Patient Resources

At Watauga Orthopaedics, we accept Workers’ Compensation, Medicare, and most major insurance plans. Please contact your insurance company or you may call our office to find out if we accept your insurance plan. If you have a question related to your bill or insurance, please log on to our patient portal or contact our billing specialists at (423) 282-9011.

If your insurance plan requires you to pay a co-payment, co-insurance, and/or a deductible, you will need to pay at the time of your visit. For your convenience, we accept cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.

If your insurance is an HMO/managed care plan and you are required to obtain a referral from your primary care physician, the referral must be obtained before you can be seen for an office visit.

Please coordinate this with your primary care physician in advance. Appointments will be rescheduled if required referrals are not received in the office by the time of your visit.

Prescriptions and refills for established patients of Watauga Orthopaedics are routinely issued during our regular office hours (see above). You can make your request by logging in to our patient portal or calling our office at (423) 282-9011.

No refills are issued during the evenings, weekends, or holidays, as the doctors do not have access to your medical records during those times. It is helpful to anticipate your refill needs to avoid an interruption in your medication therapy.

• Medical Records:
  • Please click the link below to submit a medical records request; Do NOT submit your request in person.
  • You will be asked for payment on this page as well.  There is a one-time charge of $20.
  • You should receive your records within 5 business days of completing your request.
  • After submission, if you have any questions, please call 423-840-8372, or email medicalrecords@medrecsmanagement.com

Click below to request a copy of your Medical Records.

PROVIDERS and THIRD PARTIES (attorneys, insurance companies, etc.), please fax requests to 615-777-3517.

FMLA/Disability:

• Please click the link below submit the disability/FMLA form process; Do NOT bring forms to the practice to turn in.
• Make sure to have your disability or FMLA form BEFORE logging in! No forms are provided on this link. You should have received a form from your disability carrier or employer.
• You will be asked for payment on this page as well. The cost is $30 per form, $15 for an updated form, and $50 for an expedited request (guaranteed 3-day turnaround).
• Do NOT put FMLA and Disability forms on the same request! These forms must be submitted separately.

Click below to submit your FMLA/Disability form.

If you have any questions, please call 423-840-8372 or email disability@medrecsmanagement.com.

Surgery/MRI Scheduling Timeline

Surgery Scheduling Timeline

1. Your physician orders surgery and will place an order in our medical records database.
2. That order goes to our surgery scheduling department and a member of the surgery scheduling team will call and begin organizing a date for surgery.
3. Once scheduled, the order will then be sent to our authorizations department where we will contact your insurance company to see if we need to obtain pre-approval for you to have surgery.

• Authorizations for surgery are worked based on the date of service, so it may take longer for our team to reach out to your insurance if there are other surgeries ahead of yours.
• If a surgery does require an authorization, most insurance companies will respond to our request within 2-15 business days. If your case is denied, someone from our clinical team will reach out to you to talk about your options of overturning the denial and what to do in the meantime.

4. After your surgery has gone through the authorization process, it will be sent to our prepay department where an estimated amount for your surgery will be calculated after we verify your benefits with your insurance company.
5. You will receive a text message and/or an email with your estimated cost. Payments are due 4 days prior to your procedure and can be made using the link or calling our office. If you need to discuss this estimate, please contact our office.

MRI Scheduling Timeline

1. Your physician orders an MRI and will place an order in our medical records database.
2. That order will head to our authorizations department where one of our team members will contact your insurance company to see if the MRI needs to be pre-approved.

• Authorizations for MRIs are worked on a first-come basis unless your physician has deemed it urgent.
• If an MRI requires authorization, most insurance companies will respond to our request within 2-15 business days. If your case is denied, someone from our clinical team will reach out to you to talk about your options of overturning the denial and what to do in the meantime.

3. After your MRI has gone through the authorization process, it will be sent to our MRI scheduling department and prepay department where one of our team members will call you with scheduling options.
4. You will receive a text message and/or an email with your estimated cost. This can be paid via the link, calling our office or paid the day of your MRI.  This must be paid before the MRI will be completed.  If you need to discuss this estimate, please contact our office.