Orthopaedic Surgeons specialize in treating disorders of the musculoskeletal system that includes bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, skin and structures related to them.  Common injuries requiring their training includes broken bones, torn ligaments, dislocations sprains, tendon injuries, pulled muscles, ruptured discs and sciatica as well as chronic conditions such as low back pain, scoliosis (spinal curvature), arthritis and bursitis (joint inflammation). They specialize in total joint replacements and hip resurfacing.

Hand surgeons specialize in bone and soft tissue diseases of the hand and are trained in microsurgical techniques for the smaller joints of the hands and wrists.  Their specialty includes various arthritis conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome, congenital hand abnormalities, fractures, reconstructive microsurgery, peripheral nerve injuries, and brachial plexus injuries.

“Rehab" physicians (often referred to as Physiatrists) specialize in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and treat a wide range of impairments to restore functional ability and quality of life to patients.  This includes, back pain, spinal cord injury, sports injuries, arthritis, work injuries, brain injury and stroke, acute or chronic pain management, and many others.  Also provided is electromyography, or EMG, and nerve conduction studies to diagnose neurological disorders due to many underlying factors related to injuries or illnesses.

Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners are classified as “Mid-Level Practitioners”.  They are specialty trained and qualified to assess, diagnose, and treat most conditions and licensed to work under the direct supervision of one or more physicians.  They are medically licensed by the State and registered with the Drug Enforcement Agency if required by that state.  These providers are available in the clinic by appointment to evaluate urgent patient needs when the physicians are not available, follow up with post-op treatment, assist in fracture care, and other specialty assessments. 

Kansas City Bone & Joint Clinic’s physicians are classified on our website as Board-Certified or Board-Eligible in their specialties.  Board certification indicates the physician has passed rigid oral and written or computer based training administered by members of an American Specialty Board, and has documented surgical cases reviewed by their examiners for a required period of time.  Board-Eligible means that the physician has completed all of the required training programs, residencies, and fellowships, and is currently in practice to fulfill the requirement set aside by their specific Board.  It is an important consideration for any patients looking for specialty care. 

The doctors of Kansas City Bone & Joint Clinic, Inc. are on staff at several facilities to perform surgical procedures or admissions for their patients.  They have privileges to admit and consult for other physicians at these local facilities: 

              Menorah Medical Center                  Overland Park, Kansas             

             Research Medical Center                 Kansas City, Missouri

             St. Luke’s South Hospital                  Overland Park, Kansas                   

             SurgiCenter of Kansas City              Kansas City, Missouri

             Mid-America Surgery Institute          Overland Park, Kansas

Some of the considerations used to determine which facility your procedure or test is scheduled at is based on the availability of a surgical room on a certain day or time, whether or not the procedure is an emergency, and where the insurance company requests the patient go for network benefits. 

Our patients are seen by appointment only.  Office appointment hours vary by provider, but our office hours are from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  We ask that you request a time as far in advance as possible to accommodate your appointment.  This allows us to give you the most convenient time and is helpful in arranging the daily schedule.  If you make an appointment and are unable to keep it, please cancel as soon as possible so that the time can be used by other patients.

When arriving for your first appointment, we will ask you to complete an information sheet and a medical history form, either on the website or with our receptionist.  Please give any requested information as accurately as possible.  It is very important that you provide the correct information. 

            Insurance Company Name and Plan Numbers

            Claim Mailing Address

            Insurance Cards

            Driver's License or Photo ID

            Military ID card (if applicable)

            Guardian consent (if applicable)

We will scan your insurance cards, Driver’s License or State ID cards, and Military IDs on your arrival.   We also need to have each patient bring the following to their appointment:

•    A list of your Medications with Dosages and Allergies                  
•    X-ray reports and images from Referring Doctor
•    Past Medical and Surgical History information

Please advise the receptionist at the time of check-in of any changes in your name, address, telephone, or insurance information.  Please advise us if you have previously been a patient or have been seen by any of the doctors in this group.  You can also do this on our website (www.kcbj.com).

Our telephone number is (913) 381-5225 and is answered by our office staff during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday).  When the office is closed, emergency calls are directed to an answering service and messages will be transmitted to the doctor on call as they come in.  Under normal circumstances, you will usually be seen by your own doctor from the group.  On weekends and at weeknights, a doctor in the group is “on call” and will handle urgent requests. 

For emergencies we will make every effort for you to be seen in our office or at one of the hospitals.  Emergency and urgent calls will be handled as soon as possible. 

Our staff has been trained in efficient screening of all calls.  We ask that you will cooperate with them and provide our staff with the information they request so that your needs will be met quickly and efficiently.

The best method of having a refill issued is to have your pharmacist contact our office and give us your name, the medicine to be refilled, and the date of the last refill.  Certain narcotic prescriptions cannot be called into a pharmacy by law.  Please let us know in advance and a written prescription, if appropriate, can be provided for you.

Prescriptions and refills are issued during office hours only.  During the evenings and weekends it is difficult for the designated physician taking call to determine whether a prescription or refill is indicated.  This means that your doctor will NOT routinely write prescriptions or refills during the evening or weekend hours. 

Your medical record is confidential.  It will not be given to anyone without your written consent.  You may print a consent to release your information to provide or ask a member of our staff to provide you with a release of information form to complete if you require your medical records to be sent elsewhere. 

X-ray images taken in our office are the property of Kansas City Bone & Joint Clinic, PA.  These are part of your permanent medical record and to provide quality care for you, the patient, excellent medical records must be kept.  If those records are lost, misplaced, or destroyed then the continuity of care is also lost.  If you must transfer X-rays to another physician, we will make copies and provide them to you on a compact disc.  X-ray images unfortunately cannot be copied at the same low cost as paper records and that cost must be recovered in the form of a payment in advance from the patient or authorized person requiring those copies.  The current charge is $10.  We have made every effort to keep these costs as low as possible.

Health Insurance

We do participate in several HMO-PPO plans such as CIGNA, UHC, Humana, Coventry, and BCBS and we accept assignment on Medicare patients.  Patients who participate in these plans need to be aware of the policies regarding referrals, precertification requirements, copays, deductibles, services covered, etc.  Copays must be paid at the time services are rendered.   Primary and secondary insurance forms will be completed at no charge.

Payment Policy

Payment is requested at the time services are rendered.  We verify insurance coverage in advance and co-payments are due at the time of the visit.  We do file insurance as a courtesy for our patients, but the responsibility of the bill does rest with the patient.  This office cannot accept responsibility for collecting your insurance claim or for negotiating a settlement on a disputed claim. 

Fees for surgery are sometimes unexpected, and we are willing to cooperate with you in establishing suitable arrangements for payment of your balance.  Our billing department will be glad to assist you with arrangements on large balances.   We do accept Mastercard, Visa, and Discover credit cards.

Disability Insurance Forms

There is a $10 advance payment charge for completion of disability forms and take 5-7 business days to complete.

Workers’ Compensation

In all workers' compensation cases, prior to being seen the patient must bring a written acceptance of financial responsibility from his employer or their insurance company.  If there was previous treatment for this injury, all records and X-ray images and reports are required at the time of the exam. 

Liability

A liability action is not a reason for delaying payment on your bill no matter what an attorney might advise.  Payment of the bill is the responsibility of the individual who has received the treatment, not the individual who is being sued.  For this reason, and the fact the lawsuits are often prolonged, we ask that our bills be paid promptly.  We do not participate with 3rd party liability payment arrangements. 

If your injury is due to an accident in which no other insurance is primary, your private health insurance information is necessary.  If you do not have health insurance, arrangement will need to be made with our billing department for payment of your charges. 

Accident Information

If you are a Medicare patient and have been injured on someone else's property, you will need to provide us with specific information about the injury circumstances as required by Medicare.  This includes the place of injury, date and time of injury, and whether or not any other parties will be filing any type of insurance for your injury.  If your injury is due to an accident in which no other insurance is primary, your private health insurance information is necessary.  If you do not have health insurance, arrangements will need to be made with our billing department for payment of your charges.

Surgical Fees

We realize large surgical fees can impose a financial burden.  We will cooperate with you and wait a reasonable length of time for your insurance company to respond.  Uninsured patients will be required to make financial arrangements with the bookkeeping office in advance of surgery.  Again, please remember that all payment of services is the responsibility of the patient. 

Our Fax Number is (913) 901-0186. 

If you have additional questions for our staff, you may call us at (913) 381-5225, and use the following options after the recorded greeting: 

#2 - Appointments

#3 - Billing and Insurance

#4 - Refill Information or Physician Nurse/Assistant

#5 - Insurance and Work Comp

#6 - Medical Record Copy Service

#7 - Attorneys and Law Office info

#8 - Address & Fax Information

Or you may push "0" for the Switchboard Operator and ask to direct your call.