Our objective is to practice quality primary care, and speciality medicine, in a group setting. Personal concern for the patient and his or her family is one of our major commitments. We are continually looking for the latest scientific developments which will enhance our efforts on your behalf.

Collectively, we have been in practice in the South Bay area for over 35 years. We are pleased that our practice is growing because this represents an acceptance of our goals, policies, procedures, and performances.

The practice of medicine combines art and science to help you maintain good health or achieve well being. The relationship we develop is a key factor in your health. This relationship can have beauty when your individual symptoms are united with the universal laws of medical science to arrive at a diagnostic and therapeutic plan for you.

Obligations arise from the nature of this relationship.

You have the right to expect from us:

• reasonable technical competence
• a respect for your morals
• an attempt to remedy the knowledge gap about what we know about your illness and what you know about it, and
• a respect for your vulnerability and pain

In return, we have the right to expect from you:

• caution in asking of medicine more than it can provide
• a respect for our morals
• an understanding that we are human and can err, and
• that you assume some responsibility for your health

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As primary care physicians, we hope to fulfill a role as your family physician. In this capacity, we do complete physical examinations, evaluate, treat, or refer patients, all medical problems large or small. No problems is to minor to discuss with us. We are here for all your medical needs and concerns. To ensure this, please be able to furnish us with accurate and complete information such as correct spelling of your name, social security, telephone numbers, address, place of employment, insurance name and insurance numbers, and past medical history. New patients will be asked to complete and extensive questionnaire.

We perform a variety of tests in our role as your family physician. i.e., routine electrocardiograms, cholesterol testing, diabetes and high blood pressure monitoring, minor surgical procedures, pulmonary and audio testing. Our office is equipped with modern x-ray equipment.

Due to changing health care regulations, we have been forced to implement practice polices that may change the way you have handled payment to medical practices in the past.

IT IS NOW CUSTOMARY THAT YOU PAY FOR MEDICAL SERVICES AT THE TIME THEY ARE RENDERED unless arrangements have been made with our business office in advance of your visit(s).

Western Medical Group is a provider for several HMO’s and PPO’s. We request the patient to pay the $3.00, $5.00, $10.00, or $15.00 copayment required by their insurance policies at the time of service.

as a courtesy to you, we will file for benefits on your behalf with your insurance carrier. If you wish us to file for you, it will be necessary for you to supply us with complete and accurate information.

All charges for the medical treatment are the full responsibility of the patient and are due in full 45 days from the date of service. This will allow ample time for reimbursement from your insurance carrier.

For your convenience, we are pleased to accept Visa, Discover, and MasterCard.

Managed care is the term used when one physician is in charge of all your medical needs, and it is his or her responsibility to see that all phases of your health care are addressed. This means that he or she is considered your primary care physician or PCP. If , for any reason, a specialist is needed to interact in your case, your physician will choose a specialist that will best benefit your health care.

If you need to see a specialist , you will have to make sure that you have received a proper referral from our referral department. If this is not done, your insurance company will not pay for that service, and you will be responsible for the charge. Insurance companies do not make exceptions and will not issue referrals after the date of service.

If you have any questions regarding your insurance policy, we suggest the following:

• Contact your insurance company; the phone number is usually listed on the back fo your insurance card.

• Contact your employer’s benefits department if your plan was purchased through your employer.

• Consult the policy pamphlet that you should have received when you signed up for the health insurance.

Our office is open from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday, and 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays. These extended hours are provided for your convenience. Please call to schedule an appointment, same day appointments are accepted. If an appointment can NOT be kept, please notify our office as soon as possible.

Emergency Care and Coverage

During Office Hours:

After Office Hours:

We request that routine calls for such things as prescription refills, questions about chronic stable conditions, etc., be made during office hours. Please understand that maintaining "on call" coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year can be difficult, and we would greatly appreciate your limiting night and weekend calls to matters too urgent to wait for regular office hours. As an example, refills for controlled substances should be prescribed during office hours only. No narcotics or tranquilizers will be prescribed over the telephone unless the covering physician knows your personal history.

Prescriptions and Refills

Medications will not be prescribed over the telephone. You will be asked to make an appointment to diagnose your illness, and a medication can then be prescribed.

Refills of any continuing medication s should be taken care of when you are in the office to see your regular doctor. Refills are not usually considered an emergency and medications will not be refilled after hours or on weekends. Refills for controlled substances should be prescribed during office hours only. No narcotics or tranquilizers will be prescribed over the telephone unless the covering physician knows your personal history. You can call our Pharmacy refill line at 310/782-3303 and leave a message for any refill needed. The message should contain the following information:

!patient’s full name

!telephone number with area code

!Pharmacy name and telephone number with area code

!name of medication or the spelling of it if you can not pronounce it

!strength of the medication i.e. 750 mg, 1½ gr., .5mg

!quantity requested

Information continued in your medical records is confidential and cannot be released to a third party without your written consent. In some cases, a charge will be assessed in order to provide copies to others. Copy of your medical records will cost $ 25.00 per copy.

When medical attention is required relating to a motor vehicle accident, the guarantor of the patient’s account is responsible. We will file insurance as a courtesy. Please advise us if an attorney is involved. We do not bill attorney’s or accept liens.

We take pride in the quality of our thorough examinations. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you as an individual. It also is the best current means of determining and maintaining the quality fo your health. The examination usually consists of a history and physical examination and various laboratory tests.

Physicals: The frequency of complete examinations is a matter of flexibility. We recommend one examination each year to those patients who may have a particular problem. Some patients feel a yearly examination which finds them in good health reassuring. Recommendations for the minimum number of examinations are: when becoming a new patient, at age 18, at age 25, three times between ages 30 and 39, every other year between 40 and 60, and every year after age 60.

Mammograms: Recommendations for screening mammograms vary. A baseline mammogram is recommended between ages 35 and 40. Between ages 40 and 50, a mammogram every couple years is recommended, and after 50, one every year is recommended.

Pap smear:

Breast Exam: Begin yearly at age 40, unless advised by MD to have more frequent exams.

Cholesterol:

Prostate:

Colorectal Cancer Screening:

Yearly fecal occult blood test plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years

Colonoscopy every 10 years

Double contrast barium enema every 5-10 years.

The American Gastroenterological Association recommends either of the first two strategies

Flexible Sigmoidoscopy: Every 3 to 5 years, beginning at age 50.

It is our policy to call or write you a letter if a laboratory test is abnormal, needs repeating, or if we want to discuss the findings with you. We do not usually call to inform you of normal results, but if you want to know any results, please call anytime.