MedStar Health: Endoscopy Center at Silver Spring

Packet from your Proceduralist

Please read and follow any instructions from your proceduralist. 

Preprocedure Questionnaire & Financial Responsibility

Our center partners with HST Pathways for preprocedure financial estimates and clinical assessments. You will receive important e-mails and text messages from HST Pathways to provide information about your procedure and how to complete your preprocedure questionnaire once you have been scheduled. It is important to complete your preprocedure questionnaire at least 1 week before your procedure, but not more than 30 days before your procedure. You should expect to receive reminder text messages if it has not been completed before your scheduled procedure date. You will also be encouraged to review the important policies before your procedure by clicking the hyperlinks in the Preprocedure Policies section above. 

Center Contact

A clinical staff member from the center will contact you before your procedure to review your preprocedure assessment and to provide additional instructions. Please ask the nurse if you have any questions regarding anesthesia or your procedure.

If you need any further evaluation or testing before your procedure, the nurse will make you aware.

Instructions

You will be given instructions on when to stop eating or drinking before your procedure. It is very important to follow these instructions. If you have questions, please contact the center.

Medications

Please communicate all your current medications to your procedural team before your date of service. Be sure to discuss all instructions regarding your preprocedure medication management with your primary care provider especially if you take any blood thinners, insulin, NSAIDs, or weight loss medications. 

Have a current list of medications available for review on the date of your procedure.

Valuables

We recommend that all valuables be left at home or given to a relative/friend prior to arriving for your procedure. The center cannot accept responsibility for your personal valuables. Although your personal property is of importance to us, the primary concern of the staff is for your health care needs, and we will not be responsible for valuables on site.

Please Bring With You

• All your insurance cards
• A valid picture ID (Driver's license, State ID, or other legal identification)
• Credit card or check to pay co-pays, co-insurance, or deductibles
• The most recent copy of an Advance Directive (if you have one)

Things to Remember

• You are responsible to pay all co-pays, co-insurance, or deductibles for your procedure prior to or on the day of your scheduled service.
• Any patient of menstruating age will be asked to take a urine test for pregnancy unless they have had a hysterectomy.
• Messages left on the center’s voice mailbox after business hours will NOT be retrieved until the next business day. (For any emergency calls please call 911, urgent calls may be directed to the on-call physician through your proceduralist’s office line.)
• The center is NOT responsible for vehicles left in the parking lot overnight.

Discharge Following Your Procedure

Your nurse will review discharge instructions specific to your procedure with you and/or the responsible legal adult who will be caring for you at home. A written copy of all instructions will be provided as well as the contact information for your provider’s office if you have any further questions.

Preparation

You must be accompanied by a responsible, legal adult to be discharged and to avoid cancellation of your procedure.

On the day of your procedure, the center staff will confirm that you have a ride available.

If you Receive Anesthesia or Sedation

You will not be allowed to drive yourself home.

You will not be allowed to leave alone in a taxi or other transportation service (e.g.,Uber).

It is recommended that you do not drive or make major decisions within 24 hours of your procedure.

Please check with the center for the approximate time your ride should arrive for pick up. In some instances, your ride may be asked to wait at the center, depending on the procedure you are undergoing.

Follow-Up Contact

The center will attempt to contact you the next business day after your procedure to ensure there are no problems and answer any questions. For minimal disruption, you may receive this communication via text. Should you need to speak to center staff, you can indicate this via text or call the center directly.

Patient Experience Survey

We believe it is important to hear your views on the service and care that you received. Please make sure your voice is heard by completing our simple patient survey. Your feedback is valuable! You should expect to receive this survey via mail in paper form or electronically.

Billing

The center accepts most major insurance plans. If you have any questions regarding whether your procedure will be covered, please contact your insurance company. 

It is important to understand that you will receive a bill from both your physician’s office for their professional services, as well as a bill from the center for use of the facility.

If you received care from an anesthesia provider or had biopsies taken, you will also receive a bill from the anesthesiologists for their professional services and/or the pathology lab.

If you have any questions about billing, please contact your insurance company.