Thank you for choosing us as your health care provider.

General Operating Policies

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Appointments: We will do our best to provide you with an appointment that accommodates your schedule, however, please understand our schedule remains full and there will be times when we cannot accommodate a particular time slot. Please inform our office as soon as possible if you have a conflict in making/keeping your appointment, so that we may add any last minute reschedules in your slot.

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Contact Information: We rely on our patients to keep us up to date whenever his/her contact information changes, such as an address, phone number, or emergency contact. Please notify us at your next visit or before if you experience a change to your contact information.

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Financial Policy: We have developed a detailed policy (separate form) concerning your financial obligations relating to services rendered at our Practice. Please familiarize yourself with these obligations and we welcome your questions if you do not understand or would like clarification about a particular policy.

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All co-payments and deductibles must be paid at the time of service.

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Missed Appointments: South Georgia Medical Associates schedules many patients every day. It is important to honor scheduled appointments or cancel them with enough notice so that another patient can be scheduled in the appointment time. Effective April 1, 2016 our Practice has implemented a no-show policy to assist in the scheduling of patients and manage missed appointments by charging a no-show fee.

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Appointments not cancelled or rescheduled within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time will be charged a $30.00 no-show fee. The no-show fee applies equally to all appointment types and is not covered by insurance; therefore the fee is the patient’s responsibility and must be paid prior to your next office visit.

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Reminders are provided as a courtesy, prior to a scheduled appointment. Patients are responsible for notifying the office in advance, if they are not able to keep an appointment.

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Patients who miss two (2) or more scheduled appointments or who chronically reschedule appointments in a twelve (12) month period may be dismissed from the Practice.

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Medical Records/Paperwork Requests: It is our policy not to release any medical records, without first having the patient complete an Authorization to Release Medical Records. In addition, it is our policy to charge a small administrative fee for such paperwork at the time of request. There is a charge for the completion of forms. Completing forms is done after clinic and requires both staff and physicians to complete.

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Patient Rights and Responsibilities: At your first visit, you will be provided with our Practice’s HIPAA policy as it relates to the handling, distribution, and storage of your Protected Health Information, more commonly referred to “PHI”. You will also be provided with a document to complete which tells our staff who may receive your “PHI” and how you would like our office to communicate important medical information and You have the ability to change/revoke your authorization at any time by completing another authorization form.

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If you feel that your protected health information “PHI” has been inappropriately used, accessed, or released, you may file a complaint with the Privacy Officer, Emma Corbitt. Please contact our office at (229) 244-4720 and ask to speak with her. We take your concerns seriously and our staff understand their obligations to protect the confidentiality of your “PHI.”