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Frequently Asked Questions What are the hours of operation? Monday through Friday, 8:00am until 5pm. We do close between 12:30pm and 1:30pm for lunch. The office is closed for the following major holidays: Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. What services does Paris Family Physicians provide? In addition to general sick visits and the management of common medical problems (like hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, etc), we also perform the following services: EKG, skin lesion removal, cryotherapy for warts or other skin growths, laceration repair, ingrown toenail removal, splinter/foreign body removal, tendon/bursa “cortisone” injections, ear wax (cerumen) removal, casting for simple fractures, common vaccinations, PAP smears, school/sports physicals, employment physicals, allergy injections, and a full spectrum of blood tests (through PathGroup). Feel free to contact us if you have a question about a service you might need that you don’t see on this list. If we can’t do it for you, we can refer you to someone who does. How long does it take to get test results back? It depends on the test. See chart below for general guidelines. Please be aware that the physician or staff will attempt to contact you with results of your testing. If you have signed up for the Patient Portal, you will receive an email inviting you to log on to view the results and the doctor’s comments. Otherwise, we will attempt to call you, even if the results are normal. Please do NOT assume that the results are normal if you don’t hear from us. If you don’t hear from us, that means either the results got sent to the wrong doctor, the doctor never saw them, or we had trouble getting in touch with you. Please don’t be afraid to call us to ask if you don’t hear from us. We don’t want to miss any important lab results. Please be sure to let us know if your phone number or contact information has changed so that it is easy for us to contact you with lab results.
How long does it take for a medication refill request to be completed? Please give at least one business day’s notice for refill requests. Please do not call the doctor after hours for refill requests. Medication refill requests will only be completed during regular business hours. There are several ways to request a refill. If you are a member of the Patient Portal, you can submit your request online. You may also call your pharmacist and he/she can send an electronic request to us. You may also call our office and leave a message. Please be advised if you are calling for a refill, that probably means you should make an appointment to be seen. The doctor usually gives enough medication to last until you’re due for a recheck. It might be easiest to make an appointment and obtain your refill directly from the physician during the appointment. What do the abbreviations I see on the Portal's medicine list mean? Part of the reason for you to view your medicine list on the Patient Portal is to alert us if there is an error, but medicine abbreviations can be a little confusing. Here are some common medicine abbreviations and their definitions: PO = by mouth
PR = by rectum
subQ = subcutaneously (i.e. injected, like with insulin)
QD or "Q day" = once a day
QHS = before bedtime
QAM = once a day in the morning
Q6h = every six hours (or others: QXh = every "X" hours, where "X" is a number)
QOD = every other day
Q odd day = every odd day on the calendar
Q even day = every even day on the calendar
Q Thursday = every Thursday (or others: Q X = every "X", where "X" is a day of the week)
AC = before meals
BID = twice a day
TID = three times a day
QID = four times a day
PRN = "as needed" (Note: this will usually be followed by a reason, i.e. "PRN nausea" would mean "as needed to treat nausea")
"Q month" = once a month
BIW = twice a week
TIW = three times a week
If you run across any abbreviations not listed, please send us a message and we'll tell you what it means.
Is Paris Family Physicians accepting new patients? Yes, Dr. Petras is currently accepting new patients on a selective basis. If you are interested in becoming a new patient, please call our office or fill out our online new patient registration form found at the bottom of the forms page. If you choose to call, the receptionist will take your name and some general information. The doctor will review it and we will get back to you usually within 2 business days. If you are accepted, please download and fill out the new patient registration form and bring the completed form with you for your first appointment. If you fill out the online form, we will review your information and usually get back to you within two business days. Please be sure to bring a copy of your insurance card and a photo ID for your first visit. Is Paris Family Physicians accepting new NURSING HOME patients? Not for patients with whom we have no previous relationship. We do, however, continue to care for long time, loyal patients who move to Bourbon Heights. Bourbon Heights is the only nursing home with which Paris Family Physicians has admitting privileges. What forms of payment does Paris Family Physicians accept? Cash, check, PayPal and credit card (VISA and Mastercard). Penalty fees will be applied to any returned checks and we reserve the right to refuse to accept checks from clients who have a history of bouncing checks. What insurance plans do Paris Family Physicians accept? We accept most forms of health insurance. You should be able to find us listed on your insurance company’s website as a “in network” provider. If any question, please feel free to call us or your insurance company and the staff can confirm for you. Can you bill me for my co-pay? No, unfortunately, the agreements we sign with your insurance company obligate us to collect the co-pay on the date of service. Does Paris Family Physicians accept “Worker’s Compensation” insurance? Yes, but only for long-standing patients with whom we have established relationships. Does Paris Family Physicians see children? YES! We see the whole family from age 0 on up. Does Paris Family Physicians deliver babies? No, unfortunately we do not. As family practitioners, we have been trained to deliver babies, but our hospital does not have an obstetrics ward. If you are pregnant, we can refer you to an obstetrician. What vaccines are given and at what age for myself or my child? Please click here for the Pediatric Immunization Schedule ages 0-6 and here for the Pediatric Immunization Schedule ages 7-18. For the immunization schedule for adults, please click here. These forms can also be found on our Forms page. What things should I be doing for Routine Health Maintenance? In addition to maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco in all forms and drinking alcohol in moderation, there are some routine tests that you should have done, depending on your age and gender.
Do the physicians at Paris Family Physicians see their own patients if they get hospitalized? No, Paris Family Physicians utilizes the “hospitalist” service. What is a “hospitalist”? A hospitalist is a doctor who specializes in seeing only patients who are admitted to the hospital. A hospitalist’s only responsibilities are in the hospital and it allows your physician to focus on the care of the patients in the office instead of being torn between the office and the hospital. It’s impossible to be in two places at the same time and nearly impossible for one physician to do a good job at both places. The physicians who run the hospitalist service at Bourbon Community Hospital are excellent. Rest assured that your doctor at Paris Family Physicians works closely with the hospitalists and trusts them to care for our patients. How do I get a copy of my medical records? You may request a copy your records in writing or by filling out a medical record release request form. The first request is supplied free of charge. The second or successive requests will be supplied at a rate of 5-cents per page. What is the after-hours policy for patients calling with problems or questions? Paris Family Physicians offers 24-hour call coverage. However, please use your common sense before calling the doctor when the office is closed. Please understand that your doctor can NOT make an accurate diagnosis over the telephone without a proper physical examination. In fact, malpractice insurance carriers instruct doctors to tell patients to seek care at an emergency room or an urgent treatment center, no matter how minor the complaint or question because of the inability to make an adequate assessment of the problem over the telephone. It is a strict policy at Paris Family Physicians that we do NOT call in antibiotics or pain medications without seeing you in the office and performing an appropriate examination of your symptoms. We ask that you plan ahead for refill requests. Please do not call the physician on call with simple refill requests after hours or on weekends. These requests are only fulfilled during regular business hours. If you have somehow forgotten to ask for your regular medication refill and find yourself running out on a Saturday, check with your pharmacist before calling the physician to see if you have any refills you may not be aware of. Please plan ahead so that you don’t find yourself out of medications. If you do have a question that you feel can't wait until regular business hours, you can get in touch with the doctor on call by calling 859-987-3577. You will hear an answering machine message stating that the office is closed. Listen carefully to the entire message and follow the instructions and you will be connected to the doctor. What is the policy for filling out disability papers (or family medical leave or other detailed paperwork)? These extensive forms employers, lawyers, and government agencies are always asking to be filled out are starting to overwhelm many medical offices. Most offices charge a fee to fill out such paperwork as it does eat up a great deal of staff time. We have found that the papers tend to be filled out more accurately if filled out by both physician and patient together. Therefore, we prefer you make an appointment and your physician will fill out the form with you. If that is not possible for you, you may speak with the receptionist and drop off the forms to be filled out. There will be a $25 fee (not reimbursed by insurance) and expect approximately a 7-business-day turn around time if you choose this option. Please be advised that there are certain disability exams that we do not do. You may need referral to a physical therapist or a doctor with special training for certain disability assessments. If there’s any question, please feel free to contact us. What if I can’t pay my bill? Anybody can come on tough times. If you find yourself in a financial situation where you are unable to pay your bill on the due date, we ask that you call or stop in and talk to us about it. We are reasonable and will make accommodations, depending on the circumstances of your situation. We will do everything we can to find a mutually agreeable payment schedule and, as long as you honor the agreement we make together, we will continue to see you. We usually will only discharge patients from the practice who make no effort whatsoever to pay their bills and who ignore our mailings or our phone calls. What is Paris Family Physicians’ Privacy Policy? We follow the federal HIPPA laws and are serious about maintaining your privacy. Click here for more information about HIPPA. If you feel that any staff member has violated your privacy, please contact Dr. Green. In regard to your email address if you sign up for our newsletter service, please be aware that we will NEVER sell your email to any outside entity. The contact information that you supply us with will only be used by our office for official business. Is Paris Family Physicians looking to hire? We hope to maintain a low staff turnover, but might expand in the future if new providers eventually join the practice. Therefore, we will accept any applications from interested parties. Please download and fill out the Employee Application and drop it off or mail it to us. If we’re not hiring at the time you complete the application, we will keep your application on file and may call you in the future if an opening comes available. |