Questions

Our office needs at least 24 hours notice for prescription refills however you must have your next regular appointment scheduled prior to medications being sent in. The pharmacy may also need additional time to refill the medication.

In many cases, you will need to make an appointment to see a doctor. If one of our doctors has already written a prescription for the same medication and you need a longer supply for mail-order, travel or military deployment, please call our office to determine whether an appointment is necessary.

If you need a refill, check with your pharmacist a few days before you run out of the medication to see if a refill has been authorized. In most cases, if no refill is authorized but the medical problem still exists, the doctor should recheck you, since just refilling may not be proper treatment.

For long-term treatment, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, it is necessary to arrange regular visits to your doctor to be sure the condition is under control and the drug dosage remains correct.

Many health plans require you to get their prior approval for some medications and procedures before they will cover the drug or service under your health plan. This is called preauthorization. Your health plan will often publish a list of drugs requiring preauthorization. Checking this list periodically and informing your doctor of preauthorization requirements at the time of your appointment will save you time and phone calls.

First, call the pharmacy. If the pharmacist is certain that the prescription was filled correctly, and you still have questions, call our office and leave a message with the doctor’s assistant, also called the Clinical Care Secretary or CCS.

Call our office and leave a message with the doctor’s assistant, also called the Clinical Care Secretary or CCS. The CCS, a medical assistant or the doctor will return your call with further instructions.

We are accepting new patients. However, in some cases, it can depend on whether we participate in your health insurance plan. First Colonial Family Practice and Urgent Care Center participates in most health plans. Take a look at our Participating Health Plans page. If you still have questions about whether we’re part of your plan, call our office to ask (be sure to have your insurance card available when you call).

Yes, we are currently accepting new Medicare patients. Please contact our office if you are now qualified for Medicare and have questions.

We ask that you give our office at least 24 hours notice before canceling an appointment. Cancellations without 24 hours notice may be subject to an office visit charge.

Call our office and leave a message with the doctor’s assistant, also called the Clinical Care Secretary or CCS. The CCS, a medical assistant or the doctor will return your call with instructions.

Call our office for appointment information and changes. Please give us 24 hours notice before canceling an appointment. You may also cancel an appointment online if you have a portal account.

Your statement will include several important pieces of information. It includes an itemized list of services, dates, and balances for which our records show that your payment has not been received. You have several payment options:

1. You can tear off the bottom portion of your statement and mail it to us along with a check.
2. You can complete the credit card payment section on the back of the statement, tear it off and mail it to us.
3. You can visit us in person to make a payment.
4. You can make credit card payments by phone.

If you still have questions about your statement or your balance, you can call our office for additional assistance.

We take credit card payments over the phone, mail a check to our office or you can come by and make a payment in person.

Yes. Call or come by to set up payment arrangements.

Your health plan’s Member Services or Customer Service number is usually listed on either the back or the front of your health plan’s member ID card.

Please contact our office with your new health plan information. Be sure to have your member ID card when you call. We will resubmit the claim to your new health plan.

For health plan questions, there are often several points of contact:

1. Your health plan’s Customer Service; their phone number is usually listed on the back of your member ID card.
2. Your health plan’s benefits booklet; this is often published on your health plan’s Web site behind a secure login.
3. If you have health coverage through your employer, your Human Resources department can sometimes be a resource.
4. Our office can also help to understand what may and may not be covered.

To make sure your health plan processes your claims with no unexpected results, we encourage you to carefully read your health plan’s “Summary of Benefits” or benefits booklet before receiving medical services.

1. Your health plan’s Customer Service; their phone number is usually listed on the back of your member ID card.
2. Your health plan’s benefits booklet; this is often published on your health plan’s Web site behind a secure login.
3. If you have health coverage through your employer, your Human Resources department can sometimes be a resource.
4. Our office can also help to understand what may and may not be covered.

Your claim benefits are determined when your claim is processed at your insurance company. We do our best to identify what your benefits may be; however, we encourage you to carefully read your health plan’s “Summary of Benefits” or benefits booklet before receiving medical services.

Both terms refer to payments established by your health plan for which you are responsible. A “copayment” is a flat fee, due at the time of service, for services such as office visits, specialist office visits or prescription drugs. Typically, the copayment applies only to the visit and not any additional lab tests, X-rays or other diagnostics.

Not all health plans have a copayment. Some health plans require that you first pay a deductible amount “out of pocket.” Once you have met this deductible, then you are responsible for “coinsurance,” or a percentage of the total bill for services.

Yes. We are participating physicians with standard Medicare. Please contact our office if you are now qualified for Medicare and have questions.

Yes, we accept Workers’ Compensation patients.

First Colonial Family Practice and Urgent Care Center has contracted with most major health plans. That means we are an “in-network” or “participating” provider. But there are exceptions. Start by checking our Participating Health Plans page. If you still have questions, contact us.

Start by contacting us. In most cases, you will need to make an appointment to see one of our physicians. If your condition or injury needs the additional consultation of a specialist, then our doctor will supply a referral.

It’s important that you find out whether your health plan requires a referral BEFORE you see the specialist. Otherwise, your health plan may not cover the specialist’s services. First Colonial Family Practice and Urgent Care Center physicians can not give you a referral AFTER you have already visited the specialist.

Our physicians are on the staff of the Virginia Beach General Hospital and have courtesy privileges there. We arrange admissions with the Virginia Beach General Hospital staff hospitalists and consultants. If you require admission to another hospital, we will be glad to assist in securing a physician on that hospital staff to care for you.

We have working relationships with pediatricians to cover our patients with Cesarean Sections and newborn nursery care and with Internal Medicine and sub-specialties for patients with complicated medical problems.

Yes, in most cases. For specialized X-rays, we may refer you to a specialist. We also have a full-service lab in our office.

Yes. Please note, however, that we are unable to provide lab tests ordered by another physician not affiliated with First Colonial Family Practice and Urgent Care.

Yes. Call our office and leave a message with the doctor’s assistant, also called the Clinical Care Secretary or CCS. The CCS, a medical assistant or the doctor will return your call with instructions. If you have a portal account you may also request to have your results published to your portal.

No. A hospital’s Emergency Room services are appropriate for life-threatening emergencies and major traumas. Urgent Care services are appropriate for non-life threatening conditions. Urgent Care’s mission is to provide immediate medical care outside of typical business hours and without appointments.

Also, depending on your health insurance coverage, you will typically find that Emergency Room services are much more costly than the same services received through the Urgent Care center.

For some lab tests, your doctor will ask you to be “fasting” the morning of your appointment. This means that you should not eat anything and limit what you drink after midnight the night before your appointment. You can drink water and/or decaffeinated coffee or tea without cream or sugar before your appointment. Fasting will ensure that your test results are not affected by food or drink. You can resume normal eating and drinking after your appointment unless directed otherwise by your doctor.

Yes. At First Colonial Family Practice and Urgent Care Center, our goal is to provide you with the prompt, appropriate medical care on-the-job injuries or illnesses require. In order to ensure your Workers’ Compensation claims are filed quickly and accurately, it is important that you notify your employer of your on-the-job injury or illness before you visit our office. Your employer will then refer you to one of our providers. We’ll even handle your paperwork, so you can focus on your recovery. Learn more by visiting our Workers’ Compensation Care page.

Our office is located at 1120 First Colonial Road, Suite 100, in Virginia Beach. Visit our Contact page to get driving directions.

No, we have three female Physician Assistants and 3 female Nurse Practitioners who work very closely with our physicians.

Our Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners see the majority of the walk-ins which are seen on a first come, first server basis.

To more quickly assist you, leave us your full name, your date of birth, your doctor’s name and any other details that are specific to your situation. The details may include a medication name, a specialist’s name, a pharmacy location or a health plan ID number.

We do our best to call back within 48 hours. There may be times when this is not possible. If you have not received a call back from our office after 72 hours, please call again.

Yes. All of our physicians are certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a Federal law that protects you in a number of ways. One of the things HIPAA does is to set rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information. That’s called the Privacy Rule. To learn more about HIPAA and how it affects you, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site.