A referral will be dependent on the type of insurance you have. Your particular plan may require a referral, and it will be necessary to have it on file before your appointment. Not having a referral, will result in the patient being financially responsible for the consultation costs. Please contact our office so that we may provide you with the details needed. We strongly advise our patients to always verify with their own insurance companies as well.

For your initial consultation you will need to bring:

• Copy of Referral from Insurance Carrier (if required)
• Imaging (X-rays, MRIs, and/or CT scans along with the results report) performed within the last year that is related to your injury and the reason you are coming to see us.
• Current Valid Government Photo ID (License, Passport, etc.)
• Insurance card and secondary insurance card (if you have one)
• List of current medications

For Worker’s Compensation Cases

• Please have full information on your case. Not having this information can delay your treatment.
• Carrier
• Carrier Address
• Adjuster’s name, phone number, and fax

For No-Fault Cases

• Please have full information on your case. Not having this information can delay your treatment.
• Carrier
• Carrier Address
• Adjuster’s name, phone number, and fax
• You will be required to sign a form authorizing Dr. DiFelice’s treatment.

We encourage you to come to your initial consultation with a written list of questions to ensure you don’t forget to ask them when you are seeing the doctor.

We handle your medical file with the utmost respect for your privacy. Our staff is bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment regarding your medical records. We will not release the contents of your medical file without your consent.

• Aetna
• Blue Cross HMO POS
• Blue Cross PPO
• Cigna
• Medicare
• Oxford

If your insurance is not listed, please contact us to discuss participation status

Our new patients will fill out forms electronically to be environmentally conscious. Please contact our office for instructions on how to complete the forms.

Before surgery, we may refer you to your primary care provider to complete a pre-operative medical clearance if you are having a same day surgery. This examination is to make sure you are healthy and do not have any medical conditions that could interfere with the surgery or the outcomes. Routine tests, such as blood tests, electrocardiogram, and X-rays, are usually performed before any major surgery. If you do not have a primary care provider, we will schedule you with one at HSS.

If you are having a joint replacement, you will be required to be seen with a HSS Primary Care Doctor who will perform all medically necessary tests in order to proceed with surgery.

If you are told you will need medical clearance, please ensure that this is performed within 30 days before your surgery.

If you see any sort of medical specialists (i.e cardiologists, pulmonologists, etc), please note we will require a letter of medical clearance from this physician dated within 30 days of your upcoming procedure. Please be sure to discuss with our office so we can advise of what is required.

Please advise our office if you have any medical devices, implants, stents, etc.

Yes, you will need an escort after your surgery. If an escort is not present, this may cancel your surgery.

If you have a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea and are on CPAP/BiPAP, please make sure to pack your mask and machine if necessary.

If you have received a brace from a local provider, please let us know so we can determine if this will be appropriate after your surgery. If it is not appropriate, we will provide you with the proper equipment you will need after your surgery.

Our office will arrange for your first post-operative visit within 2-3 days for wound check and to discuss next steps.

Our office will arrange for you to have 2-3 Physical Therapy sessions while you are here.

We usually recommend planning for 7-10 days. During this time, you will have 1-2 office visits and 2-3 Physical Therapy sessions.

We usually recommend flying after 7-10 days. Due to the nature of travel and recent surgery, you will be at a higher risk for developing blood clots (deep vein thrombosis). We will be prescribing blood thinning medications after surgery which should be taken for approximately 30 days. In addition, we recommend frequent ambulation and performing ankle pumps during your flight.

If you do develop a new onset of calf pain after traveling, you will need to go to your local Emergency room to evaluate for a blood clot.

This will be determined by Dr. DiFelice at your first post-operative visit. These visits will be a combination of virtual telemedicine visits and in-person clinic visit.