MedStar Health: Medical Center at Mitchellville

Every phone call is important to us and we will attempt to answer your calls and return your phone messages as promptly as possible. We appreciate your patience should you have to wait on hold or leave a voice mail message. Our phone lines are busiest in the early morning hours, especially on Monday mornings. If you do not need to contact the office immediately, we recommend calling the office at a later time during the day. Phone messages will be returned on the same business day as soon as the physician is available. Please leave a phone number where you know we will be able to reach you. If you call for an urgent matter, we will make every effort to respond immediately. All messages are reviewed by the physician; however, your call may be returned by a medical assistant or staff member.

Please be aware that our providers will not leave their scheduled patients to return routine phone calls; these are generally answered after patient care sessions are finished.

If you are experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, call 911.

If you need urgent, but not emergency, assistance during non-business hours, please call the office. A doctor is on call 24 hours a day after hours only for urgent matters. Our answering service is available before and after business hours. The physician on call will be contacted for urgent matters.

When your provider suggests a specialist evaluation or diagnostic testing that requires a referral, set up your appointment and call our referral line (option 1) to leave a message.

When leaving a message for a referral, please include the following information: Your name, phone number, your doctor's name, the name of the doctor or test requested, the date of the appointment or test for which you need the referral, your insurance information, and if you prefer to have it mailed to you or if you will pick it up. Please allow 5-7 business days to process the referral.

Some referrals require insurance pre-authorization and cannot be processed immediately. Insurance guidelines prohibit us from backdating referrals. We require three business days for the processing of routine referrals.

There are times when weather conditions and other circumstances may not allow our staff to get to the office, or will demand early closing. When questionable circumstances exist, please call the office before starting out for a scheduled appointment.

If your doctor requests laboratory tests, you will be referred to a lab which participates with your health insurance plan. Since we do not draw routine blood work, our staff will help you locate a participating lab site that is convenient for you. We will draw blood for laboratory studies your doctor believes are urgent.

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are the wave of the future and MedStar Health is out in front in automating its clinical record keeping. EMR is a software storehouse of a patient's medical history — tests, diagnoses chronic conditions, prescriptions, physician comments, etc. — accessible anytime and never buried in an avalanche of paperwork.