Welcome to the office of Drs. Shanahan and Ferguson, your resource for excellent comprehensive and individualized medical care. These pages should help answer any questions you may have about our office policies and procedures.
A note about our practice. Our office utilizes medical expertise with years of experience to best treat our patients. We aim to teach and empower patients to promote their own health and wellness. Along with traditional primary care, health promotion and disease prevention is a top priority within the entire practice. Our team of doctors, nurses, and supporting staff are committed in providing care in a fashion that is compassionate and respectful to all of our patients.
Our physician-owned practice is designed to provide full service medical care to infants, children, adolescents, and adults. We recommend regularly scheduled preventive healthcare visits and encourage preventive health measures. We appreciate the opportunity to provide you and your family with the best medical care in the region.
-Drs. Shanahan and Ferguson
Appointments
First things first- Now that you have registered in our practice, you will need to make an appointment for a wellness, preventative care examination. At this first visit, you will meet your physician for an examination, review your medications, past medical history, immunizations, health screenings, and you and your doctor will address any concerns that you may have. If you have a chronic illness, the doctor will lay out a plan for you.
If you have any medical records that you think would be helpful in your care, please have a copy of your records transferred to the office. Forms can be found on our website. Be sure you bring a list of all medications that you take, including over the counter medications.
What to do if you are sick- If you are ill during normal business hours, please call the office. Our schedule will always try to accommodate our patient’s with an urgent need. However, if you believe your illness/injury may be life threatening, call 911 immediately.
What to do if you are sick after hours- If you are ill after hours, and need to speak to a physician about your illness or injury, please do not hesitate to call. We always have a physician on-call, 24/7, that will be available to assist you. The on-call physician can be reached by calling the practice pager, 410-270-9900. Dial this number and when prompted, key in your return phone number. After paging the doctor, try to keep your phone free, so the doctor can reach you. He will advise you and, if the emergency room is necessary, he will coordinate your care with the emergency room. If you believe your illness or injury may be life threatening, call 911 immediately.
What kind of appointments are available for me and my family- Our medical practice offers the entire spectrum of primary care including annual adult wellness physicals, well women examinations, chronic care management for patients with multiple chronic conditions, newborn and pediatric well child visits, immunizations, DOT physicals, and FAA physicals. Please schedule routine appointments several weeks prior to your desired visit date, as we devote part of every day’s schedule to our patient’s that require immediate care.
Pharmacy
What if I need a refill on my prescription- If you are out of your medication, first please call your pharmacy and request a refill. Most pharmacies will also allow you to request refills online, on their pharmacy website. Even if you haven’t any more refills on the prescription, the pharmacy can send the request electronically right to your doctor. Please allow up to 48 hours for your prescription to arrive at the pharmacy from our office.
Insurance
We understand that it is difficult to keep up to date on medical insurance coverage and guidelines. Although it is ultimately the insurance policy holder’s responsibility to know his or her insurance benefits, our billing staff is available to try to answer any questions you may have. For billing inquiries, please call 410-778-9300, option 6, between 9:00am and 4:00pm Monday through Friday.
So that we can bill your insurance claim correctly, please present your insurance card at each office visit. Should your insurance or personal information change in any way, please let us know right away so we can keep your record current and accurate. We greatly appreciate your assistance!
Payment is expected at the time of service for copays, deductibles, and any other fee for which it is reasonable to believe that the fee will not be covered by an insurance plan with which we participate. Your insurance company requires that you present your insurance card and co-payment at the time of each visit
Insurance
We participate with the following insurances:
- Aetna
- Alliance
- BC/BS – Point of Service, PPN, PPO, Blue Choice
- Champus
- Coventry
- Cigna – PPO
- First Health
- Informed
- MAMSI Life & HealthAetna
- Medicare
- Medical Assistance –Priority Partners, Maryland Physicians Care, Riverside
- Multiplan
- Optimum Choice, MDIPA
- PHCS
- United Health Care
Even if your insurance is not listed, we will be happy to make a reasonable effort to submit the bill to your carrier for you.
Referrals
Many insurance companies require referral forms for most surgical or medical consultation, blood work, x-ray, pathology, procedure or hospital stay. Benefit information should be obtained directly from your insurance company. Please direct any questions or complaints regarding your insurance coverage to your insurance company. You are responsible for requesting referrals. We will be happy to facilitate the referral when it is requested; however your insurance company has the final say in authorization of the referral. Please call our referral secretary for assistance at 410-778-9300, option 8.
Billing
Patient Financial Policies
Full payment, including deductibles and copayments, is expected at the time of service unless you have made advance arrangements with our business office. Failure to pay a copayment at the time of service will result in a $10.00 administrative fee. Drs. Shanahan and Ferguson accepts cash, personal checks, Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Help us to submit claims to your insurance company correctly by presenting your insurance card at each visit.
If we do not participate with your insurance company, payment is due at the time of the visit. As a courtesy to our patients, however, we will make a reasonable effort to submit claims to all health insurance companies, even those with which we are not contracted.
Collections
Any charges that remain unpaid after 30 days after the date of service are considered past due. If no effort is made to pay the balance due, the bill may be subject to our collections process. In this case, the family may be discharged from the practice and asked to seek medical care elsewhere.
Billing Fees
There is a $20 charge for any check returned unpaid to us from the bank.
Form Fees
Our fee to complete a form (day care, employment, camp, MVA, miscellaneous, etc) is $15. There is no charge if the form is completed at the time of visit.
Missed Appointments/Late Cancellations
Broken appointments are costly to us, to you, and to other patients who could have used the time set aside for your care. Please call at least 24 hours in advance to make scheduling changes and to avoid a $30 missed appointment fee. Repeatedly missing or canceling appointments without adequate notice may result in discharge from the practice.
Miscellaneous Expenses
Your insurance may not cover every type of service we provide (travel vaccines, for example, are not covered; some well visits may not be covered depending on your insurance coverage and the timing of the well visit.). Such fees should be paid at the time of service. Additionally, you may be charged certain administrative fees for duplication of medical records, .69 per page plus shipping or a flat fee of $25 plus shipping after 30 pages.
How to Contact Us
If you need assistance or have any questions, our billing staff can be reached at 410-778-9300, option 6, between the hours of 9am-4pm, Monday through Friday. Please read and understand our financial policies and keep us informed of your insurance status and any changes in your address or telephone number(s). Thank you