Preparing for Your Appointment
Our goal at Mount Sinai is to help you make the most of your health care visits. To make it easier, we outline what you need to do before, during, and after your visit. We provide directions and all medical forms you will need to fill out.
Before Your Visit
Please plan to arrive at our practice 15 minutes before your appointment time to complete the registration process.
If your insurance requires a referral, please be sure to bring it as well as your insurance card(s).
To ensure that your doctor has the information needed to provide the highest quality care, please arrange to have any medical records or test results from other doctors sent to us at least one week before your appointment. Our fax number is 212-423-0508.
Please remember to bring your glucose monitor to every appointment so we can download your numbers and analyze them during your appointment. Make sure the date and time are correct.
It helps to dress appropriately. Diabetes can affect the nerves and leave you vulnerable to foot ulcers, so your doctor will probably ask to examine your feet. Plan accordingly and wear shoes that you can take off easily. Please avoid wearing pantyhose.
During Your Visit
When you arrive, please sign-in at the front desk. Our staff will verify your personal information, provide any forms necessary for your visit, and tell the medical assistant that you have arrived. We will also give you a Visit Guide, which has a place for you to write down any issues or concerns you want to discuss with your doctor and/or to take notes about the important information your doctor provides.
We need to confirm your personal information and insurance at each visit, to ensure that your visit will be covered. This will minimize your out-of-pocket costs.
If your insurance company requires a referral, please present it to the front desk staff. We will collect any co-pays or other fees required by your insurance at this time. We accept all major credit cards.
We know your time is valuable and we make every effort to see you at your scheduled appointment time. Unfortunately, emergencies, complications, and other issues may lead to unexpected delays. If your doctor is running more than 15 minutes late, a member of our staff will advise you of the expected wait time. If you are waiting more than 15 minutes and no one has come to speak with you, please inform the front desk staff.
Once you are in the exam room, a medical assistant will ask you preliminary questions and record your vital signs. The medical assistant may also download your blood glucose meter, insulin pump, or continuous glucose monitoring device. We will give you a printout with the medications and pharmacy information we have on file for you and ask you to update this information while you are waiting to see the doctor. If your physician is delayed, the medical assistant will keep you informed. Depending on the nature and complexity of your tests, the timing of results will vary widely. If your doctor orders tests during your appointment, please ask when you should expect to hear about the results.
After Your Visit
We value patient feedback. We randomly select a sample of patients to receive a patient satisfaction survey in the mail. If you receive one, we would appreciate your taking the time to complete and return it.
If you need to speak with your doctor between visits, call the office and we will have your doctor return the call. Please allow up to 24 hours for us to respond to your non-urgent call. Your physician’s medical secretary can help with prescription refills. Please allow one complete business day for us to contact your pharmacy. If you need a referral or an authorization for procedure, please allow three complete business days for us to process this. If you have a form that needs to be completed by your physician, please allow two weeks.
Try to schedule all routine appointments as far in advance as possible. If your doctor does not have a convenient appointment available, our schedulers may suggest a professional colleague. As members of a group practice all of our providers collaborate and communicate frequently to ensure continuity of care across the practice.
We strongly encourage all Mount Sinai patients to sign up for EPIC MyChart and contact us electronically whenever you require a refill. If you prefer not to sign up for EPIC MyChart or do not yet have access, you can call our office, or send an e-mail to: diabetes.refills@mssm.edu, and our nurse practitioner or covering physician will order a prescription refill. Please allow for up to two business days for us to fill this request. We do not prescribe controlled substances, sleeping aides, or psychotropic medications through this process.
To ensure prompt processing, please submit the following information, which should be available from the label of your current prescription:
- Last name, first name, middle initial
- Date of birth
- Name of medication
- Strength of medication (e.g., how many mg per pill)
- How often you take the medication per day
- Quantity and refills (e.g., 90 pills, 3 refills)
- If you are using insulin, please tell us how many units you use per day and how many vials or pens you need over a span of three months
- If you would like us to call in the medication, please provide the pharmacy's phone number
- If you would like us to send your prescription to your home, please provide your current address
Please allow up to one additional week for U.S. postal service to deliver your mail. If you would like us to fax your prescription to a mail-order company, please provide:
- Name of the company
- Your customer number for that company
If we have not seen you in the past year, please make a follow-up appointment so we can safely continue to refill your prescriptions.
If you have any questions when you receive your bill, please contact our billing office at 212-987-3100 or via e-mail at domcs@mountsinai.org. We will make every effort to respond within 24 hours.
If you have any concerns regarding any aspect of your visit, please call and ask to speak with the practice manager.