Surgery scheduling for physician office
How to schedule for surgery
We work with you to find time and obtain the case information to place on the surgical schedule.If your provider does not have block time and/or you are looking to schedule in open time, please call scheduling to verify availability prior to sending in the booking reservation. Before you schedule a case, please have the following required information ready:
- Patient's current information
- Correctly spelled legal name
- Date of birth
- Address and phone number
- Insurance plan and contact information
- Procedure/consent (without abbreviations)
- Anticipated start and duration needed for case
- Anesthesia type and company needed for case
- All Procedure codes (CPT), diagnosis (ICD-10) and implants must be present when scheduling
- Any implants used in surgery must be included in the prior authorization and should be noted when scheduling, including Allograft.
- Patient class
- Inpatient: Patient is currently admitted to the hospital (in-house)
- Pre-inpatient: Patient will be admitted to floor after surgery
- Outpatient: Patient will be going home same day
- Short Stay Admit: Patient is outpatient with the possibility to be admitted, not planning to be staying long than the 23-hour observation period
Line-up confirmation process
A line-up confirmation e-mail will be sent a day prior to the e-mail on file. This e-mail is a last safety check to ensure all surgical information is correct and ready to proceed smoothly the following day. If there are any discrepancies, please call scheduling immediately.
Please note: Any same-day or next-day changes need to be called into scheduling at 623-580-5800 and clinical orders sent directly to Pre-Admission Testing. Prior authorization should be obtained from payer for all same-day and next -day cases when payor requires prior authorization for the procedure. Please do not send patients through the emergency room to circumvent the prior authorization process unless the patient’s condition is emergent and the surgeon documents this accordingly. If a payor requires prior authorization for a scheduled procedure, they can deny an emergency admission and subsequent surgery if there is no clinical documentation to support the emergent nature of the admission/procedure.
Surgical block and polices
Requests for block time must be submitted in writing to the facilities' designated committee. The committee members determine how the block time will be allocated, then they communicate their decision to the surgeon requesting the time.
Unscheduled block time will automatically release as defined by surgical specialty release times under the direction of the facilities' designated committee.
Additional information regarding our block can be found within our surgical block policy.
Pre-services
We work to verify authorization obtained is valid and meets medical necessary. We also discuss out-of-pocket costs with patients and work to collect payment or set up a payment plan prior to surgical procedure. Prior to surgery, please ensure you have the following completed:
- Prior authorization
- Correct facility
- All procedure codes authorized must match the scheduled booking form and procedure scheduled
- Check site-of-service restrictions for certain outpatient procedures (Hospital vs. ASC)
- Medical necessity
- Ensure payor is provided applicable clinical documentation to support payor Medical Necessity guidelines (i.e. prior conservative treatment and all applicable diagnosis codes)
For detailed instructions pertaining to pre-authorization and how to prevent delay of care, please review: Physician office pre-service information
For more information on what to expect for patients, please see:
Pre-admission
We review clinical documents and speak with patients to get a complete picture of overall health to ensure that your patients are ready for surgery. Clinical documentation to send includes:
- HonorHealth Pre-Operative Clinical Order
- Office can send private practice orders if all information matches what is on HonorHealth form included
- Please reference HonorHealth Perioperative Evaluation Guidelines and Network Lab Testing Guidelines forms to determine if your patient will require clearance or testing for surgery
- History and Physical or most recent office note
- Clearance documentation (if available)
Our PAT department will make every effort to connect with your patient and review their medical history prior to surgery. If the department determines any additional documentation may be required, they will reach out to your office directly.
Please note that the PAT department will direct patients back to the office if they have any questions regarding prepping for surgery or date/time of surgery. PAT will only reinforce instruction provided by office, they do not advice on when to arrive or how to prepare for surgery.
See our patient education material and classes information.
FAQs
If you have a question that isn't addressed below, email us or call us at 623-580-5800.
Q: What insurance do you accept?
Q: What is Qventus and how do I get access and training to use it to schedule surgery?
A: The perioperative services team at HonorHealth is excited to announce its collaborative partnership with Qventus, an AI tool to optimize operating room (OR) access and reduce workload. This partnership aims to improve scheduling efficiency and strategically grow our ability to provide the care our community needs: Access to surgery scheduling at all HonorHealth locations. The Qventus perioperative solution helps automate and coordinate booking activities between our OR and surgeon schedulers, making it easier for you to find and book time in our ORs.
With Qventus, you can easily view available OR time, which will help your patients get the care they need. Qventus makes it easier for you to book surgeries, as you do not have to search for times manually via phone calls and emails. You can also upload orders and other documents in Qventus.
If you are interested in participating call Central Scheduling or email us at honorhealthperiopscheduling@honorhealth.com.
Q: Can my patient(s) have visitors with them for surgery?
A: Our visitor guidelines have been developed to keep our community, patients and staff safe. See our current visitor guidelines
Q: How do I get access to view patient records?
A: You can make a request ticket for access to CareLink, which is a web-based, read-only version of our EMR system.
Q. Why do I have to obtain authorization for Greenbaum cases for Osborn and Piper Cases for Shea?
A: Greenbaum and Piper are not free-standing surgery centers and use the Tax ID and NPI for the hospitals.
Q. Where do I send my orders?
A: Please fax orders within 24 hours of booking to 480-882-7874 (SURG).
Q. How do I get block time for my doctor?
A: Request for block can be submitted to the Sr. Director at the facility of interest. The request will be provided to a committee to evaluate and determine the outcome of the request. Requests can be submitted to:
- Deer Valley: Deana Manning
- John C. Lincoln: Sherry Addair
- Shea/Piper: Noelle Diesfeld
- Thompson Peak/Sonoran Crossing: Colleen Giggey
- Osborn/Greenbaum: Heidi Brennan
Q. When do blocks drop?
A: Automatic block release times per specialty can be set by facilities' designated committees, and are based on capacity, utilization and block waiting list. Typically, it is a week prior.
Surgeons with planned time away, schedule changes or outside commitments are requested to release their block a minimum of two weeks prior to assigned block, allowing OR to backfill available time. Notification must be made to Centralized Surgical Scheduling Office at which time block will be manually released.
Q. Do I need to confirm our lineup?
A: To ensure that the schedule runs smoothly the day of surgery, we request that you review the lineup email received and confirm that we match. If there are any discrepancies, please call scheduling to get it corrected as soon as possible.
Q. Why do our times not match when the lineup is sent out?
A: Start times may be different than what you have on your schedule due to booking by average times and accounting for room turnover.
Q. How do I go about rearranging my line up or adding a case for next day?
A: Next-day add-ons, changes and lineup moves need to be called into Central Scheduling by 2:00 p.m. Centralized scheduling does not handle any changes, adds or moves for Shea or Osborn for the next day. You will continue to contact the OR directly. Any same-day changes will need to be called into the control desk at the facility. Please refer to the contact list for contact numbers.
Q. My doctor only needs 30 minutes for this case – why are you telling me that their time average is 60 minutes?
A: Our system collects the average of the last five cases your provider has performed that were not marked as an exception. Scheduling is advised to book all cases according to the system average. Note that the average can change over time as your provider may complete cases at different speeds.
Q. Can you hold time or a day for a lineup for the doctor?
A: All requests to hold time are handled on a case-by-case basis. If you have the case information ready when calling to look for time, scheduling can book the case, eliminating the need to hold time. If you need more time to gather case information, you can contact the facility to ask if a hold is possible.
Q. Can I have an early or late start?
A: Contact Central Scheduling and they will make a request to the facility. Central Scheduling will contact you with the answer from the facility.
Q. Is there no time because of blocks?
A: HonorHealth does offer block time at our facilities, but we also try to keep time available for cases. If you continue to have issues finding available time, please contact us and we will review how we can better accommodate your cases.
Q. Does the patient have to be in-house to get a Saturday surgery date?
A: Contact Central Scheduling and they will make a request to the facility. Central Scheduling will contact you with the answer from the facility.
Q. What are your hours?
A: Central Scheduling is open Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.