Information
Before Your Appointment
Insurance Information: Please provide us with up-to-date insurance information prior to your visit. See our Insurance Page for a list of accepted insurances.
Referrals: Please make sure that our office has a valid referral from your insurance and primary care provider prior to your visit, if applicable.
Medical Records: Please bring pertinent medical records with you to your visit.
New Patient Paperwork: You may download and complete new patient forms and bring to your appointment. If you are unable to print and complete in advance, please arrive 20 minutes early to your appointment.
Make sure to register for our online Patient Portal. Some of the medical forms may be completed on our Patient Portal.
The Day of Your Appointment
What To Bring
- Referral from your primary care physician
- Insurance card
- Photo ID
- List of current medications
- Pertinent Medical Records, including recent lab work, MRIs, CTs, EEGs, EMGs, Sleep Studies
- Patient share of the cost for the visit
- Pap machine, if applicable
If you are scheduled for an EMG, please review our EMG instructions prior to your visit.
After Your Appointment
Prescriptions: If the physician prescribed medication, in most cases, it will be sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice. Please allow approximately 1 hour for processing of electronically submitted prescriptions.
Referrals: If the physician issued a referral, our office will fax the referral and appropriate records once the visit note is complete.
Test Orders: If the physician ordered testing, our office will fax the orders to the facility of your choice. Please contact the facility to schedule.
Test Results: Please allow two weeks for test results. If you have not received within two weeks from your testing date, please contact our office. Normal test results are published to your Patient Portal.
Insurance
Participating Insurances
- Aetna (most)
- Assurant
- Beechstreet
- Boon Chapman
- BCBS (most)
- Cigna / Great West (most)
- Coventry
- Humana (most)
- Medicare Part B
- AARP Medicare Complete, Aetna Medicare, BCBS Medicare, Humana Medicare, UHC Medicare
- Multiplan / PHCS
- Tricare
- United Healthcare UHC / UMR (most)
Not Participating
- Aetna Medicare Prime HMO or Aetna Memorial Hermann Network Plans
- Aetna Memorial Herman Network
- Amerigroup
- Cigna Healthspring (Texas Healthspring)
- Humana One
- Memorial Hermann Network Plans
- Most Medicaid Plans
- Texan Plus
- US Family Health Plan
- Wellcare
Practice Policies
We encourage all established patients to utilize the secure Patient Portal to communicate with our office in regards to appointments, billing questions and medical questions.
Appointments
Please call our office at 281-357-5678 during normal business hours to make an appointment.
All patients must complete the patient information forms prior to seeing the physician.
We require copies of your insurance card, photo ID, and a list of current medications. We require a 24-hour notice in the event that you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment. If you do not provide notice, a No-Show fee will be charged. You will be required to pay this fee prior to scheduling another appointment. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, you may be asked to reschedule.
If you have a medical emergency after hours, please dial 911 or visit the nearest emergency room.
Financial Policy
Payment in full is due at the time of service, including past due balances, from the person requesting services.
Our office verifies insurance coverage as a courtesy and will file the claim on behalf of the patient. However, the patient is ultimately responsible for paying any and all medical expenses incurred.
Patient Share estimates (copays, deductibles) are due in full at the time of service. The estimate provided is not a guarantee. The final patient share is determined once the insurance processes the claim.
The billing department is happy to assist with insurance questions. However, your insurance is a contract between you and your insurance provider. Please contact your insurance provider directly for specific coverage issues or claims processing questions.
We do not accept worker’s comp, automobile insurance, or LOPs from attorneys.
We accept cash, check, Visa and Mastercard. A $30 fee will be assessed for returned checks.
Patient Responsibility:
- Provide office with up-to-date insurance information at each visit.
- Provide office with referral from primary care physician prior to each visit, if required.
- Supply information to the insurance company as requested in a timely manner (i.e. coordination of benefits, pre-existing information).
Balances and Statements:
After receiving an Explanation of Benefits from your insurance in response to your claim, you will receive a statement the following month if any patient share remains.
Payment is expected upon receipt of the statement.
If you disagree with the processing of your claim, please contact your insurance company directly and then our billing department.
Accounts with balances > 90 days with no activity will be turned over to a collection agency and dismissed from the practice.
Outgoing Referrals and Test Orders
NWHN may refer patients to outside facilities for further evaluation or testing. Due to the complex nature of medical insurance contracts, we cannot know for sure if that facility is contracted with your particular insurance plan. It is the patient’s responsibility to contact the facility and/or insurance company to determine network status. If the facility is out-of-network, the patient may choose to go elsewhere. Contact your insurance company for a list of in-network facilities.
Some tests ordered by our physicians may require authorization from your insurance company. If this is the case, please contact us to let us know the date of the test and the facility and allow us 10 business days to obtain the authorization.
Prescriptions
We do not dispense written prescriptions in most cases. We will call-in directly or transmit electronically to the pharmacy of your choice. We can also review the patient’s outside medication history electronically.
Refills: Contact your pharmacy directly to request a medication refill. Please plan ahead and contact them days in advance. This method will result in the most timely and efficient processing. If the request is urgent, call the office or utilize the patient portal. Messages sent after 3 PM will not be returned until the next day. Requests for prescription refills are processed during office hours only. We do not refill medications prescribed by other physicians.
Controlled Substances: Controlled substances may require a special prescription form to be picked up from our office and signatures required. These prescriptions may require monthly visits. Contact our office 5 days in advance.
Forms or Letters
We reserve the right to decline completion of certain types of forms. We do not complete disability forms. If the physician agrees to complete a form, the form needs to be completed during an appointment. A fee will be charged for forms and/or medical letters.
Medical Records
For the release of medical records, please complete a Medical Release Form and provide it to our office. A fee may be assessed for the records transfer. If NWHN refers you to another physician, we can send that physician a copy of your last visit and pertinent records free of charge. Please allow 10 business days for transfer of all records.
Privacy Practices
Northwest Houston Neurology is committed to preserving the privacy of your health information. Review a Summary of Privacy Practices to understand the ways we may disclose your medical information and also to understand your rights concerning this information.
Patient Portal
Our office is pleased to provide established patients with online, secure access to your health information through our Patient Portal.
Our Patient Portal offers:
- Details about upcoming appointments
- Request appointments
- Exchange secure messages with the staff
- Update contact information and insurance information