Contact the Department of Medicine

The Department of Medicine is open Monday through Friday, 8 am – 5 pm. Otherwise, office hours vary by location. Upstate Medical University is open 24/7.

In the event of a life-threatening medical emergency, call emergency medical services at 911 immediately. DO NOT WAIT! Inform the emergency room staff that you are a patient of the Department of Medicine at SUNY: Upstate Medical University, and they will contact us.

At the Department of Medicine at SUNY: Upstate Medical University, we accept Medicare, Medicaid, and most major insurance plans, including:

• Aetna
• CDPHP
• Corporate Care
• Emblem/GHI
• Excellus
• Fidelis
• First Health
• Galaxy
• Humana Choice Care
• Humana Military
• Martins Point
• Medicaid
• Medicare
• Molina
• Nascentia
• POMCO
• UHC
• Wellcare/Todays Options

If one of our primary care providers suggests a specialist evaluation or diagnostic testing that requires a referral, we will make every effort to provide this for you as soon as possible. Some referrals require insurance preauthorization and cannot be processed immediately. Insurance guidelines prohibit us from backdating referrals. We require three business days for the processing of routine referrals.

If you are seeing one of our medical specialists and your insurance is an HMO/managed care plan that requires you obtain a referral from your primary care physician, the referral must be obtained before you can be seen for an office visit. Please coordinate this with your primary care physician in advance. Appointments will be rescheduled if required referrals are not received in the office by the time of your visit.

Doctors at the Department of Medicine at SUNY: Upstate Medical University have hospital affiliations with:

• Upstate University Hospital (downtown)
• Upstate Community Hospital
• Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital

Prescriptions and refills for established patients of the Department of Medicine at SUNY: Upstate Medical University are routinely issued during our regular office hours. You can make your request by calling your doctor’s office directly.

Refills are generally not issued during the evenings, weekends, or holidays, as the doctors may not have access to all your medical records during those times. It is helpful to anticipate your refill needs to avoid an interruption in your medication therapy.