Patient Information

Appointment Scheduling

Routine and urgent appointments can be scheduled by calling 985-892-0879 during regular office hours, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In consideration of other patients who are waiting to see their providers, please arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for your appointment. If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please make every effort to notify us within a 24-hour advanced notice. If your doctor is unavailable for an urgent problem, please consider allowing Ochsner to book an appointment for you with another provider.

Patient-Centered Care

Ochsner Health is always working on ways to improve not only your healthcare, but also how we help our patients live healthier lives.

That’s why we have adopted a new approach called Patient-Centered Medical Care. Patient-Centered Medical Care means that each patient at Ochsner Health Center – Abita Springs will now have their own team of healthcare professionals, led by your personal physician, who are responsible for your care and form a deeper relationship with you by caring for you over time. 

Medications

Please bring any medications or a list of medications with dosage and number of times per day they are taken. Include over-the-counter medications. A current list of drugs (formulary) covered on your insurance will also help your doctor make any necessary changes in your medication.

Registration/Insurance

To keep your appointment waiting time to a minimum, please assist by doing the following:

• Check-in 15 minutes prior to your appointment
• Bring your appointment slip and any other paperwork received from Ochsner
• Have your insurance information available
• Be prepared to make your co-payment (if applicable)
• Please advise the receptionist if you should need to leave the waiting area for any reason

Additionally, please bring your insurance card to each visit to ensure we have the most current information. If Ochsner is contracted to provide care by your insurance company, then Ochsner will file all claims on your behalf.

Referrals

Please make sure that you have given our Registration Receptionist your most current insurance information and that your primary care provider listed with Ochsner is correct. Ochsner will submit the needed information to your insurance provider to get the authorizations that you need.

Emergency Room/Hospital Discharges

Please notify your insurance provider within 48-hours of going to the emergency room (even if a doctor sends you). Call your primary care physician after your treatment or discharge from the hospital for possible follow-up care. If your emergency room care or hospitalization was provided by any facility other than Ochsner, please bring those records to your visit so we can continue to provide the best care for you.

Lab Results

Lab results will be sent to you in the mail. Labs deemed “normal” in their results stature should be received within 10 business days. If the results are abnormal, you can expect a call from your physician’s office once the results return from the laboratory. Please allow four to six weeks for pap smear results.

Prescription Refills

If you are in need of a prescription refill, Ochsner asks that you please call your pharmacy for all refill requests. If your pharmacist has a question, they will call Ochsner. Prescription refill requests from your pharmacy must be received by Ochsner at least three to five working days prior to your medication running out. Without three to five working days notice, we cannot guarantee that your medication will be ready before your current medication runs out.

Calling Your Doctor

Sometimes your physician or his/her nurse is unable to take your call because they are treating other patients. In these cases, the receptionist will take a message and send it to the nurse. The physician or nurse, depending on the nature of the call, will return your message within four hours. If your call is received after 3:00 p.m., your call will be returned the following business day. Phone calls are generally returned during the course of the day or after clinic hours. Some of Ochsner‘s physicians do not hold clinic hours every day. It is helpful for you to learn the days that your physician is in. Please call for routine questions, forms, results and refills on days that your physician is in the clinic so that they may address these issues personally. Non-urgent requests may be deferred until your physician is in the clinic.

MyOchsner

MyOchsner gives you convenient, easy and secure access to your healthcare information online. With MyOchsner, you can easily manage your ongoing medical activities, appointments and communications and view test results from your physicians within our network in one centralized place. To visit MyOchsner go to: my.ochsner.org