Office Brochure Asthma & Allergy Center

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1 Office Brochure Asthma & Allergy Center Aim and Purpose At Asthma & Allergy Center we are dedicated to bring the latest Asthma and Allergy care to our community. Care with Courtesy and Compassion is our motto. Our Role We specialize in the treatment of Asthma and Allergic diseases. For medical needs unrelated to allergies and for all emergencies you must have a primary care physician (family physician, general practitioner, internist, pediatrician etc.) About The Medical Staff Chandra M. Kumar, M.D. is a Board Certified Allergist. He obtained his post-graduate medical training in Chicago, at Cook County Hospital, Rush University, and the University of Chicago. He is a Fellow of the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology; American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; American Academy of Pediatrics, and American College of Chest Physicians. He is a member of the American Thoracic Society, American Medical Association, West Virginia Medical Association, and Kanawha County Medical Society. He is Clinical Associate Professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, and has been Medical Director of the internationally known Asthma Camp, Bronco Junction, and the Allergy Rehabilitation Foundation. Dr. Kumar has been in private practice in West Virginia since 1979 and is on the staff of the Charleston Area Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Charleston. Chang Choi, M.D. is a Board Certified Internal Medicine specialist. She did her post-graduate medical training at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in New York from She is board certified in Internal Medicine. After being a house physician at St. Francis Hospital, Dr. Choi has been with Asthma & Allergy Center since 1986 and has been serving West Virginians since then. Mary Lind Veloso, M.D. joined Asthma & Allergy Center in 1997 after two years of fellowship in Allergy/Clinical Immunology at the New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center. She is board certified in Allergy/Clinical Immunology as well as in Internal Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Physicians. Siwat Kiratiseavee, M.D. is Board Eligible in Allergy & Clinical Immunology and Board Certified in Internal Medicine as well as Rheumatology. He did his Internal Medicine training at Albert

2 Einstein Med Ctr in Philadelphia and Allergy training at SUNY Buffalo, New York. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology as well as of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Any one of the above physicians may attend to you on your visit. Physicians on our medical staff follow standard protocols for treatment of Asthma and Allergies, in office and on telephone. Given similar circumstances, we will usually give similar medical advice. We write progress notes of our findings, treatment and future plans on each visit. This helps us keep continuity of care even though different physicians may attend to you. Physician Assistants (PA-C) This office employs certified Physician Assistants, duly licensed by the West Virginia Board of Medicine to practice at the Asthma & Allergy Center. The PAs work under supervision of the Staff Physicians. They attend regular and ongoing continuing medical education courses and have periodic examinations to maintain their certification. Just like the physicians, they attend local and national allergy meetings to continuously update their knowledge in asthma and allergy care. Appointments We see patients by appointment only. Feel free to call us or send request thru our website if you need to be seen before your appointment or need to change your appointment. If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment please call and tell us as soon as possible. We value your time and do our best to stay on schedule. The occasional delays are usually because someone was worked in due to acute illness, needed extra time or arrived late. In such circumstances, we hope you will understand and bear with us. On another occasion, you may be the beneficiary of this policy. Emergencies Our office is NOT equipped to handle Walk In medical emergencies. Therefore, in case of emergencies, including those connected with asthma and allergies please call 911 or proceed to the nearest hospital emergency room. If you need hospitalization your primary physician or Hospitalist on duty will take care of that. If that physician wants to consult us, we are available. If you are admitted in connection with your asthma or allergies, please contact us as soon as you can after discharge so your ongoing treatment can be adjusted. For acute but non emergency asthma and allergy problems please call us for a work in appointment. Please call early in the day so we can work you in. You must CALL US for appointment anytime your chronic asthma or allergy symptoms are not under control, medications are not helping, you suspect side effects or problems from allergy injections / medications prescribed by us. No In-Hospital Care Our physicians do not give any in-hospital care except as outpatient consultants to your Primary Physician. You must have a primary care physician to care for you if you need in-hospital care for any illness, including asthma and allergies.

3 Interns & Residents From time to time, you may meet other doctors accompanying our medical staff in the office. These are senior resident physicians training at the West Virginia University and Charleston Area Medical Center. They are in the office on assignment to learn about Asthma and Allergic diseases. Our physicians also give lectures and teaching rounds for physicians, interns and medical students at Regional Hospitals, County Medical Society Meetings and Medical School. Medical Records and Reports After your initial evaluation has been completed and a treatment plan made, which usually takes two to four visits, we will send a report with copies of your allergy tests, breathing tests, lab results, etc. to your primary or the referring physician and the physician who will give your allergy injections. Thereafter, we expect you to keep your primary physician informed about your current treatment etc. At any time you would like us to send an additional progress report to your physician, please let us know. Telephone (304) You can count on us for prompt and courteous service when you call. For your convenience we have installed auto attendant telephone system. The choices offered are self -explanatory. For most routine problems, a telephone nurse will first call you and get the details of your problem. She will then consult with one of the physicians and call you back with the answer. If you must talk to one of the physicians, they will return your call as time permits, usually around 1:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m., to avoid interrupting the care of patients who are in the office. In urgent or emergency medical situations, please call 911 or your primary doctor or proceed to the hospital emergency room. Whenever calling us, please have your current medications and the pharmacy telephone number at hand. There may be a small charge for diagnosis and treatment on the telephone. Such charges are often not covered by insurance. After office hours our answering service can be reached by calling the above number or directly at For routine matters, please call during working hours. Prescription Refills For long term or maintenance medications, please get your refills when you are in the office for check up, injection, extract, etc. If you need refills over the telephone, please call during office hours. Refills requests may be made online at our website. It will take us up to 48 hours to call in your refills. We advise that you keep two days supply of your current medications separately in a zip lock bag for emergency situations. Smoking Smoking is not permitted anywhere in our buildings, including lobbies, elevators, stairs or bathrooms or anywhere near the entrances to our office buildings. Patient Education Asthma and allergies are not diseases you can catch and get rid of, like flu or measles. You need to learn to live with them. To enable you to learn Self Monitoring and Self Management we have a lot of good reading and viewing material in the Patient Education section of our website. It is very important that you understand what causes allergies, how to avoid the allergens, and how to use your medications correctly, and make minor adjustments to control

4 symptoms. We will discuss all this with you in detail as we go along. If you have any questions about your illness or medications, call us or inquire when you are in to see us. The better informed you are about your illness, medications, their benefits, side effects, limitations, etc., the better we can serve you. Insurance Forms We will be glad to prepare, file and help follow up your health insurance claims if you desire. If so, you must sign the assignment form authorizing us to do so. If you wish to file your own insurance claim, please ask for a walk away bill when checking out, and submit it with an insurance claim form for your insurance company. Payment Policy 1. Your share of the visit bill, including the deductible and co-insurance amounts, must be paid at the time of service. 2. We accept assignment from a number of plans and companies, including Medicaid, Medicare, and PEIA. For your specific insurance, please ask the receptionist. 3. If you do not have health insurance, or wish to file your own claims, or office medical care is not covered by your policy, we expect you to pay in full at the time of service. 4. If you have applicable health insurance coverage and assign benefits to us, we will wait up to six weeks for your insurance payment. After that, the full amount becomes your responsibility and is due immediately. 5. In divorce situations, the patient or the parent bringing the child for care is responsible for the bill. Pre-certification Managed Care plans may require pre-certification before we can serve you. If so, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have pre-certification before you come to see us. Please call your Primary Doctor or your insurance company for this. We will be glad to help in any way we can. Your Address Please keep us informed about any changes in your current address, telephone number and insurance coverage. We can serve you well only if we have correct information. Satellite Offices To serve you better, we have satellite offices in Logan, Beckley, Ripley and Parkersburg. The offices are open only on certain days. Detailed location maps and service hours of each office are posted on our website. Satellite office telephone numbers are listed on your appointment card.. These numbers are answered only on the days we are in the respective offices. At other times, these numbers ring directly in our Charleston office. When calling to make an appointment in satellite offices please clearly state so. Comments, Suggestions, and Complaints Please help us improve our services to you by giving us your comments, suggestions, or complaints. All such communications will be treated with courtesy and in confidence. You may use our pre-addressed, prepaid envelopes available at the front desk or use the Contact Us section of our website.

5 Check out & Use our office website for PATIENT EDUCATION materials, Appointment requests, prescription refill requests online. We Look Forward to Serving You!