Preparing for Your Appointment

We will schedule your appointment for the first available opening that suits your schedule. Many patients are seen within a few days.

The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Eastern time. To make an appointment, call (502) 629-2225 (BACK)

Your time is valuable, and we make every effort to remain on schedule. Occasionally, our physicians may be delayed due to medical emergencies. We ask for your understanding and will keep you informed when these unavoidable delays occur.

Arriving on time for your appointment will help avoid delays. If you know you will be late, please call the office. If you are unable to keep your appointment, notify our staff at least 24 hours in advance.

A parent or legal guardian must accompany patients under age 18.

You will be asked to provide the following information when you make your appointment:

• A brief description of your condition
• How and when the condition occurred
• What type of insurance you have
• What type of insurance is covering this visit

If this visit is related to a motor vehicle accident or an injury covered by workers’ compensation, we will need to verify your insurance information before you are seen. Please call our office with this information at least two days before your appointment so we can pursue preapproval. Doing so will help avoid a delay or the need to reschedule. If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident and a referral is required, please get one as soon as possible.

If You Were Injured in a Motor Vehicle Collision, Please Provide the Following:

• Date of injury
• Insured person’s name, address and phone number
• Automobile insurance company name, address and phone number for medical bills
• Claim number
• Insurance adjuster’s name
• Your personal health information

If Your Injury Is Covered by Workers’ Compensation, Please Provide the Following:

• Date of injury
• Employer’s name, address and phone number
• Workers’ compensation insurance company name, address and phone number
• Claim number
• Insurance adjuster’s name
• Your personal health information

What to Bring to Your First Visit

To help make your first visit with us thorough and productive, bring the following items with you:

• Current driver’s license or picture identification card
• All insurance cards, including those for your major health plan and any supplemental plans.
• Insurance copayment
• Any pertinent billing information, other than health insurance information (such as workers’ compensation or automobile accident information)
• A referral from your primary care provider if your insurance plan requires one. It is your responsibility to make sure you have the referral prior to your appointment. If you do not have your referral, we may need to reschedule your appointment.
• Films and reports from X-rays, MRIs, bone scans, myelograms and tomograms. These are essential for properly diagnosing and treating spine conditions. If you have had any of these studies, it is important that our physicians have them on the day of your appointment.
• List of medications you are currently taking (including prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and herbal supplements)
• List of any medication allergies

Contacting Us and Prescription Refills

Sometimes you may need to call our office to clarify or obtain further medical information. If your call is urgent, tell the telephone operator at once, and they will make sure that your situation is addressed immediately.

If your call is not urgent and a clinical assistant is available, we will address your call immediately. However, if a clinical assistant is with another patient, your call will be sent to an automated message system. Leave your name, the patient’s name (if different), the name of the physician treating the patient, a telephone number where you can be reached and a brief message. One of our clinical assistants will return your call as soon as possible.

You also can contact your health care provider via a secure message in your free MyNortonChart account.

Medications often can be refilled over the phone or through MyNortonChart. When your medication is running low, the quickest way to obtain a refill is to have your pharmacy contact our office for authorization. Allow 24 hours for your request to be processed. Also, for your

safety, we do not accept refill requests during evenings and weekends.

The prescription agreement is a contract between you and your physician. This contract is an agreement to prevent any misunderstandings about prescription medicines you might take for pain control while being treated by this medical practice.

Please understand that if you break this contract, your physician will stop prescribing pain control medications for you. In addition, your physician reserves the right to refuse to prescribe pain control medications to you in the future and to discontinue seeing you as a patient if you break the contract.

If you need to reach a physician when our office is closed, our 24-hour answering service will forward your message to the physician on call.

If you have an emergency, call 911 or go directly to a hospital emergency department. Tell emergency staff the name of the physician who is treating you for your condition.

Insurance and Billing

We are glad to file your insurance claims for you. Our billing office staff is available Monday through Friday to help answer billing questions. The billing office can be reached at (502) 479-6300 or (800) 874-3979.

All copayments should be made at the time of service. For your convenience, we accept cash, personal checks, MasterCard and Visa. If your visit is not covered under an insurance plan, call our office prior to your visit to discuss payment options.

All patients with outstanding balances will receive a monthly statement that can be paid through MyNortonChart.

Patient Responsibilities

• Insurance coverage is an arrangement between you and your insurance company. Your insurance company may not provide full payment of your medical costs.
• We participate in a variety of insurance plans, which can change frequently. Check with your insurance carrier to be sure we participate in your plan. You will be responsible for your bill if we do not participate with your insurance plan.
• If your insurance plan allows you to see only physicians who are members of its network, verify that we participate with your insurance plan before your scheduled appointment.
• If your insurance plan requires you to obtain a referral from your primary care physician, it is your responsibility to obtain the referral before your appointment.
• If your insurance plan requires a copayment, the payment is due at the time of service.
• If you are scheduled for diagnostic testing or surgery, check with your insurance company to determine if it requires you to obtain preauthorization or a second opinion.
• Payment of your account is your responsibility.

About Norton Leatherman Spine

Norton Leatherman Spine is a combined team of orthopedic spine surgeons, neurosurgeons and pain management specialists who provide care for adults and children from Louisville and Southern Indiana, as well as from across the region, nation and world.

• A multidisciplinary team of 45 specialists offers a comprehensive array of treatment options that include medication, pain management, rehabilitation and surgery, including minimally invasive procedures and neurosurgical therapies.
• Norton Leatherman Spine physicians are widely renowned and exceptionally experienced, performing more than 4,000 surgeries a year.
• Our specialists are internationally recognized leaders in clinical research of spinal disease, injury and deformity, and have served in senior positions in the Scoliosis Research Society, the most prestigious organization for scoliosis surgeons around the world.
• Norton Healthcare is the first health system in the nation to be recognized as an Advanced Orthopedic & Spine Center of Excellence by DNV.
• We use the EOS Imaging system, which collects high-resolution images while exposing the patient to 50% to 85% less radiation than traditional X-rays and 95% less than basic CT scans. The system is especially beneficial to scoliosis patients who often need repeated imaging to monitor their progress.
• We accept Medicare, Medicaid and most major commercial insurance plans.
• Use Norton MyChart to communicate with your provider, manage appointments, refill prescriptions, get alerted if an earlier appointment becomes available and more, anytime from a mobile device or computer