Matthews Surgery Center

To log into your patient portal, visit MyOrthoCarolina. 

LOG IN

Advance Directives

Advance Directives are documents that allow you to state your wishes about medical care in the even that you are unable to speak for yourself. 

Download

Grievances

The patient has the right to voice complaints about their care and to have those complaints reviewed and, when possible, resolved.

Download

Patient Guide to Surgery

It is important for you to follow the below guidelines before surgery in order to avoid delay or cancellation on the day of your procedure.

Download

Medical Records Release Forms

Authorization to Request Protected Health or Billing Information

Download

Charity Care Policy

Matthews Surgery Center (MSC) will provide charity care (free care) for qualified low- income patients for medically necessary procedures.

Download

Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Download the Matthews Surgery Center patient bill of rights & patient responsbilities.

Download

Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information

Download

Patient registration is done via your MyOrthoCarolina (MyChart) account. Please log in below and then complete these two surgery questionnaires:

• Pre-Surgery Questionnaire
• Surgical History Questionnaire

It is very important for you to complete your pre-surgery and surgical history questionnaires PRIOR to your surgery appointment. You can do this from the MyChart App (Apple or Google) on your phone, or your desktop computer. These questionnaires are different from any medical history information you might have provided to the orthopedic clinic. These are specific to surgery. Your case may be delayed if you do not fill out your surgery questionnaires in advance.

Log In to MyOrthoCarolina

Online Bill pay is available!

Make a Payment

To make a payment by telephone:

or if you need assistance with payment arrangements, please contact us at (704) 815-7880.

Why am I receiving more than one bill for the same surgery?

There are a number of separate charges associated with your surgical procedure. You MAY receive charges from several of the following:

• Matthews Surgery Center: facility services.
• Providence Anesthesia Associates: anesthesia services.
• Your surgeon’s office: his/her fee for performing your surgery.
• LabCorp: services for tissue specimens removed during surgery that require further examination.
• If needed, some specialty services may require additional charges.
• An extended home health care service.
• Durable medical equipment vendors.

What type of payment do you accept?

We accept all major credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. 

MEDICARE

We accept assignment of benefits.

PRIVATE INSURANCE

Your deductible and co-insurance amount are due on or before your date of service. We will submit your bill directly to your private insurance company. A bill will be sent to your secondary insurance upon receipt of payment or denial from your primary insurance. If you have no secondary insurance, a bill will be sent to you for any balance after receipt of payment or denial from your insurance company. We must make a copy of each insurance card at the time of registration.

SELF PAY

You will be contacted prior to your surgery with an estimated procedure cost for your surgery. You are expected to pay 100% of the estimated cost of your surgery.

When should I expect my first bill?

We will bill you any balance due after your insurance company has paid your claim. There may be a delay if your insurance company has paid us incorrectly and we have re-submitted your claim for a corrected payment and allowance determination.

What is your credit and payment policy?

Full payment is due within 60 days of your surgery.

We strongly encourage you to personally contact your insurance company about your upcoming surgery. It is mandatory that YOU, as the insurance subscriber, confirm that all prior authorization information necessary to your specific policy is completed before your surgery date. You may be penalized by your insurance company if you don’t follow your policy guidelines. You must understand what your benefits cover and how this may affect you financially.

We will submit insurance claims for you. We may request that your deductible and co-pay amounts are paid on or before your date of surgery. You will receive a notice from us regarding the amount to pay. Self pay accounts are asked to pay 100% of the total estimated procedure on or before the date of surgery.

If you anticipate difficulty in paying your bill within the 60 day period, please let us know immediately.

Are we able to set up a payment plan?

We do ask that all balances are paid in full within 60 days of receiving your bill. If you encounter problems paying within the 60 days, please contact our office immediately at 866-718-5753 and ask for our collections department.

Do you charge interest?

No.

What if I do not have insurance?

Matthews Surgery Center (MSC) will provide charity care (free care) for qualified low – income patients for medically necessary procedures. This service, along with other community benefit services, is essential to our mission fulfillment.

NOTICE TO PATIENTS

A copy of our patient’s rights and responsibilities is posted in our patient lobby. If you have any complaints which arise out of these rights, Matthews Surgery Center maintains a grievance mechanism to resolve them. If you have a complaint, you may request a written response.

If you wish to direct a complaint to the North Carolina Department of Health, the address is:

Complaint Intake Unit 2711 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-2711

Requests for dates of service before 9.30.24, please follow this process:

Contact the Enterprise Release of Information Customer Service team for questions, status requests, medical record payments or invoicing questions at: 1-844-763-9163.

Submit all requests for protected health information via one of the following options to:

Mailing Address:
Novant Health Release of Information
P.O. Box 7688
Charlotte, NC 28241

Fax: 704-316-9556

Email: roienterprise@novanthealth.org

Requests for dates of service 10.1.24 and after, contact us using one of the options below:

Mailing Address:
OrthoCarolina
Health Information Management Release of Information
4601 Park Road
Suite 250
Charlotte, NC 28209

Phone: 704-323-2049

Fax: 704-323-3941

Email: orthocarolinamedrec@orthocarolina.com

All patients will need an up-to-date medical history and physical form. EKGs are done at the Surgery Center. If blood work or x-rays are required, your surgeon will advise where you may have this done.

Some families may elect to bring their children for a preoperative tour of Matthews Surgery Center. Please call to schedule an appointment.

Some patients may choose to come to the Center before their surgery date to complete paperwork or make payments. We strongly recommend that you complete all preoperative documentation before the day of surgery.

Yes. We strongly encourage you to have completed all the registration forms before the day of surgery.

Please notify the surgeon and the Matthews Surgery Center at 704-815-7880 as early as possible if you cannot make your scheduled appointment. Early notification can help us better accommodate you and other patients.

Please wear comfortable clothing. Button-down shirts or blouses are best. Wear comfortable shoes. Leave all jewelry at home, including body-piercing jewelry. If you wear contact lenses, you will probably have to remove them for the surgery, so consider bringing your glasses. If you have to wear your contacts, please bring contact solution and contacts case. If you wear eyeglasses, please bring your eyeglass case. Please do not wear any make-up as this can hide certain clinical signs. Please remove all body piercings.

You refrain from eating and/or drinking prior to surgery in order to prevent the risks of aspirating gastric contents during your surgery. This complication is very serious and you need to strictly abide by our recommendations. This has nothing to do with nausea and vomiting after your surgery as some think.

We have very clear policies as to specific times before surgery when you must refrain from eating and/or drinking. These are all based on safety standards. Please note that the standards have been revised recently. We believe that the fasting time should be as short as possible before your surgery. You will not improve your safety by not eating or drinking longer than necessary; in fact, at times you may complicate things a bit.

Children have different fasting schedules than adults, so please check in the Children and Special Needs Adults section.

The Health History nurse will advise which medications you should take before leaving home. Diabetic medications will be individualized. We will usually hold oral diabetic medicines and instruct you on the dosage of insulin. You will be instructed during your pre-operative call as to which medications should be taken. Please bring all your medications with you or a detailed list with medication name, strength, frequency and when the last dose was taken.

People using inhalers must bring them to the Center on the day of surgery.

Some medications will be stopped for the surgery, particularly diabetes medication and blood thinners. Please call us with any questions you may have.

Herbal medications may have harmful effects on the surgery. Many of these remedies may affect your clotting mechanism and interfere with the anesthetic agents. (The list of drugs and their side effects are too great for this site.) We generally request that you stop these medications two weeks before surgery. Please remember to mention these remedies when being asked about medication.

You are welcome to bring one person with you to the Center. That person will be allowed to be with you before surgery and may sit with you after the surgery if you so choose.

When a patient is a child often two parents and/or guardians will accompany him or her to the Center and will be allowed to sit with the child after surgery.

Please refrain from bringing young children to the Center as guests.

We will individualize each patient’s care.

We call each patient before the surgery to gather information and hopefully answer any of your questions. Preoperative instructions will be given by the nurse who calls you. You can also call the Center directly with any questions.

Yes. You can comfortably take a shower, bathe, brush your teeth, etc. Please do not use make up, hair spray, nail polish or toiletries. These may interfere with the anesthesia monitoring and possibly hide clinical signs from the anesthesiologist.

If you are not feeling well, please contact your surgeon immediately. During normal business hours, you can call the Center for advice. There are some surgeries which are safer if delayed when you are sick. We need to know specific details to make the decision. Please do not delay in contacting your surgeon or the Center.

This will not affect most surgical procedures. Call us if you have any questions at 704-815-7880 and ask for a pre-op nurse.

It is very important for us to be aware of this possibility. Only essential surgery is done on pregnant patients. If there is any doubt please contact us immediately.

Any patient receiving anesthesia should not drive until the next day. A patient receiving sedation for a procedure needs a ride home. The few patients who have procedures performed under local anesthesia alone could possibly drive home. This is determined on a individual basis, depending on the procedure performed.

We would strongly recommend that all patients have a ride home and will be received by a responsible adult when they arrive home. Patients will not be allowed to drive, walk or take public transportation after sedation or anesthesia. Please make the appropriate arrangements.

All patients will be seen by the anesthesiologist on the day of surgery prior to entering the operating room. Sufficient time should be spent to answer any questions you may have. If you need to speak to the anesthesiologist before the day of surgery, you are welcome to call the Center and we will arrange for you speak with an anesthesiologist. We can also arrange a preoperative interview if you desire.

We will make every effort to accommodate any special need you may have. We strongly encourage you to call the Surgery Center in advance so that we can properly prepare to make you comfortable. Do not hesitate to call and suggest anything that may make your day easier.

Yes. Please bring any walkers, post-op crutches, hearing aids, orthopadeic devices (braces, boots), etc.

• Bring case for eyeglasses or contacts.
• Bring insurance identification cards, driver’s license, completed billing forms, co-payments.
• Bring all medication.
• Make sure you have a ride home and someone to care for you at home.
• Bring a favorite bottle or “sippy cup” for your child; diapers, if appropriate.
• Wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing.
• Leave all jewelry and valuables at home.

The management of your pain is of great importance to us. We will be assessing your level of pain from the time of admission until you receive our postoperative call at home. We need to inform and prepare you for each step of the process. This education will begin with our first contact. You will be repeatedly asked to rate your pain from a numerical scale called the Visual Analog Pain Scale, or for children, the Faces Pain Scale. Using the results of our communication we will alter the therapy as needed in order to assure your comfort.

The management of your pain will be taken very seriously. We will often use a combination of different modalities to help make you comfortable, choosing from oral medications, intravenous medications, nerve blocks, injection of local anesthetic during the surgery, etc. and prior to the surgery, the management of your pain should be discussed with both your anesthesiologist and surgeon. Please feel free to bring up any concerns or fears you may have. Remember that information on pain management gives you the appropriate expectations and hence a smoother, more comfortable recovery.