COPC Endocrinology Specialists was established in January, 2013 as a dedicated endocrinology practice. Our goal is to provide quality medical care with compassion, and focus on the physical, emotional and spiritual well being of all our patients. We strive to help our patients become an active partner in their health care with a strong emphasis on preventive care.

We would like to encourage patients to ask questions surrounding their care and treatment. As specialists in endocrinology, we are committed to treat patients with endocrine related disorders such as Diabetes, Thyroid Disorders, Adrenal and Pituitary Disorders and metabolic Bone Disease.

We are happy to take referrals from your primary care providers!

Patient Information

As a patient it is your responsibility to tell the staff if and when something has changed with the following:

• Address                            
• Contact Information                
• Phone number
• Insurance policy                
• Co-pays                                
• Insurance card

Appointments

Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled visit time.  Arrival to an appointment 10 minutes after the allotted visit time will require a rescheduling of the appointment.  This policy is meant to respect adequate attention to your medical needs while respecting those who have arrived for their appointments on time.

All patients are responsible for scheduling, remembering and keeping their appointments.  Although we will attempt to remind you of your appointment via our E-messenger system, this is a courtesy only.  A missed appointment or failure to notify the office without 24 hours notice of a cancellation will result in a $50.00 fee billed directly to you.

If you have diabetes mellitus, please bring your blood glucose logs and meter.  

As appropriate, if you have not completed your scheduled/requested laboratory studies, you may be asked to reschedule your appointment.

All co-pays are due at time of service:  This is an insurance regulation policy that is made with you and your policy holder.  It is a physician’s office role to honor this agreement.  If a copay cannot be paid, you will be asked to reschedule your visit.

We accept cash, check, visa, master card and Discover.

Endocrinology Specialists will attempt to call you 48 hours prior to your office visit as a reminder.  If there is no answer or the line is busy, we do not repeat the call.  Reminder calls are a courtesy only and are not guaranteed.

Lab appointments are required to be scheduled in advance.

Patients who wish to cancel or reschedule their appointment are expected to do so within 24 hours of the appointment that needs to be changed.

If an appointment is broken without the required 24-hours notice OR the patient does not call to cancel and misses their appointment, the office reserves the right to charge a $50 fee.

We do not accept Medicaid products as a primary source of insurance.

Physician Referrals

COPC Endocrinology Specialists provide consultation and treatment for diabetes, thyroid conditions, glandular diseases and other endocrine disorders in adults. Our team works closely with Certified Diabetes Educators in a dedicated classroom within our practice.

Examples of Appropriate Referrals to our Practice:

• Diabetes with HbA1C greater than 9%
• Diabetes with HbA1C between 7%-9% despite the best efforts of the PCP at controlling the blood sugars
• Diabetes requiring complex insulin regimens
• Diabetes with uncontrolled hypoglycemia or pregnancy
• Gestational Diabetes requiring management of blood sugars and insulin regimens throughout pregnancy
• Gestational Diabetes Education (This service is a one time only class to teach patients the basics of nutrition and blood sugar management. Patients should be educated on monitoring their blood sugars and be set up with meters and supplies prior to attending this class)
• Hyperparathyroidism (with lab work performed without patient being on a Calcium Supplement or Thiazide Diuretic)
• HPN SN 2012 Section 12 Referral Guidelines 1
• 2012 HPN Southern Nevada Provider Summary Guide
• Hyperthyroidism with TSH and Free T4 (all labs to be completed within the month prior to submitting the referral)
• Hypogonadism (Male) with Testosterone and Free Testosterone completed by Equilibrium Dialysis (morning fasting), LH, Prolactin, TSH and Free T4 (all labs to be completed within the month prior to submitting the referral)
• Pituitary Disease
• Pituitary Related Amenorrhea with fasting Prolactin Level, Estradiol, FHS, TSH, Free T4, fasting blood sugar and serum pregnancy test (all completed within the last month prior to submitting the referral)
• Thyroid Cancer Follow Up with TSH, Free T4, Thyroglobulin and Anti-Thyroglobulin (all labs completed within the 3 months prior to submitting the referral)
• Thyroid Cancer New Diagnosis with thyroid biopsy completed prior to submitting referral
• Thyroid Nodules with thyroid ultrasound and FNA under ultrasound guidance completed prior to submitting referral

Prescription Policies and Information

Prescriptions and refills will be handled at scheduled office visits and enough medicine will be prescribed to last at least until the patient’s next appointment. Since we expect to fill prescriptions at the office visit, running out may be a signal that it is time to call our office to schedule an appointment. We request patients be seen annually for routine medication refills. If your prescription insurance plan requires a prior authorization for a medication, you will be responsible for obtaining a Prior Authorization Form from your insurance company for your physician to complete.  While our office staff and physicians do their best to help patients obtain their maximum prescription benefits, insurance plans, including drug coverage plans, are a contract between the patient and the patient's insurance company. 

If you need to change pharmacies or change your prescription to mail order, the law in the State of Ohio permits non-expired prescriptions to be transferred to the new pharmacy without charge or interruption. In the case of most mail order pharmacies, they disregard this provision and require prescriptions to be re-written. In the event that this is preferred by the patient BEFORE their next routine visit, the patient has a couple of choices:

1. Make an appointment to see the doctor for repeat refills
2. Wait for their next regular visit to change pharmacies
3. Pay a fee for the patient's physician to review their medical records and re-write the prescription - which will then need to be picked up at the office.  Lost prescriptions for controlled medications (such as pain medications, sleeping aides, etc.) will not be replaced

We discourage the practice of calling in prescriptions as it does not allow the patient or the doctor to re-evaluate the appropriateness of the prescription, and follow the condition for which the medication has been prescribed. We do not accept calls from pharmacies to refill medications. When pharmacies call us, we request contact directly with the patient.