Whether a new patient, or a long time patient of GPOA, it is necessary for us to obtain some information from you prior to scheduling your appointment. The following checklist will help you organize this information to expedite scheduling an appointment.
- Why do you need to see one of the GPOA doctors? Injury? Follow-up after surgery? Pain? No detail is necessary; just the basics. For example, “I’ve had knee pain for 3 weeks” or “I may have broken my arm” are sufficient.
- What is the name of your insurance company? Is it a Worker’s Compensation claim? An automobile liability claim? A property or product liability claim?
- If you’re using health insurance, what are the ID number, Group Number, and insurance holder name? The insurance holder may be yourself, your spouse or partner, or your parent or guardian.
- What are the claim number, and the contact name, address, and phone number for the claim if it is Worker’s Compensation or automobile, property, or product liability claim. Please note, an appointment cannot be scheduled without this information.
- What, if any, is the specialist copay listed on the insurance card?
- A referral form from your Primary Care Physician (PCP) is required for Gateway Health Plan and some Aetna US Healthcare insurance plans. You will also need to provide your PCP’s name and office phone number.
- If your UPMC plan requires a referral, this must be completed by your PCP through the UPMC portal.
Additional Suggestions
- If you have been a previous patient of GPOA, please indicate if your appointment is for a different problem than your last visit, or if it’s been more than six months since your last visit.
- Please tell us if you have more than one problem, for example neck pain and ankle pain, that you’d like evaluated so enough time, and the correct physician, can be scheduled.
- Please provide a correct, working phone number for us to reach you in case rescheduling is necessary.
- Keep in mind that much of Orthopaedic Surgery is emergency care at hospitals that can’t be scheduled and may affect your appointment. We hope you will be understanding of any schedule changes or delays.
- If you are a new patient, a previous patient with a new orthopaedic problem, or it has been a year since your last appointment, you will receive paperwork in the mail that must be completed prior to your appointment. Additional paperwork may be necessary at the time of your appointment, so please try to be early to the appointment so that other patients are not delayed. Directions to the office will be enclosed as well. You may also get directions from each of the office web pages on this site.
- You may also download the paperwork and complete it by printing it out and filling it out by hand. You will need Adobe Reader to open the document and print it.