Office Policies
Billing & Insurance
Insurance coverage for obstetrics and gynecology can be complicated. At our office, we are familiar with several common local insurances, but since plans can vary, it is often a good idea to call your plan directly to find out what your coverage is. This is especially important for obstetrics patients as birth coverage varies wildly.
If you have a co-payment or co-insurance fee to pay, you must pay that at the time of your appointment.
If you have questions about your overall coverage for OB/GYN care, please call your insurance company directly.
Prior Authorization
For some surgeries and procedures, prior authorization is required. Do not try to get this yourself. For insurance to cover the service, the prior authorization must be obtained by our team. We have a administrative team that specifically works to obtain prior authorization for procedures like hysterectomy, sterilization, and more. We will let you know if we have any questions for you, or need any additional information.
Sometimes insurance initially denies prior authorization requests; don’t assume that this means you can never have your procedure covered. We generally have the right to appeal a company’s decision and try to get the service covered.
If you have questions about whether or not your insurance is accepted, or how to make sure your insurance is billed, contact Capital Women’s Care.
Frequently Asked Questions
We do not have a set cross coverage with other practices. We strongly believe that our patients receive the best treatment from doctors who know them well, not just medically but personally. Labor and delivery is a vulnerable time, and we believe patients deserve to be familiar and comfortable with their doctor whenever possible.
While some tests get results from our on-site lab, most do need to be sent to other facilities. Lab tests will send us results within 1-3 days, while PAP smears and other biopsies may take 1-2 weeks to get results. Once your results are received, your doctor must review them, and then one of our advice nurses will contact you to discuss results. Sometimes you will be asked to make an appointment to discuss results with your physician.
If it is during normal office hours, call the office and you will be directed to the triage line. One of our triage nurses will then contact you to determine the next step. If you are having an urgent situation (bright red bleeding during pregnancy, for example) and the office is closed, call the on-call physician at 1-888-801-3988. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
First, perform a home pregnancy test. If it is positive, start taking a prenatal vitamin and then call the office to schedule a confirmation visit. You will be asked when was your last menstrual period when you call.
We perform all of our deliveries and major surgeries at Holy Cross Hospital. If you are having an emergency and go to a hospital other than Holy Cross we will not be able to oversee your care. Minor surgeries are performed at an outpatient surgical facility known as The Maryland Surgical Center for Women.
The signs and symptoms of labor can be confusing at times, especially for first-time parents. Some women may feel a periodic tightening of their abdomen or even menstrual type cramps that get progressively stronger. It is common to have these symptoms irregularly throughout the pregnancy. If you think you are having these symptoms and they are occurring every 4-5 minutes for 1-2 hours and you are becoming progressively more uncomfortable, then please call the advice nurse or the on-call doctor. You can often be first evaluated in the office rather than proceeding directly to the hospital.
Your discharge may appear different when you are pregnant. As you get closer to your due date it also may change in quantity. If you notice a large “gush” of water, are having continuous leakage, or if you are unsure if what you are experiencing is typical, then you should call the advice nurse or on-call doctor.
Call the office during normal business hours and leave a message with the prescription refill request line. Please indicate the medication or medications as well as the dosage. Also please leave a message stating when you had your last well woman exam or visit. Depending on the length of time since your last visit, you may need to make an appointment for an exam to refill a prescription. Please do not call the on-call doctor or emergency line with routine prescription refill requests.