www.ea-ct.com
Endocrine Associates of Connecticut
Endocrine Associates of Connecticut
Endocrine Associates of Connecticut

EACT USER MANUAL

How To Accomplish Tasks at EACT

Greetings to our valued patients:

We are pleased that you have chosen to put your trust in Endocrine Associates of Connecticut.

First and foremost, we strive to provide high quality patient care. At the same time, we want to provide you with a positive patient experience. We want you to think of us as your ”allies” as you navigate a difficult, inefficient, and often confusing healthcare system. To assist you, we have created this “user manual” to help you navigate our practice most efficiently.

We would like to begin by pointing out that as a small, independent medical practice, we simply cannot employ a battery of operators to answer telephone calls. Because of this, at busy times we recognize that it may be difficult to get through to us by phone. We therefore propose to you that unless you have a truly urgent medical issue, there is ALWAYS a better way (than a phone call) to get your desired task accomplished.

  1. Appointments. We have a long patient waiting list. Because of this, if you know that you cannot make your appointment, please cancel or reschedule your appointment as soon as possible. If the appointment is more than a week away, the best way to reschedule your appointment is to send us a MyChart message. Within one business day, our scheduling staff will reply to you with potential rescheduling slots. Because we are busy, we also realize that we cannot always offer you an appointment slot as soon as you might like. If you believe that you have need a truly urgent need, please send a MYCHART MESSAGE directly to your clinician, and he/she will try to find a way to see you sooner. You may need to have some FLEXIBILITY to get this done.
  2. Prescription refills. The best way to obtain a prescription refill is to ask your PHARMACY to send us an electronic request. If you prefer to contact us directly, please use MYCHART to request a refill. Messages can also be left on voicemail as a last option.
  3. Prescription Medications: Prior authorizations. There will be times when your insurance company will prohibit you from picking up your medication from the pharmacy, because the drug requires a prior authorization. For this reason, NEVER WAIT UNTIL THE LAST WEEK TO REFILL A LONG TERM PRESCRIPTION. PRIOR AUTHROIZATIONS CAN TAKE A WEEK OR TWO TO COMPLETE. Please do not expect that we will be able to complete this task within one day, it is simply unrealistic. Should there be a delay in obtaining your medication, please contact us for drug samples or for an alternate medical plan.
  4. Labslips. Please do NOT assume that a labslip will be waiting for you at Quest, Yale, or any other laboratory. If you are planning a visit to the lab and you are not sure if you have an active lab request, please send a MyChart message directly to your clinician, allowing 48 hours for your clinician to respond. If you call from the lab, it is unlikely that your clinician will be able to fix this problem. Also, please note that most of our clinicians will have entered your lab request during your prior visit. These lab directions are often present on your “after visit summary.”
  5. Medical issues/questions. Should be triaged as follows
    1. For a true medical emergency, please dial 911.
    2. For urgent medical issues, please call 203-488-5885 and dial “0” to speak to a human being.
    3. For less urgent medical issues, please try NOT to use the phone. Again, your best option is to send a MYCHART MESSAGE directly to your clinician. If you do need to call, please go directly into the voice mailbox of your clinician’s medical assistant (via the phone tree).
  6. Billing/insurance issues. The best way to inquire about billing/insurance issues is to send a MYCHART message, which will directed to our office manager. If you do need to call us, please direct your message to our office manager, not to your clinician.
  7. Medical records requests. The best way to request medical records is to send a MYCHART message, which will be directed to our medical records department. If you do need to call, please direct your message into the medical records mailbox. Except for emergencies, medical record requests may take up to one week to be processed.