General Internal Medicine
Lancaster PA

Frequently Asked Questions

What is General Internal Medicine?

Internal Medicine is the specialty dealing with the medical problems of adults. We do not care for children under the age of 15, deliver babies, or perform surgery. For teenagers and adults, we serve as the primary care physician--the one to contact first for any medical concerns.

In addition to caring for routine problems such as ear infections, colds, rashes, headaches, etc. in the office, we also have the expertise to deal with such complicated illnesses as heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes in the hospital. We also frequently act as consultants for other physicians in the hospital. Simply stated, we provide comprehensive care of adults, whether at home, in the office, or at the hospital.

Do You Accept New Patients?

We accept a limited number of new patients into the practice. We require new patients to have a complete examination at the time of, or shortly after, their initial visit. This helps us to know you as a person, and gives us a more thorough knowledge of your medical condition.

Some of our doctors are not accepting new patients in order to effectively accommodate the needs of their established patients.

Can I Be Seen At Any Office?

We have three locations to provide convenient access to our patients. You may establish yourself at the office of your choice and your medical records will be maintained at that location.

What Are Your Office Hours?

At the main Columbia Avenue office, we have hours from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and from 7:30  a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Saturdays this office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. For the other offices please click on the office address above for current hours.

Do I Have a Choice of Doctors?

We encourage patients to choose one of our doctors as their personal physician, as we like to know our patients as individuals.  Whenever possible, visits will be scheduled with the doctor of your choice.  However, when the doctor is not available, you will be offered an appointment with one of the other doctors or the nurse practitioner.  We are committed to caring for urgent problems the same day, so be sure the secretary understands the seriousness of the illness when you call.

Which Hospital Do You Use?

Our doctors are on the active and courtesy staff at both Lancaster Regional Medical Center, (formally St. Joseph's Hospital) and Lancaster General Hospital. We provide daily care for patients at both hospitals.

Do You Make House Calls?

Yes, on rare occasions for certain kinds of chronic illnesses.  As a rule, however, patients too sick to come to the office are usually sick enough to warrant evaluation in a hospital setting where laboratory and x-ray studies may be obtained promptly. 

Where Do I Go For Lab Work?

Our office provides almost all laboratory services. Our new in-house lab at Point West uses state-of-the-art computerized equipment to do most blood tests, providing rapid, accurate results and the ability to get an immediate response in urgent situations. Specimens obtained at the satellite offices are transported daily to Point West to be analyzed. EKG's, breathing tests, and urinalysis are done at each office. 

What is the Phone Policy?

Our office staff has been trained to deal with most phone questions. If you need to speak with one of the doctors, please inform the receptionist of the nature of your call. Except for emergencies, our first priority is to patients in the office, so the call will be returned when there is a break in the schedule.  At our Columbia Avenue office, we have an electronic phone system that will enable you to direct your call to the proper department.  You may also leave a message directly in your doctor's voice mailbox.

Do I Need An Appointment?

Yes. All visits are by appointment. We make a real effort to stay on time, but when emergencies do arise and the doctor is more that thirty minutes behind schedule, we will give you the option of rescheduling. When  patients miss appointments, we do have a policy of charging for the second and any subsequent missed appointments.  We ask patients who can't keep their appointment to call and cancel, so the time can be used for someone else. 

Are You Available For After Hour Emergencies?

Yes, after the regular office hours and on Saturdays and Sundays the doctor on call carries a beeper and can be reached at any time. Call the office number for instructions. Please limit after hour calls to urgent problems which cannot wait until regular hours. 

What Is Your Fee Policy?

We feel our fees are fair and appropriate for the service we provide. It is our policy that payment or co-payment for office visits is expected at the time of the visit.  If you have questions about our charges, please discuss them with us.  You will receive a receipt for each visit which can be submitted to your insurance company

With Which Insurance Plans Do You Participate?

We presently participate in Medicare, HealthGuard,  HealthAmerica, Aetna/US Healthcare as well as a number of smaller plans.  However,  this can change quickly depending on contractual arrangements.  Please check with the receptionist for an up-to-date list of insurance plans and HMO's with which we participate.

Can I Get Prescriptions By Phone?

We request that patients bring in all their medicines at each office visit. This enables us to be sure medicines are correct, helps with dosage adjustments, and allows us to provide refills when needed. If you do run out of medication between visits, call our office number and we can call a prescription to the drugstore for you, or for your convenience  you can email the information to us using the Prescription Renewal Form on this web site. Except for urgent situations, prescriptions are generally called in between 4:00pm and 5:00 pm and we suggest that you wait until after 5:00 pm to pick them up at the pharmacy. 

For your safety, we will generally refuse to prescribe medications for a new problem without checking you at the office. We do require that anyone on continuing medication be seen at least yearly to evaluate drug effectiveness and to detect possible adverse reactions. Columbia Avenue patients can leave a message by touching 6 for our special prescription refill line for medication refills.

What Other Services Do You Offer?

A dietician is on our staff to provide dietary instruction for diabetes, cholesterol problems, weight control, and any medical problem in which diet plays a role in the treatment. 

We also operate the Travel Clinic of Lancaster, which provides up to date information and immunizations for those traveling to other countries.

It is our goal to provide you with excellent medical care, in as courteous, pleasant and convenient a manner as possible. If we fail anywhere along the line, please let us know so we can correct the problem. Speak to Lois Summers, our office manager, or to any of the doctors, if you are dissatisfied with a service or if you have any recommendations that might improve our service to you.