We Welcome you as a patient “We seek to provide excellent service to our patients in the delivery of comprehensive cardiovascular care, in an efficient manner, at a reasonable cost. We believe in providing compassionate heartcare that puts patient’s needs first.”

Address
2727 W. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Suite 800
Tampa, FL 33607

Hours of Operation
Monday through Thursday
8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.
(Office closes from 12:00 P.M. until 1:00 P.M.)

Fridays
8:00a.m.to 12:00 noon

Telephone Number
(813) 875-1177

FAX Numbers
(813) 870-0884 Clinical Records
(813) 874-1909 Business Office

Web Site - www.tampaheartcenter.com

Attending Hospitals
St. Joseph’s Hospital
St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital
University Comm. Hosp.Carrollwood

Prescriptions
While attending an office visit, please make sure that all medication bottles are brought in with the patient and that all medication refills are requested at this time. Please review the refill availability to ensure that you have enough to last until your next visit. This will save the patient valuable time later.

Prescription assistance forms are available for any patient who requests them.

Tampa Heart Center physicians will only write prescriptions for cardiac related medications. All other prescriptions will have to be written by the prescribing physician.

No request for prescription refills will be mailed or faxed. The on-call physician will not be able to call in prescriptions after normal business hours either.

If the patient did not attend the regularly scheduled appointment, the patient will have to reschedule an appointment and attend the appointment to obtain further prescriptions.

Requests for Completing Papers/Forms
A scheduled appointment is required for completion of all forms. Please do not mail-in or drop-off forms that need to be completed. This policy includes all forms such as; disability forms, patient assistance forms, parking permits, return to work, etc.

Cancelled, Missed, or Late Appointments
If for any reason an appointment must be cancelled, it must be cancelled twenty four hours in advance, or there will be a charge of $25.00 per office visit and $30.00 per diagnostic test.

Medical Records
To obtain copies of medical records, a “release of records” form must be filled out and signed by the patient or legal guardian. A $1.00 per page fee will be assessed up to 25 pages and 25 cents per page thereafter.

Copied medical records will not be mailed or faxed. They must be picked up during normal business hours.

Please allow at least seventy two hours for the paperwork to be processed.

Nuclear Medicine
Due to restrictions implemented by The Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Radiation Control, family and friends are not allowed in the nuclear lab while a patient is having the test.

Due to the cost of the nuclear medicine tracer, there will be a charge of $100 if the appointment is missed, not cancelled twenty four hours in advance, or is continuously rescheduled.

Referrals
Most primary care physicians require a five day advance notice for a referral for your appointment.

It is the patient’s responsibility to obtain a referral for their appointment. If we do not receive a referral forty eight hours before the appointment, we will attempt to contact the patient. At this point, the patient will have to obtain the referral, or the appointment will be cancelled.

After Hours Phone Calls
If you experience an emergency, please call 911. If you are taken to an emergency room for care please advise the emergency room staff of the name of your cardiology (heart) doctor. If the emergency room physician feels you require cardiology services, they will contact our physician on call. A physician is available for emergency care 24 hours per day/7 days per week.

Please call during normal business hours for all other issues or concerns.

Lab and Diagnostic Test Results
Be sure that all testing is completed at least two weeks before the patient’s follow up appointment. Follow up appointments must be rescheduled if the tests were not completed before the appointment. The physician/nurse practitioner will inform the patient of the results at the follow up appointment.

Laboratory Requisition Requests
Laboratory requisitions are distributed during scheduled office visits.

Unscheduled Visits
Patients are not seen without scheduled appointments. If you are experiencing symptoms that need to be evaluated immediately, please go directly to the emergency room, or call 911. If your symptoms are not emergent, please call to schedule the earliest available appointment.

Nurse Practitioner Policy
Tampa Heart Center physicians may have the patient scheduled with nurse practitioners in order to provide the patient with timely, comprehensive cardiovascular care. This policy is in place to benefit all patients.

New Federal Laws Concerning Privacy
Due to new federal laws concerning patient privacy, only the patient or authorized individual will be able to obtain any medical information concerning the patient. This includes subjects such as medication, tests, condition of patient, etc. Over the phone or in person, Tampa Heart Center will have to ask for name and birth date or social security number.

Tampa Heart Center thanks you for allowing us to serve you and your family with all of your cardiology needs.