1.	What exactly is Pediatric Gastroenterology?
2.	What should I expect as a new patient?
3.	What is Dr. Porter's experience, educational background and medical training?
4.	With which hospitals is Dr. Porter affiliated?
5.	How will my medical information be handled? Will my privacy be respected?
6.	How can I request copies of my medical records and health information?
7.	How is billing handled? How is insurance filed?
8.	With which insurance companies does Dr. Porter work? For which HMOs is she a provider?
9.	What if I don't have a primary physician?

 Pediatric Gastroenterology focuses on the entire digestive or GI tract of patients from birth to 21 years of age. Typically a primary physician will refer a patient to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist when the patient is facing severe or ongoing issues with swallowing, vomiting and /or excess spitting, screaming (in babies), abdominal pain, constipation, stool soiling, chronic diarrhea, liver and pancreatic disorders. Nutritional problems sometimes faced by infants, children and adolescents such as failure to gain weight, weight loss, failure to grow normally and obesity are also issues commonly investigated and treated by Pediatric Gastroenterologists.

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 What should I expect as a new patient?

  A LOT of questions. One of the first tasks for Dr. Porter will be to understand the problems you are experiencing and their context. In her letter to new and prospective patients , Dr. Porter discusses some helpful steps you can take to prepare for your first visit. Depending on the situation some laboratory tests and/or hospital procedures may be needed to confirm a diagnosis or for treatment.

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 What is Dr. Porter's experience, educational background and medical training?

 Dr. Porter has been practicing medicine for 47 years and is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both General Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

Dr. Porter graduated from the University of Oklahoma at Norman with a B.S. in Zoology and from the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine with an M.D. Her post-graduate training included a rotating internship at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center under Dr. Irwin Brown, and a one-year pediatric residency at the Oklahoma Medical Center under Dr. Harris D. Riley.

Additional pediatric training was obtained in New York City with a one-year pediatric residency at NYU-Belleview Medical Center under Dr. Emmett Holt, and a six-month fellowship in pediatric cardio-pulmonology under Dr. Margaret H.D. Smith also at Belleview. Dr. Porter spent the two following years at New York Hospital - Cornell Medical School under Drs Barbara Korsch and Sam Levine as a fellow and a teacher in the pediatric outpatient clinic.

Dr. Porter's gastroenterology training consisted of a two-year NIH fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center under Drs Jack D Welsh and Stewart Wolf.

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 With which hospitals is Dr. Porter affiliated?

 Dr. Marilyn Porter is on the hospital staff at Integris Baptist, St. Anthony's, Mercy and Deaconess of Oklahoma. She performs GI procedures at all of these hospitals as appropriate.

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 How will my medical information be handled? Will my privacy be respected?

 We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive in our practice. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. Details of how this record and all information about you as an individual is handled are provided in the Porter Medical Associates, Inc. Patient Privacy Notice . We strongly encourage you to review this document and should you have any questions to contact us for further details.

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 How can I request copies of my medical records and health information?

 You may request copies of your medical records and health information on file with Porter Medical by filling out an Authorization for the Release of Medical Information and faxing or mailing the form back to our offices. A nominal fee of $1.00 for the first page copied, 0.50 cents per page for each additional page copied plus postage costs (if the records are to be mailed) will need to be paid prior to the copies are released.

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 How is billing handled? How is insurance filed?

 Insurance is considered a method of reimbursing the patient for fees paid to the doctor and is NOT a substitute for payment.

We have contracts with some insurance companies to accept their fee schedules, and other companies we do not. If we do not contract with your insurance company, we do not accept their schedules of payment and you will be considered a cash patient. We will provide you with a form to submit to your insurance company, but you will be expected to pay us directly. It is your responsibility to determine whether or not your insurance company has a contract with us. We can help you to determine that prior to making your appointment.

If you have medical insurance, it will be necessary for you to bring your insurance card EVERY VISIT. Your child will not be seen without you presenting your card prior to each visit to be copied. Too many families are changing their insurance without informing us so that we are never paid for our services. If both parents have insurance we will need BOTH cards. Frequently the other patient's insurance is the one legally responsible for the child's care.

Some companies pay fixed allowances for certain procedures and others pay a percentage of the charge. It is your responsibility to pay any deductible amount, co-insurance, or any other balance not paid for by your insurance company AT THE TIME OF THE VISIT.

CO-PAYMENTS are fixed by your insurance company, do not vary, and must be paid at the time of the visit before you are seen. YOUR CHILD WILL NOT BE SEEN UNTIL YOUR CO-PAYMENT FOR THE DAY'S VISIT IS RECEIVED. If we do not collect your co-payment, the insurance company can sue us for fraud.

CASH PATIENTS (including those whose insurance companies are not contracted with Porter Medical Assoc Inc) must pay at least half of the fee for the visit prior to being seen. The balance must be paid in 30 days. The charge for the visit can be obtained from the person making your appointment at the time you call to make the appointment.

If you have a large balance after insurance, (as in the case where your child had one or more procedures) and are unable to pay the balance of your account in full within 30 days after billing, you will need to contact our business office to make arrangements for a payment plan. This agreement must be in writing and must be signed by you and us.

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 With which insurance companies does Dr. Porter work? For which HMOs is she a provider?

Dr. Porter works with a broad range of insurance companies. To verify that your company is one that Dr. Porter contracts with and the terms of the contract (pre-authorization requirements, etc), please call Porter Medical Associates at (405) 943-5677. Dr. Porter is currently not accepting any new Medacaid or Medacaire patients.

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 What if I don't have a primary physician?

 It is not necessary to have a primary physician to see Dr. Porter unless your insurance is an HMO or requires primary physician authorization for referrals. HOWEVER, Dr. Porter DOES NOT PROVIDE PRIMARY CARE. If you do not have a primary physician she will work with you in finding one after your GI problem has been resolved.

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