Day of your procedure

Please follow these steps on the day of your procedure:

• Please arrange to arrive at the center 45 minutes before your scheduled procedure time.
• You MUST present your insurance cards.
• You are required to have someone drive you to our center and to pick you up after your procedure. You will be required to provide your driver's name and phone number upon check in.
• You MUST wear a mask when entering the Center.
• In the vestibule of the Center, upon your arrival, there will be instructions before entering the reception area, please follow them regarding sanitizing your hands and changing your mask to one issued by the Center.
• At your time of arrival, you will fill-out a COVID-19 screening questionnaire. It is very important that if you are not feeling well or there is any change in your COVID-19 status since your screening call that you DO NOT physically come to the Center for your procedure, but call us to reschedule at 518-831-1500.
• You will be given sedation for your procedure and will not be allowed to drive yourself home. When you check in your driver information will be requested. A cab/bus driver or child under 18 cannot be your responsible adult we discharge you to.
• When your procedure is complete, you will be taken to recovery for additional monitoring for 30 - 45 minutes. You will also receive written discharge instructions, any prescriptions and educational handouts at this time.

General Information:

Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 6:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Questions

For your information and if you have any questions regarding:

• Our Center or the information on this website, please call (518) 831-1550.
• Your prep or other aspects of your care, call Saratoga Schenectady Gastroenterology Associates at (518) 831-1500.
• Anesthesia billing services, call Anesthesia Group of Albany at (518) 465-0803 ext. 105.
• Saratoga Schenectady Endoscopy Center maintains agreements with Saratoga Hospital and Ellis Hospital to accept transfers from our Center when needed for emergencies.

Important Insurance and Billing Information

The Center participates with the following insurance plans:

1. Medicaid, Medicare, Railroad Medicare, Blue Shield, Community Blue, Empire Blue Cross, CDPHP, MVP, Cigna MVP, Empire Plan NYS, Unicare, Empire BC/BS, Healthy Living Partnership of Schenectady County, Humana/Humana Military, UHC, Fidelis, Aetna, ASA Aetna Signature Administrators (must have ASA listed on the insurance card) Coresource, Fiserv Benefit Planners, Fiserv Harrington, Fiserv Harrington AVMA, Fiserv Health Employees, 1199 SEIU, Fiserv Wausau Benefit Service, Meritian Health, Principal Financial Group.
2. If you are covered by a health insurance plan that is not listed above, we will be happy to submit a claim to your carrier as a courtesy to you. However, you will be responsible for any balance remaining after your insurance has paid. Please be sure that you have provided the correct mailing address and telephone number for your insurance carrier.
3. If you have any questions regarding this information, please call the Center and request to speak with the Billing Department. Know that the Center will work with all patients to ensure payment is made. If you need to set up a payment arrangement or want to seek information regarding our financial assistance program, the billing department will also assist with these requests.

As part of your procedure in our Center, you may also receive bills for services rendered from the following in addition to the facility fee from our Center:

• Anesthesia Group of Albany, P.C.
• Saratoga Schenectady Gastroenterology Associates, P.C.
• Pathology Company
• Pathologist

As required by law, we make the following disclosures to you in advance of your procedure, along with our patient rights and patient responsibilities:

1. It is the policy of the center that Advance Directives be suspended while you are a patient at the center. In the unlikely event of a life-threatening emergency, professional staff will initiate resuscitation or other stabilizing measures and transfer you to an acute care hospital for further evaluation, regardless of the contents of any advance directives, existing DNR orders or instructions from a health care agent. At the acute care hospital, further treatment or withdrawal of treatment measures already begun will be ordered in accordance with your wishes or advance directives. If a patient should provide his/her advance directive a copy will be placed on the patient's medical record and transferred with the patient should a hospital transfer be ordered by his/her physician. The center provides information on advanced directives, such as: Health Care Proxy, Do-Not Resuscitate Orders, and Living Wills. If you would like more information regarding advanced directives please call 518-831-1550. This will be reviewed again with you on the day of your procedure.
2. This is to inform you that your physician might have a financial interest or ownership in this center. The following are physicians who have a direct ownership interest in our center: George Boyar, M.D., Howard Malamood, M.D., John Defrancisco, M.D., David Goetz, M.D. Natalya Belova, M.D., William Gusten, M.D., Mark Metwally, M.D., Justin Provost, M.D., Chad Cornish, M.D., Vinay Sood, D.O. and Zachary Feinberg, M.D.

Day of your procedure:

Please arrange to arrive at the center 1 hour before your scheduled procedure time.

You MUST present your insurance cards.

You are required to have someone drive you to the hospital and to pick you up after your procedure. You will be required to provide your driver's name and phone number upon check in. You MUST wear a mask when entering the hospital.

You will be given sedation for your procedure and will not be allowed to drive yourself home. When you check in your driver information will be requested. A cab/bus driver or child under 18 cannot be your responsible adult we discharge you to.

When your procedure is complete, you will be taken to recovery for additional monitoring for 30 - 45 minutes. You will also receive written discharge instructions, any prescriptions and educational handouts at this time.

If you have any questions, please call Saratoga Schenectady Gastroenterology Associates at 518-831-1500.

Procedure Changes for Saratoga Hospital Outpatient Procedures

Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 positive rates in our region, Saratoga Hospital has instituted the following changes effective 8/3/2021.

Patient Visitors:

• Only patients who have been identified to have a need for a companion can be accompanied. One person only and this person will now have to be tested the same day as the patient for covid regardless of their vaccination status.
• Companions of this nature, will be asked to wait in their car during the procedure, unless there is a need to have them close (i.e. parents of minors).
• Anyone who needs assistance getting to registration from their car, but otherwise was not identified to have a further need; can be accompanied by a non-tested visitor, but the visitor/helper has to be masked and can only come into the registration area. They will NOT to be allowed up to the waiting area or allowed to stay in the hospital.

If you have questions regarding the visitor policy at Saratoga Hospital, you can contact the endoscopy center in the hospital directly at 518-583-8303. Thank you.