Brigham and Women’s Physician Group Services

Patient Gateway

Patient Gateway is the secure, electronic way to contact our office. With Patient Gateway you can communicate with your physician, request prescription renewals, appointments and insurance referral authorizations for appointments with a specialist. You can also access your laboratory results, immunization record, medication list, as well as quality health and disease information. Patient Gateway is a secure website that works with any type of computer (MAC or PC). There is no software to download so you can access your free account from multiple computers (home, work, library, etc). To enroll in Patient Gateway, please visit the website or contact Chrisnery De La Cruz at 617-732-9085.

Request for Appointment

If you would like to make an appointment please call our office at 617-732-9900 Monday through Friday from 8am–5pm. You may also sign up for Patient Gateway which will allow you to email requests for non-urgent appointments. Enroll online or by contacting Chrisnery De La Cruz at 617-732-9085. ***PLEASE NOTE: If you require an urgent appointment (within 48 hours), please call the office at 617-732-9900 rather than using the Patient Gateway option.***

Prescription Refills

We want you to be supplied with the medications you need. Please bring in ALL your medications to each visit so your provider can review them with you. Please remember to ask your provider about refills while you are in the office. Patients can also request refills by calling the Refill Line, which can be accessed via our main number, 617-732-9900. PLEASE GIVE US AT LEAST 1 TO 2 BUSINESS DAYS NOTICE OF ANY REFILLS YOU NEED. Refills called in after 3:00 p.m. on Friday may not be called in to the pharmacy until the next business day. Please call us early for your refill. We encourage you to sign up for Patient Gateway, where you can request your prescription refills online.

Referrals

All of our specialty and diagnostic testing referrals are to colleagues of Brigham & Women’s and Brigham and Women's Faulkner hospitals. We will allow only limited exceptions to this rule. It is for your safety that we follow this policy. Medical errors are serious health concerns in healthcare today and one of the best ways to prevent these is to facilitate the flow of quick, reliable and accurate information between providers.

• Quality — Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital doctors provide some of the best healthcare in the world
• Coordination and communication — We share a common electronic medical record. We can review notes and reports from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital specialists and they can view the information about your care here
• Timeliness — We have rapid access to the analysis and findings of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital specialists so we can follow up with you quickly. Reports from other specialists can take several weeks to arrive
• Confidentiality — We have secure lines of communication with Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital specialists and can facilitate the timing and conduct of your care with them
• Efficiency — Our doctors and your Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital specialists will know the tests and studies you have had and can avoid costly and inconvenient duplication.

It is your responsibility to make sure that a referral is in place BEFORE you see your specialist. You may request a referral through Patient Gateway or by calling our Managed Care Department at 866-489-4053. With the exception of diagnostic tests, we ask that YOU call the specialist’s office to schedule your appointment.

We ask that you call at least a week before your appointment to request a referral. The referral department will need the following information:

• Full name (please spell)
• Brigham and Women’s number or social security number
• Insurance company name and member number
• Full name of the specialist you will be seeing, and whether you have seen this specialist before
• The address and phone number of the specialist
• The date of the appointment
• The reason you are seeing the specialist
• Your callback number if we need more information

**If all of this information is not given, your referral could be delayed.

Results of Diagnostic Tests

It is our policy to notify you of the results of all your diagnostic tests, either by telephone or by letter. For those of you with Patient Gateway, we may send your results electronically. If you have not received notification after two weeks, please call the office. Please be aware that some tests such as a Pap test may take longer.

Managed Care Plans

The Brigham and Women’s Physician Group participates in many insurance plans, including:

• Aetna US Healthcare
• Beech Street Corporation (PPO plan only)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield- all plans, except Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO
• HMO Blue
• Cigna (HMO, POS & PPO)
• Commonwealth Indemnity Plan (administered by UNICARE)
• Commonwealth Choice Plans (Neighborhood Health, BCBS, HPHC)
• First Seniority Freedom, by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
• Great-West Healthcare (HMO/POS/Open Access & PPO)
• Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC)
• Health Care Value Management & First Health PPO
• Humana Choice Care (PPO)
• Private Healthcare System PHCS (PPO)
• Tufts Associated Health Plan
• United Healthcare of New England (not HMO)
• Mass Health PCC Plan
• Medicare
• Network Health (Commonwealth Care product)
• Most Commercial Insurances

***Medicare does NOT cover routine annual physical exams. You may be billed directly for this service if your visit is considered preventative.

***Not all policies are the same, so please check with your insurance provider regarding coverage fro such visits as preventative care, including physical exams.

***We are a fully licensed medical practice of Brigham and Women's Hospital, therefore you will receive two bills for your services. One bill for the overhead (technical) charge and one bill for the physician (professional) charge. Some insurance carriers will pay for both charges, but others may not pay for both. Or you may have a deductible for which you may be responsible. Our location on the claim forms must be listed as outpatient.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 617-732-9900.