develop because you didn’t use the medications, such as symptoms that may not get better, complications from lack of treatment, emergency room visits, hospitalization, and occasionally death. You are the boss, you decide which recommendations you want to follow.

 

Notice of privacy practices

 

We have a responsibility to protect the privacy of your health care information. We maintain a record of the healthcare services we provide you. As permitted by law, we will share this information to provide and coordinate your medical treatment, the bill for these services, and conduct usual healthcare operations. You have the right to review, obtain a copy, or request to amend the record if needed. Sharing your health information is typically used to improve the continuity of care you receive. We may change the Notice of Privacy Practices at any time.

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Communication  

 

I will not communicate with Dr. Patel personally, which means I will not contact him via his email or his phone number to discuss my medical care, for which I will contact his office at 719-542-7222.

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Release of Medical Records

 

I authorize Dr. Patel’s office to release my medical records electronically. I am responsible for saving the medical records at an appropriate place and release to other providers or whoever needs the medical history. Dr. Patel has provided these medical records to me at no charge, but if I or somebody needs them in the future, he will charge the copying fee. 

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Financial Policy

1. Payment for all medical care is the patient’s responsibility regardless of insurance coverage. 

2. Patient Information/Proof of Insurance: At each visit, please be prepared to present your insurance card as proof of insurance.

3. Insurance: We participate in most insurance plans and will submit claims on your behalf to the insurance company. Knowing your insurance benefits and rules is your responsibility. We highly encourage you to call to verify your own benefits along with any limitations you may have on your policy. If your plan has limitations, it is your responsibility to share these limitations with us prior to your appointment. As a courtesy, we have our insurance and billing department call your insurance and check your allergy benefits. While these are NOT a guarantee of payment, they can help give you an idea of your patient's responsibility. 

4. Two insurances: I will proactively inform Dr. Patel’s office if I have two insurances. If secondary insurance does not pay, I will pay the remaining portion. If none of the insurance pays, I will pay the whole bill.

5. Co-payments and deductibles: Co-pays and deductibles must be paid before your appointment begins. Parents or adults accompanying a minor will be responsible for the patient’s co-pay and bill at that visit. 

   1. Patients who DO NOT have insurance coverage will be expected to pay before the service. Depending on the treatment, new patient visits can range from $500 to $1700. If you cannot pay the full amount due, we do ask that you pay at least $300 on the date of service, and payment arrangements can be made for the remainder of your balance. Please fill out the Financial help form and email it to mary@pateloffice.com. Dr. Patel will review each request and decide the next course of action. 

   2. For your convenience, we accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.

6. Non-covered services: Please be aware that some of the services you receive may be determined by your insurance plan to be only partially covered or not covered. You will be responsible for the cost of services that are not paid by insurance.

7. Collection for amount dues: If you fail to pay the amounts owed in the bill, you will pay the cost of collection, including attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by Ashok P.C. in collecting the amounts owed by you. Each party waives the RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL in any litigation proceedings between the parties.

8. Returned checks: Any non-sufficient fund checks will be charged a $25 fee.

9. Claims submission: We will bill your insurance company on your behalf. You are responsible for knowing your own insurance benefits. Coverage, co-payments, co-insurance, and deductibles can change on an annual basis. If there is a change in your insurance coverage, please notify us as soon as possible. Some insurance companies have time limits on when claims need to be submitted. If we do not have the correct information, we cannot file the claim on time, and the financial burden becomes yours.

10. Account balances: All account balances are due upon receipt of your billing statement. Failure to pay the account balance may result in discharge from the practice, including family members who are also patients. In such a case, you may request that your medical records be transferred to another provider at no charge. 

11. Release of Information: I hereby authorize Dr. Patel and/or Ashok PC staff to release any information required to process all my claims for any current/future treatment unless rescinded by me in writing. 

12. Assignment of Benefits: I authorize payment of medical benefits to Ashok PC for services performed. I also understand that any and ALL services that are NOT covered by the insurance will be MY responsibility.

13. Medicaid: I authorize payment of medical benefits to Ashok PC for services performed. Should my Medicaid coverage change, I understand that it is my responsibility to get my information to Ashok PC within 30 days of the change in order for my claims to be processed and filed with Medicaid; otherwise, it will become my responsibility.

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I hereby certify the following:

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• I have read and understand the Financial Policy of Ashok PC. 

• I also understand that any and ALL services that are NOT covered by the insurance will be MY responsibility. 

• I assign payment from my insurance directly to Ashok PC. I understand that I am financially responsible to Ashok PC for the charges not paid by insurance and that those charges are due upon receipt of the invoice (billing statement). 

• I consent to the plan of care proposed by Dr. Patel. I understand that I, or my authorized representative, have the right to decide whether to accept or refuse this plan of care. 

• I will make appointments with other providers as recommended by Dr. Patel and his office otherwise, I understand I can suffer the consequences such as misdiagnosis, complications, and even death. If II do not keep my follow-up appointment Dr. Patel may discharge from his practice because not keeping the follow-up appointment doesn't help Dr. Patel provide the best medical care.

• If I miss two (2) follow-up appointments, we may not see you as a patient in our practice. Without adequate follow-up, we cannot deliver good health care to you.

• I will ask for any information I want to have about my medical care and will make my wishes known. 

• If I provide wrong personal pieces of information such as the wrong DOB, insurance cards, and numbers, then I will be responsible for the bill.

• I release Ashok PC, Dr. Patel, its staff, and the treating provider(s) from any liability or medical claims because I refused the recommended test, procedure, or treatment. 

• I understand that Ashok PC participates in the training of the staff, other healthcare industry representatives, students, and trainees and consent to their involvement. 

• I understand that the practice of medicine is not an exact science and acknowledge that no guarantees have been made to me regarding the likelihood of success or outcomes of any examination, treatment, diagnosis or test performed at or by Dr. Patel. 

• To help the environment and to make operations easier for all parties, I authorize Ashok PC, Dr. Patel, and his affiliates to communicate with me via text messages, emails, and other digital methods, i.e., the phone number and email address provided by me.