Your primary care physician may ask you to see a gastroenterologist for many reasons. Gastroenterologists are experts in diagnosing and treating patients for symptoms that arise from the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus, stomach, large and small bowels, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Examples of such symptoms could include diarrhea, constipation, trouble swallowing, heartburn, or abdominal pain. They also perform screening or surveillance colonoscopy for patients with a family history of colon cancer or personal history of colon polyps

Your first visit to Advanced GI Associates will allow your gastroenterologist to evaluate your symptoms. As part of that consultation, your gastroenterologist may request additional tests or procedures such as blood tests, imaging studies, or endoscopic examinations for diagnosis or treatment. A treatment plan may also be prescribed along with a follow-up plan of care. Sometimes, follow-up may be through your primary care physician or other specialists if necessary.

We rarely schedule patients for endoscopies or biopsies without consultation first. We believe a thoughtful consideration of your problem and full discussion of the risks and benefits of any test are mandatory before setting up a procedure.

You may schedule an appointment by calling:

(301) 352-7771

(301) 352-7791

Your first visit will be an office visit only. No procedures will be done at this time.

Please provide us with 24-hour notice if you are unable to keep an appointment. We have a long wait for appointments, and this courtesy allows other patients who are waiting for an appointment to be scheduled sooner.

You will be asked to complete an  Advanced GI Associates registration form and a personal/social history form and return them at the time of your first visit. This will help expedite the registration process.

It is also important that you bring the following items with you: 

• Insurance card/Referral documents
• A list of all medications you are currently taking
• A list of meication/s allergies
• Recent blood work and x-rays  (upper GI series, barium enema, ultrasound, or CT scans of the abdomen or pelvis)
• Copies of past medical records
• Name and address of your pharmacy

Note: If medical records are to be sent by your doctor(s), please call us to verify that we have received them prior to your visit.  Lack of these items can result in delays and/or your appointment being rescheduled.

Most insurance plans require an authorized referral prior to each visit. You will need to contact your primary care physician prior to making an appointment to obtain a referral for your appointment. Referrals must be validated by your insurance company and be in their system in order to be valid. Referrals can be mailed, faxed, scanned and e-mailed, or called into our office. Keep in mind referrals can take up to 10 working days to be processed. It is the patient's responsibility to have the proper referral at the time of their visit. If you arrive at our office without a referral, you will have to either pay in full at the time of service or reschedule your appointment.

If  in your initial office visit determined that you may need a procedure, you will be scheduled in one of our affiliated facilites by our front desk office. Outpatient procedure means no hospital stay. However, occasionally depending to your health condition, extent of exam, and for your health safety issues, we may determine to prolong your stay for observation or treatment in one of our affiliated hospitals.

Depending on the type of procedure and pre-existing conditions, you may need additional work-up and / or clearance from other specialties and primary care physicians prior to procedure.

You do need to be informed and have a clear understanding of indications, alternative/s, and complications of your procedure/s. This would be done during your initial office visit and the day of procedure.

You may need to change and stop taking certain medications to avoid increase of risk of complication/s of your procedure and/or or compromise the outcome of your procedure.

You will be informed about the above,  instruction for procedure/s and instructions for Colonsocopy procedure preparation in your initial office visit.

We strongly encourage you to be on time at the time of your procedure and show up at least one hour earlier than your appointment time. This will allow the facility to have enough time to process your information and evaluation on time and your readiness for on time procedure will be secured. Please make sure you have your appointment card and information available at the time of registration in admitting facility. As a courtesy the facility will be provided with your information in advance to decrease your wait time. After registration, you will be directed to pre- operative area and then to procedure room by a nurse.

Your health care provider will go over your procedure to confirm your informed consent prior to starting the procedure.

You will be sedated with one of the three methods of sedation/ anesthesia prior and during the procedure.

For the most your procedure is an in and out procedure. You will spend some time in recovery room after your procedure. This will allow your provider to evaluate you for your readiness to be discharged home.

You will be instructed with your health care provider for resuming your oral intake including your medications at the time of discharge. You will also be provided with the findings, prescription, and a copy of your procedure report at that time.

You do need to ask a loved one/s to be present at the time of your procedure recovery time and take you home after recovery.

You will not be allowed to leave the facility after recovery of your procedure alone.

We strongly encourage you to speak with your health care provider before leaving the facility.

You may resume your work the next day.

The office will be contacted you the next day to assure your well being post procedure.

Once you left the facility, you may contact the office or your health care provider with any issues that may arise. If there is an emergency situation, such as bleeding, syncope and lightheadedness, please do not hesitate to contact 911 immediately.

Very rarely, depending on the type of intervention or procedure/s, you may stay in hospital over-night or longer until your condition opimized.

Advanced GI Associates works with certain affiliated hospitals  If you need to be hospitalized, these are the facilities that will be utilized. A gastroenterologist will usually see you on a daily basis.

Yes. You may resume your regular work the next day, unless you need prolonged or over-night stay in hospital.

Follow-up care is an important part of your treatment plan.  Advanced GI Associates has a system designed to notify you when you are due for follow-up care such as an office visit or a procedure. When you receive your notification, please contact our office at (301) 352-7771 to schedule your next appointment.

 Prescription refills can best be handled during office hours,  when your chart is available and the gastroenterologist who knows you best can be contacted. When you call for a refill, please have the name of your medication, the dose, the dosing schedule, the prescription number, the phone number and name of the pharmacy at which you want the prescription to be refilled.

Every effort is made to collect the correct copay/deductible at the time of service/s. Each procedure and or office visit is an encounter of the patient service and the copay are due at the time of such services.

Physicians services for procedures are billed to the patient after insurance pays, but the co-pays which is due 2 days prior to procedure/s services. Please note you will receive only one statement for any patient balance due. If not paid within 30 days, the account will be considered for collections unless arrangements have been made with our office.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted.

Patient's share or co-pays will be collected at the time of service. Advanced GI Associates is prohibited by law from waiving or discounting co-pays, coinsurance or deductible payments required to be made by the patient under their health insurance plan. This prohibition includes so-called "professional courtesy" discounts.

If you have circumstances where financial arrangements need further discussion, please contact our billing business office prior to your appointment time.

Advanced GI Associates will file Medicare or other insurance claim forms as a courtesy for you. The patient is responsible for deductibles, co-payments and any remaining balances after insurance payment at the time of service.

Should your physician schedule you for an outpatient procedure such as an endoscopy or colonoscopy, you can expect to incur charges from possibly three sources: 

• Physician professional fee, processed through our office.
• Hospital or ambulatory surgery center fee, processed where the procedure will be performed.
• Pathologist, processed through the lab used to examine biopsy specimens, if any are obtained.

 Please be prepared to pay your co-pay, co-insurance, or deductible by or on  the day of your procedure. We will file the physician and hospital charges with your insurance company. We encourage you to speak with our billing office should you have questions or concerns.

A patient’s share of the cost of a procedure, the “out-of-pocket expense”, is defined by the patient’s insurance policy. Out-of-pocket expenses include deductibles and co-payments for ambulatory surgery. Deductibles can be annual or per procedure. Co-payments for ambulatory surgery are usually higher than for office visits.  Almost all plans, including HMOs and PPOs, have deductibles and co-payments for ambulatory surgery. Call your insurance provider to determine your deductible, how much of that deductible remains, and the co-payment for ambulatory surgery. 

For any endoscopic procedure, the patient’s insurance company determines the deductible and co-payment amounts.  The patient is financially responsible for these amounts.