Please come on time to your first visit. If your radiation appointment is your first visit to Fox Chase Cancer Center, you will find both your registration and appointment time in your new patient appointment letter. When you get here, please go to New Patient Registration in the West Building. We will register you at this time.
What To Bring To New Patient Registration
- All health insurance cards, including prescription cards, and a referral form (if your health plan needs a written referral)
- You should check your health plan to see if you will need a referral for the services you will have at Fox Chase. This includes provider visits, lab service, radiology studies and other services. We must receive your referrals before all visits or treatments.
- Co-payment: Based on your type of insurance, you may need to make a co-pay. If you are unsure if this will be needed, call your health plan’s member services department or your Fox Chase nurse navigator.
- Your social security number
- State- or government-issued picture ID, such as a driver’s license or passport
- Copy of your advance directive, if you have one.
- An advance directive may be created no matter what your life stage or health. This legal document is also known as a living will. It tells your doctor what health care you would like provided or withheld in case you are not able to tell them yourself as a result of your health status. You should bring a copy of any medical power of attorney you may have as well as this legal document authorizing another person to make healthcare decisions for you.
- Name and address of your primary care doctor and other doctors who should get reports/updates
- Completed Patient Registration Form
- If you prefer, you may fax this form to us at 215-214-1629 at least one working day before your appointment.
- Completed New Patient Assessment Form
After you have registered, we will send you to the area where you will see the doctor.
What To Bring For The Doctor
Please bring these items with you to your first visit if they have not been sent before your visit:
- Your medical records, X-rays, reports of your X-rays, and results of all blood work
- All past radiation records, along with treatment planning
- Pathology slides
- It is very important to ask for all pathology slides from your biopsy or surgery. To do this, call the doctor who performed your biopsy or surgery. We urge you to have your pathology/cytology slides (glass) sent as soon as possible before your visit.
- Your health history, including a list of your doctors, allergies, and any prescription and over-the- counter medicines you take (include doses and how often you take them)
- Completed New Patient History Checklist
- Questions for your doctor
Important Note
Before your first visit, your nurse navigator may have already worked with you to collect:
- A copy of your health records
- X-ray CDs and reports
- Pathology slides and reports
Your records are very important to your care. You will need to get your records unless other plans have been made by your referring doctor. Read our Patient Records Checklist for more information.
We will return your pathology slides and original X-rays to the hospital or facility they came from after we have reviewed them. All printed material that you bring with you will be kept at Fox Chase as part of your medical record. If you wish to keep copies for yourself, please make them before your visit or ask the hospital or facility for extra copies. We cannot copy records for you. If you have trouble getting your records, please call 215-728-5641.
New and Existing Patients
Plan to be at Fox Chase for 2–3 hours on your first visit. Our nursing and physician team will fully evaluate you, talk about your treatment options, and answer any questions you may have. We suggest you bring a family member or friend with you to this visit. It is helpful for another person to hear your doctor’s plan for care and offer you support. Your support person can also help make sure all of your questions are fully answered.
If You Have a Pacemaker, an Implanted Defibrillator or an Insulin Pump
It is very important that you tell your doctor and nurses if you have any device implanted in your body. Radiation therapy could affect it. If you have an implanted cardiac device, please bring your device ID card to your visit. If your device is in the part of your body that will be treated, we may need to make plans with your cardiologist to remove it. Before treatment, we suggest you have your device checked by your cardiology team to make sure it is working properly.
For questions about your visit, call 215-728-5641.
Canceling or Rescheduling Your First Appointment
If you need to cancel or change your appointment, please call us as soon as possible, at least 24 hours before your visit, at 215-728-5641.
Billing for Your Radiation Services
Fox Chase will send two bills to your insurance company—one for the doctor’s services and one for the hospital-based services (Fox Chase Cancer Center). After your insurance pays, you may get two bills from us. These show your out-of-pocket costs, such as copays, co-insurance and deductibles.
Also, you may notice radiation services billed during a time you were not here in the department. This is standard. Your radiation plan is developed behind the scenes by a medical physicist and dosimetrist. It is based on information gathered from your simulation and your doctor. Several things are billed as part of this process, including treatment planning, calculations and, often, treatment devices. During treatment, your radiation chart is reviewed by a physicist once every five treatments and may happen over a weekend. Your radiation doctor will see you once every five treatments to make sure you are adjusting to the radiation as expected and do not have any adverse effects.
Based on your insurance company, the hospital will get an authorization for all expenses at the time your simulation is scheduled. In order for this process to run smoothly, please make sure we have your most current insurance information. If your information changes, please tell the front desk.
Insurance
Fox Chase Cancer Center accepts many health plans. Please visit FoxChase.org/patients/insurance- financial to make sure that we accept your plan. You should also call your insurance company to go over your benefits and patient liability. Patient liability is what you might have to pay out-of-pocket. This includes deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and any care and services not covered by your health plan.