OFFICE HOURS
Monday through Friday: 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
Office number: (865) 482-4078

Emergency or after hour calls:
(865) 481-1000
If you think you have an emergency situation or you think you are having a heart attack, please call 911

Our offices are closed on weekends and on major holidays; however, we have a physician available "on call" 24 hours a day in the event of an urgent problem.

Your First Office Visit
We see patients by appointment only and will see new patients who have a diagnosed heart problem or who are referred by another doctor. If you are coming for a first office visit, please bring a recent EKG and chest X-ray (the actual films). If these are not available, we can do an EKG and a chest X-ray in the office. We also request that you bring all medications that you are currently taking and your health insurance information.

Your initial appointment with a cardiac specialist will include a discussion of your medical and related history, a physical examination, and if indicated, any necessary diagnostic testing or procedures. A new patient visit requires approximately 30 to 45 minutes of examination time. We will evaluate whether your symptoms are cardiac related, and whether therapy is indicated. If additional non-cardiac evaluation is needed, we will be glad to recommend appropriate specialists and coordinate your care with them.

Return Visits
Subsequent visits usually take 15 minutes of examination time. When you call for your follow-up appointment, please relay any address or insurance changes to our receptionist.

Cancellations
If you make an appointment, but will not be able to come in, please call us as far in advance as possible to cancel so we can use this time to treat another patient.

Telephone Calls
During Office Hours: We encourage you to call during office hours with any questions you have about your medical condition. Please call as early in the day as possible. Our staff is trained to help you, and we ask that you give our receptionist all necessary details concerning your problem. If your problem is not an emergency, you may leave a message with our receptionist, and the doctor, doctor's assistant or nurse will return your call as soon as possible. Please understand that your doctor may be involved with other patients, and, therefore, calls will be returned in as timely a manner as practical.

After Office Hours
A doctor from our group is on call 24-hours a day for emergencies, telephone consultations and visits. After hours, please call the hospital operator at (865) 481-1000, and our on-call doctor will return your call. If you think you have an emergency situation or you think you are having a heart attack, please call 911. If a non-emergency arises outside the office hours, you may call the regular office telephone number and leave a message.

Prescriptions
Request for medication refills must be phoned to our office during our regular business hours as early in the day as possible. Please do not request medication refills after office hours, on weekends or on holidays as your records are not available to the physician on call. Please check to see how much medication you have on hand, so that you will not run out when the office is closed.

Medical Records
Your medical records are absolutely confidential. If you request and sign a form at our front desk, we will send for your previous medical records. Similarly, for us to send your medical records to anyone, we need a signed medical request form instructing us to do so.