Frequently Asked Questions

For your convenience, our office is open Monday through Saturday and three evenings each week. Please call to confirm office hours.

Yes, we welcome new patients from age 11.

Advocare participates with most major insurance plans. As participation varies by region, specialty, and physician, we recommend that you contact either our office or your insurance company representative to verify that your insurance plan is accepted.

Our providers are available 24 hours a day. Call the office at (856) 784-6666. After regular office hours, the operator will contact our doctor or nurse practitioner, who will return your call as quickly as possible. Please be aware that after-hours calls are intended for urgent medical issues that cannot wait until the next business day. Referral and appointment requests will not be addressed via pager. Please call back if you have not received a timely response.

IN THE EVENT OF A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY, CALL 911.

The American Medical Association recommends annual "well" visits. A well visit may be a checkup or a complete exam, and provides an opportunity for you to ask questions and learn more about various health issues. Your health care provider may also order important age-appropriate screenings at this time. Periodic follow-up visits are also recommended for patients who have chronic health conditions.

As your child enters the adolescent years, it is important to keep vaccines current. Annual well visits provide an opportunity for your or your teen to ask questions about adolescent health issues. If your child has any chronic conditions, they may be seen more frequently. Please discuss your child’s well visit schedule with our physician or nurse practitioner.

For non-urgent referrals:   when our doctor or nurse practitioner refers you to a specialist, please schedule your appointment with the specialist and then call our referral coordinator in our office within five business days of your appointment. Your referral will be available in three business days. Most referrals are completed electronically and submitted directly to the specialist's office. Please check with our office staff to determine if your insurance plan processes referrals electronically.

Urgent referrals will be processed immediately while you are in our office. Please remain in our office while your referral is processed, then proceed to your specialist.

You will receive a call right away with any lab results that require urgent attention. Other abnormal lab results will be addressed in a timely fashion by the provider that ordered the labs or tests. Normal values are usually not reported, however, you are welcome to call our office to request a copy of your results.

Please call (856) 784-6666 to request a prescription refill. Be sure to provide the actual name of your prescription medicine and pharmacy telephone number. After our doctor reviews and approves the refill request, our office staff will order the refill from your pharmacy and call you to tell you that your refill has been approved. If you have been seen in our office within three to six months, allow one business day for all routine prescription requests to be filled. If it has been more than six months since your last visit, we will schedule you for a routine follow up. The doctor will prescribe medication to cover the period until your appointment. If your prescriptions require prior authorization from your insurance company, please allow three to five days to obtain approvals and plan your refills accordingly.

Yes, family physicians are trained to manage common problems ranging from birth to old age. Certain practices may focus on special lifecycle stages.

Family doctors are trained to provide for the entire family, from infant to geriatric care. Internists see only patients age 18 and older and have additional training in managing complex adult diseases. Some internists may treat patients as young as age 12. We recommend that you check with the office to determine their practice range. Advocare Sterling Medical Associates treats patients age 11 and older.