NEW PATIENT INFORMATION

Thank you for choosing one of our physicians to assist with your vascular care. Below you will find the mechanisms to get a patient referred for further vascular evaluation:

We accept new patient referrals from physicians and patients. Please look to the corresponding section for the proper method of referral.

For physicians offices:

New patient referrals can be directed to one of our physicians in the group (Drs. Jordan, Patterson, and Combs, (Vascular Medicine), Dr Steve Taylor, Dr Marc Passman, or they can be set to the first available appointment. You can call 205-934-2003 and direct the new patient referral to one of the office staff who will coordinate our new patient intake. The reason for the referral and any available medical history can be given to one of the office staff over the phone or it can be faxed to 205-934-0053.

Specifically, if any diagnostic tests are undertaken such as ultrasound, CT angiography, or contrast angiography have been undertaken, then these studies can be forwarded to our office to help facilitate the care for the patient during their visit. While reports of these tests are helpful (and can be faxed to the above number) the actual X-ray images or CD are used to assist physicians in their diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. If these tests are forwarded prior to the patients visit along with the reason for the consultation then we can streamline the patient's visit to avoid multiple trips to our office or hospital.

Of course we recognize the difficulty in gathering some of this information that may have been scheduled at several locations. If these studies are not available then we are happy to see the patient without the above-mentioned information and we will coordinate their care after arrival to our institution. These previous tests along with expectation of the patient and the referring doctor can help us tailor our care to most appropriately fit the needs of your patients. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

For the patient:

Your primary doctor should usually be consulted prior to referral to a vascular specialist. However we recognize that the referral can be difficult for the patient and will accept new patient referrals from patients too. You can call 205-934-2003 and ask to speak to one of the office staff and request the next available appointment with one of our vascular specialists (Drs. Jordan, Patterson, Combs (vascular medicine), Dr Steve Taylor or Dr Marc Passman). Any previous vascular tests should be brought with you at the time of the initial visit so that they can be reviewed and discussed with you to direct your care appropriately. If tests have been done previously but are not available for our review then we will consider the various options including obtaining those tests from that additional institution or repeating the tests. However when the tests are repeated this creates additional costs that sometimes has to be billed to the patient. For that reason it is most important to gather as much medical information as possible and forward it to the physician at the time of the visit. Your primary doctor can assist most efficiently and appropriately in this fashion.

Insurance coverage:

We currently accept most insurance carriers to meet your health care needs. Recently, however, some insurance companies have removed us from their provider list. Specifically Medicare Complete, The Oath and Southern Health Systems no longer consider our institution a primary provider. We would be happy to offer care for you but this may be billed separately, outside of your current insurance coverage. Otherwise, we encourage you to contact your insurance carrier to reconsider this office as a service care provider for vascular diseases. If insurance does not cover your appropriate care then you call the Business Office (205-801-8615) to get set up an appropriate payment plan for your vascular care. If your insurance carrier requires a referral prior to obtaining vascular care then we consider the patient's responsibility to obtain the referral from the insurance carrier prior to the visit.

Location:

We provide vascular care in the outpatient setting at The Kirklin Clinic located on 6th Avenue South in Birmingham, on the 5th floor. This is easily accessible from I-65, I-20, and I-59 along with US Highway 280. Inpatient care is coordinated through the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital. Directions to The Kirklin Clinic and UAB Hospital can be obtained by clicking the link below. The Inpatient unit is M7 in the West Pavilion.