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Our Policies

North Texas Colon and Rectal, with office locations in Dallas, Garland and Rockwall, wants our patients to be well informed. In order to comply with law regulations you will be asked to sign acknowledgment of receipt of our policies.

North Texas Colon and Rectal may use and disclose your protected health information in order to carry out treatment, payment and health care operations. NTCR is required to abide by the terms of these notices. However, we may modify the terms of this notice at any time and the new notice will be effective for all PHI in our possession at the time of the change and any received thereafter.

Before your visit, please take time to review these policies. This will also clarify questions you may have and avoid future conflicts. It will also make the process of registration faster. Select the topic below to learn about our various policies.

• Registration
• Notice of Privacy Practices
• After Hours Calls
• Refills Policy
• Medical Records Release Policy
• Email Policy

Registration

To prepare for your visit, your medical history and insurance information is needed. You can expedite this process in several ways. You can download the information sheets, print them and fill them out; have them ready for your visit. Another option is to fill them out on line. All information is confidential and any information transferred electronically has the highest level of encryption for you protection.

Telephone registration takes few minutes. During the initial telephone registration, you will speak with a Patient Representative. Important instructions will be given to you regarding your visit. If you have additional questions please call us at 214.824.1730.

By law you are required to be well informed. A well informed patient is most commonly a satisfied customer. In order to comply with law regulations you will be asked to sign acknowledgment of receipt of our policies. Before your visit, take time to review these policies. This will also clarify questions you may have and avoid future conflicts. It will also make the process of registration faster. Click here to read our complete Patient Privacy notice.

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After Hour Calls

Coverage is provided 24/7/365 by one of our surgeons.  For problems after hours, call the office number 214.824.1730 and our answering service will page or connect the physician on call.  We request that you UNBLOCK caller ID so that our physician on call can return your call.
 
For life-threatening emergencies call 911 and go directly to the nearest hospital emergency room.
 
Refill requests, appointment scheduling and other routine services and questions are handled during normal business hours.
 

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Refills Policy

For patient safety all refills must be requested during office hours 9 am to 4 pm. Your physician and their nurses know you better than any other doctor or staff. This will minimize errors in prescribing medication. Under no circumstance NARCOTIC refills will be honored after working hours and during the weekend. If the patient is in such intense pain that narcotics are required, they should go to the nearest Emergency Room for immediate attention.

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Medical Records Release Policy

Medical records will be released only with your consent to authorized entities within 48 hours of request. Per the recommendations of the Texas Medical Board, the cost for medical records release is $ 25.00 (coping fee) for the fist 20 pages of the patient's medical record and $ 0.50 per each additional page. Thus, you may be charged $ 27.50 for a 25 page chart.

Notice: Please check the Texas Medical Board web site for current updates on its rules and policies with respect to this issue

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Email Policy

General

NTCR discourages the use of email as a mode of communication. We understand our patients preference and agree to communicate this way. For health issues and any sensitive matters you should contact your physician and communicate with him personally. Any E mail consultation will generate a charge for service. NTCR will not forward emails to independent third parties without your prior consent, except as authorized or required by law, including the Health Information Portability and Accessibility Act of 1996.

• Although we will try to read and respond promptly to an email from the patient, we cannot guarantee that any particular email will be read and responded to within any particular period of time. Therefore, it is important that you not use email for medical emergencies or other time-sensitive matters.

• If your email requires or invites a response, and you have not received a response within a reasonable time period, it is your responsibility to follow up and CALL to determine whether the intended recipient received the email and when the recipient will respond.

• You should not use an email for communication regarding sensitive medical information, such as information regarding sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS/HIV, mental health, developmental disability, or substance abuse.

Inherent Risks Using Email

The following is a partial list of risks which are inherent any time you use email, but you should be especially aware of and take into consideration when determining whether to communicate with your physician using this technology.

• Employers and on-line services have a right to archive and inspect e-mails transmitted through their systems.
• Emails can be intercepted, altered, forwarded, or used without authorization or detection.
• Email can be used to introduce viruses into computer systems.
• Backup copies of e-mail may exist on your computer even after you have deleted your copy.
• Email senders can easily misaddress an email.
• Email senders can accidentally broadcast their message and be received by many intended and unintended recipients.
• Email can be circulated, forwarded, and stored in numerous paper and electronic files.

NTCR will use reasonable means to protect the security and confidentiality of email information sent and received. However, because of the risks outlined above. We cannot guarantee the security and confidentiality of email communication, and will not be liable for improper disclosure of confidential information that is not caused by our intentional misconduct. Thus, patients must consent to the use of email for patient information.

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