Mea Culpa - the blog has grown stale

Mea maxima culpa

It's not for lack of time

Since most of my last three months have been spent like this outside of work

Let's see if we can bring this thing back to life, shall we?

Top 10 Reasons Why People Like To Come To Our Office

1. We do not weigh you

2. We give you candy if you would like some, or a rubber mouse or frog if you prefer

3. We absolutely don't believe in causing pain

4. We have quiet pets in the waiting room, not fish with running water sounds that make you need to urinate

5. We always have a smile for you

6. Our magazines are up to date

7. We have warm baby wipes for clean up, not cold scratchy paper towels.

8. We have toilet seat covers and grab bars in the restroom.

9. We make you laugh

10. We can give you an appointment SOON, not weeks from now, and even SOONER if you are in pain.

Our office is more fun than a ride on a piglet. Come see us!

The Ads That Were NSFN (Not suitable for the newspaper)

Many of you may have enjoyed seeing our recent ads in the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper or the online version. Just in case you forgot, here they are:

The online ad. This one was animated and linked to this blog.

The print ad.

But there were a few we thought might not be quite so suitable for general viewing. See if you agree:

Your Doctor is Now Board Certified

Dr. Roesel is now certified by the American Board of Urology.

What does this mean?

According to the American Board of Urology (ABU) it demonstrates a physician's expertise in urology.  The entire process of becoming certified takes approximately 2 years after finishing an approved residency program.

Certification by the ABU involves rigorous testing and evaluation designed and administered by urologic specialists.  The certification process evaluates a urologist's clinical skills based on education, examination (both written and oral), review of actual surgical cases, peer review and other criteria.

Dr. Roesel is very happy not to have to spend so much time studying so hard for a while!

Wednesday Februrary 10, 2010: Closed Due to Weather

With the last few days of unpredictable snow fall, traffic problems and bitter cold we decided it was safer to close the office on Wednesday to let the weather and the roads improve.

Everyone who was scheduled for an appointment on Wednesday has been contacted and rescheduled.  We still have openings on Friday February 12 available.

An emergency number is provided on a recording if you call the office (513-271-2862).  We will have access to our office computer system remotely and will be checking labs and other results.  If you have test results that require further treatment you will contacted by telephone today and we'll get it taken care of.

In the meantime, stay warm, be safe and remember, spring is just a few weeks away!

Changes for Medicare Patients

With all the uncertainty about health care reform most people are most concerned about the bottom line: How much is it going to cost me?

For patients with Medicare or Medicare Advantage plans, please take a moment to read this information. It is also available in our office and you are welcome to take a copy home to read and study.

First of all, Traditional Medicare has several parts: Part A and Part B. Part A covers hospital coverage. Part B covers doctors office visits and xxxx. Part D is an optional coverage which is for prescriptions.

After meeting a predetermined deductible ($155 in 2010) you are then responsible for 20% of the cost of your office visit.

If you have any secondary, supplemental or a Managed Medicare plan these may cover that 20% you will owe. The best way to determine this is to call your secondary insurance company and ask them.

We will begin collecting your 20% responsibility at the end of your visit with the doctor starting March 1, 2010. We will make every attempt to notify you of this new change when we call to confirm your appointment a day or two before. Please be prepared to pay this at the time of your visit. This will help keep our costs down because we will not have to bill you at a later date.

We are happy to show you exactly what Medicare pays for each part of your visit and your calculated responsibility that is due.

We realize this may present a new hardship or inconvenience. Medical care costs are soaring and we do our best to keep them under control.

Dr. Roesel does not order unnecessary tests and you will find she very often asks about your prescription coverage to help make sure you get the medications you need.

Medicare premiums just went up 14%.

Medicare works this way:

You have a deductible to meet. In 2010 it is $155. After that, if you do not have secondary or supplemental insurance you are responsible for 20% of the cost of your office visit.

Effective March 1, 2010 we will be collecting this 20% from you at the end of your visit.

Happy New Year 2010!

It's been a while since we posted any updates.

Here is the latest news from 4460 Red Bank Road:

1. Our practice is now one year old. We have grown more than we had ever anticipated in such a short time and are as committed as ever to providing you with the best possible experience you could have visiting a urologist.

2. We now have a full time nurse who is charming, sweet, funny and very kind. Many of our patients have mentioned how much they like her and how she puts them at ease.

3. As insurance reimbursement changes and as Medicare continues to make cuts in payments to doctors we have been examining what we are able to offer our patients and at this time, there will be no changes in the services we currently offer.

4. Insurance companies are increasingly shifting more of the cost of healthcare to the patient and this can come as a rude surprise. We not only verify your coverage when you come in for an appointment, we also can check your decuctible and see how much you have met. Many people are not aware of how this works and are surprised that they may be required to pay more in addition to their copay.

5. Our office policy is to collect copays and unmet dedectible amounts that will be due for your care at the time of your visit. What we collect is based upon the negotiated fees with your particular insurance company and the percent you are responsible for. If for any reason we have collected too much, the excess amount is promptly returned to you in a check. Alternatively, if you know you will be back you may keep the amount as a credit towards future visits.

6. All elective surgeries will require a surgical deposit prior to scheduling the surgery. This amount will be based up on your individual policy's negotiated fees for elective surgery.

7. We will be asking everyone for updated information about insurance, medications and any new health problems or changes that have occured over the last year. It is important for us to keep your record as up to date as possible.

Your allergy list is especially important to keep up to date.

8. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Last year we made some significant changes based on patient comments which we feel were all good. For instance, we now have toilet seat covers in the rest room, babywipe warmers in the rooms for comfortable "clean up" and we have better candy, all thanks to patient suggestions.

9. And finally, we are very proud to have been listed in the January 2010 issue of Cincinnati magazine as one of the "Top Docs" in Urology. Check it out on page 188.

10. We hope your new year is happy, safe and healthy. Best wishes!

Why No E-mail?

Lately we have had a number of patients who would like to be able to ask questions or communicate with Dr. Roesel via e-mail.  Our practice does not use e-mail as a form of communication with patients except for sending blank forms such as registration or medical history forms which are nice if they are completed and returned before your first appointment.

The reasons for this are several.  First, and most importantly, e-mail communications are not secure.  There are privacy laws that protect your medical information from being released to anyone but yourself and your designated individuals.  If we send medical information to you via e-mail we have no control over who could access your account and potentially see private information.

Second, all communications are considered to be part of the permanent medical records.  It is important that all questions and concerns are recorded in the record as well as the answers. We use an electronic medical record system which allows us to track calls, questions and answers and make them part of your medical record.   Although e-mails theoretically could be scanned into the record, it would be easy to forget or lose an e-mail.

We understand that many physicians now offer a special level of service to patients who wish to pay an additional fee each year and this gives them wider access to the physician via e-mail or telephone.  Our practice gives each patient the best service possible and does not charge any additional fees.    When a call with a question or a problem comes into the office it is sent to the person who is best suited to answer it.  Many medical calls are handled by Dr. Roesel's nurse.  Billing questions are handled by Dr. Roesel's office manager.  Scheduling questions are handled by our receptionist.  Please rest assured that Dr. Roesel is aware of your calls but may not be the one who answers them.

We appreciate that everyone's time is very valuable and understand fully that convenience is an important part of saving time.  We make every attempt to help you obtain care in an efficient and timely manner.   We are sorry that we cannot use e-mail for important, and private medical information.  Please remember that you are always welcome to call us at 513-271-2862.

We Have Made the Change to Electronic Medical Records!

No more this.

Our office is now using electronic medical records.  There are many reasons for this change and we hope that after we get past our initial learning curve it will make everything more effcient and convenient for everyone.

For all our current patients, everything in your paper chart is scanned into your electronic chart and can be retrieved with the click of a mouse.  If another doctor needs your records we can easily send them to him or her and if you would like a copy of your records we can easily transfer them to a CD for you.   

For our new patients, we will continue to have you fill out the initial paperwork which will help us get your record started in the new system.  If we have your paperwork prior to your appointment we can have it already loaded into the system and ready when you arrive.

The system we are using is called Meridian.  It has a number of excellent safety measures for patients built into the program.  For instance,  the medication checking feature allows us to make sure any new medicine we prescribe for you does not interact dangerously with anything you are already taking or allergic to. Soon we will be able to transmit your prescriptions from our office to your pharmacy electronically as well. 

For those of you who remember the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey - look how far we've come!

Our New Business Card!