Joining the Southern Family

We are in network with all major insurance companies with the exception of just a few commercial insurances. Such as: Blue Cross Blue Shield BYH plans, Aetna Exchange, Ambetter Virtual, Ambetter Babylon, Medicaid Family Planning.

Yes, we are in network and accept all forms of Medicare and Medicaid insurance, as long as our providers are listed as the PCP on your insurance plan/card.

Most insurance companies require a referral to a specialist to be placed by your primary care physician.

Yes, we do have self-pay rates for all services. Please contact the office for those individual prices.

All payments are due at the time of service. This includes deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and self-pay payments.

Although we are able to offer in-office lab services, those employees are part of LabCorp Laboratories and those labs are sent off to LabCorp outside of a few in-house labs. We do not offer any in-house imaging. All imaging orders are printed and provided for the patient to have completed wherever they choose. Therefore, all invoices will come directly from their companies for payment of services rendered.

Yes, payment plans are available if you have not previously defaulted on a payment plan with our office.

It is the patient’s responsibility to inform the office of any changes with your insurance at the time of your appointment. You will be asked to present your insurance card upon arrival for your appointment.

Please contact the office to schedule your appointment.

Yes, we do offer same-day appointments as long as we have not completely booked across all providers. We have 2 office locations and 8 providers available.

Please call the office as soon as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment. This allows us to fill the appointment spot with another patient who needs an appointment.

There is not a cancellation or no-show fee. However, frequent no-shows may result in two possible outcomes:

• You will be marked as a Doctor No-Show patient only. This means your appointments will only be available at 8:00am or 1:30pm and you will be moved to whichever provider is available upon arrival. You will not be able to choose the provider you see.
• Discharge from the practice.

Please arrive 15–20 minutes prior to your appointment to confirm insurance and demographic changes, as well as process payment for the visit.

Please bring your insurance card, photo ID, medication list, or medication bottles.

Yes.

There is a 15-minute grace period. If you arrive within this time, we will work you back in to be seen. If you arrive later than 15 minutes, you will need to reschedule.

We see patients of all ages.

Yes, you are welcome to bring anyone you wish with you to your appointment.

You can sign up for our patient portal by providing your email address to the front office staff.

Yes. You can access your lab and imaging results through the patient portal, or you may stop by the office, sign a medical release form, and provide your ID for patient identification to receive a copy of your results.

Medical record requests are usually handled within one week. However, they can take up to 30 days. Legally, records must be released within a 30-day time frame.

Yes, you may send messages to your provider through the portal.

Only legal guardians are allowed to request information unless the legal guardian lists other individuals in the chart for medical information release.

Medical records released to patients are free of charge. However, requests from lawyers and disability firms or Social Security are subject to fees based on Georgia law. Paperwork submitted for completion on a patient’s behalf starts at $10 and may be up to a $25 service charge depending on the length and depth of the paperwork.

Patients must complete a written request to have records transferred.

You may contact your pharmacy for prescription refills except for controlled substances. You may also request refills through the patient portal or by contacting the office and speaking with the nursing staff.

Please allow 24–48 hours to process refill requests.

Yes, except for controlled substances.

Yes. You must be seen every 90 days for controlled substances. You must also be seen in the office for any discussion or request to start a new controlled substance or to change the dosage.

Contact the office with the details and we can attempt a prior authorization or change the medication to another within its class.

Yes.

Notify the office and we will resend the refill.

We treat and manage chronic conditions, preventive medicine, well-child checks, ADD/ADHD, surgical clearances, sports physicals, and sick or acute injury/pain visits.

We recommend urgent care only when the office is closed. Our office offers after-hours on-call services for all patients.

Yes. We use LabCorp for bloodwork, pathology, and drug screen testing. We use AIT for respiratory, urine, wound, and STD cultures.

Yes, yearly preventative screenings are available.

We can order mammograms, DEXA scans, and labs. However, we do not offer PAP smears. These should be completed with your OBGYN.

Yes, we welcome all appointment types.

Telehealth appointments are not paid by many insurance companies. However, if you are out of town and unable to come in, and your insurance covers the service, we can offer telehealth.

Every 3–4 months with routine labs.

We offer short-term disability paperwork. Long-term disability paperwork should be completed by a disability physician or the specialist treating that condition. We can submit your medical records for review.

Yes.

Roughly one week.

All new patient applications are reviewed by our clinical team, including a review of the Georgia Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (GA PDMP) for controlled medications prescribed within the past two years. Applications may be denied if you were previously discharged from our practice, transferred to another local PCP, if there is evidence of misuse or inappropriate use of controlled substances, or if there is a history of excessive or high-dose controlled medications.

Yes.

A release of records form is included in the new patient packet. Please complete and sign it. Upon approval, we will request records from your previous PCP.

No, but it is strongly encouraged for the provider to review your medical history beforehand.

Yes.

Only a legal parent or court-appointed legal guardian may bring a minor patient to appointments or contact the office regarding the child’s care unless another individual is listed in the emergency contact section and marked as “OK to release information.” Individuals who are not legal parents must provide official guardianship documentation before information can be released. Patients under 16 must have a legal parent or guardian present. Patients aged 16–18 may be seen without a parent only with verbal consent from the legal parent or guardian for each appointment.

Yes, as long as the employee and provider are informed beforehand and approve it, and no other patients are visible in the recording.

Yes, we offer vaccines for our patients. However, we cannot vaccinate children under 18 with Medicaid insurance because we are not a VFC clinic.

Yes.

Yes.

We conduct sports, employment, and school physicals for college. We do not currently offer DOT physicals.