We accept new patients for consultations, diagnostic evaluation and second opinions. Patients are accepted from a referring a physician or by contacting our office directly. Appointments will be made as quickly as possible with patient convenience always in mind. It is of the utmost importance that we have copies of your medical records available prior to your appointment. In order to assure this, you may be asked to help us obtain these records or sign a medical records release form which allows us to request them from your physicians. We do accept Medicare and most commercial insurance plans and will file your claims for you.

A new patient representative will contact you to obtain the information necessary to enter you into our system and schedule your appointment. Please have the following information available: Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Address, Phone Numbers, Insurance Information, Names and Phone Numbers of your other physicians. You will be mailed a New Patient information package, which includes all paperwork to fill out and bring with you for your first appointment. You may also download and print these documents from the "Forms" section of our website.

We understand that from time to time you may have to cancel or reschedule an appointment. We ask that you make every effort to notify us as soon as possible or at least 24 hours in advance, since staff and resources are reserved for you at that time. Cancellations made less than 24 hours in advance and missed (no-show) appointments will incur a $50.00 fee to your account.

If you need prescriptions refilled between office visits, please contact our office at 941-365-0433. Please allow at least 24 - 48 hours for your request to be handled. We are not responsible for "last minute" requests. We do fax to most mail-away pharmacies, such as Medco, Caremark and Express Scripts etc. If you walk into the office unscheduled to get your prescriptions filled, be prepared to wait or have them mailed to you, called into or faxed to your pharmacy. Please be advised that by law, we cannot fill prescriptions if you have not had an office visit or stress test within one year.

Please direct any questions regarding your bill to our billing office, Sudaco Physician Solutions. The telephone number for all billing questions is 941-379-7872. The Heart & Vascular Center of Sarasota accepts Medicare and most commercial insurance plans as well as many managed care plans in the area. We do not accept GHI, Universal Healthcare, UH Medicare Masterpiece, Evercare, Evolutions and Wellcare Travel insurance, Workman`s Comp insurance, Car Accident insurance.. It is the patient`s responsibility to make sure Dr. Bredlau is in-network with your insurance company, or that you have out -of -network benefits. If we do not accept your plan, you are responsible for payment of services in full at the time of the visit. If you choose to utilize Dr. Bredlau as an out-of-network provider, please be sure to check with your insurance company on what co-pays and deductibles apply. We will bill Medicare directly for services provided and as a courtesy we also file with your secondary insurance or commercial insurance carrier. If your secondary insurance or commercial isurance does not respond to our claim, the balance will be transferred to the patient. Please be sure to bring any co-payment required and deductible with you at the time of your visit, so that we may properly settle your account. A number of insurance companies require referrals and/ or pre-authorization for certain medical tests or office visits. We are glad to assist in obtaining them, but it is your responsibility to check with your insurance if prior authorization is required and to make sure it was granted. Even obtaining a prior authorization does not guarantee payment by your insurance company. If you require referrals from your PCP to see a specialist, it is your responsibility to make sure we have it on file prior to your visit. We will try to obtain it on your behalf if we know it is needed, but if we do not get it, you will have to follow up with your PCP. We reserve the right to cancel any appointment we do not have a referral or prior authorization for. Should your insurance carrier withhold payment or partial payment of your claim for any reason, we will be glad to assist you in obtaining an explanation from them. The Heart & Vascular Center cannot guarantee payment of your claim or be responsible for negotiating fees or claims with insurance companies or any other entity. Patients are responsible for payment of medical care within a reasonable time, regardless of status of the claim. If circumstances warrant an extended payment plan, your billing office representative will assist you with such arrangements.