Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Caduceus?
2. How long has Caduceus been around?
3. Who owns Caduceus?
4. Who runs Caduceus?
5. Who manages Caduceus?
6. What is a "Caduceus"?
7. Do I need an appointment to be seen?
8. How do Same-Day Visits work?
9. May I make an appointment if I am more comfortable with having a reserved time?
10. Which hospitals do the physicians of Caduceus use?
11. What if I prefer to go to a different hospital?
12. How are referrals made?
13. Does Caduceus have more than one location?
14. What insurances does Caduceus accept?
15. What if I don’t have health insurance and want to pay for services with cash?
16. Does Caduceus accept Medicare?
17. Does Caduceus accept Medi-Cal/Cal Optima, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids coverage?
18. How are prescription refills handled?
19. How are phone or email messages handled?
20. I am considering becoming a Caduceus patient. Is there a charge to meet my perspective new doctor?
21. What age groups do the physicians of Caduceus treat ?
22. Is Caduceus open to new patients?
23. How should I prepare for my first visit?
24. How can I transfer my medical records from my previous physician to Caduceus?
25. How do I receive results of my medical tests taken at Caduceus?
26. I am enrolled in an HMO and I am worried about getting a denial for medical services. Do you help us fight them?
27. Is Caduceus an HMO or an IPA?
28. Does Caduceus have a philosophy on the delivery of health care?

1. What is Caduceus?
Caduceus is a multi-specialty group that offers its patients a wide variety of services. These range from complete physicals, urgent care, and pediatrics to physical therapy and other specialties such as allergy testing, neurology, and even on-site MRI.

2. How long has Caduceus been around?
Caduceus incorporated on January 1, 1999. However, many of the physicians have been in practice together for over 20 years.

3. Who owns Caduceus?
Caduceus is owned by its doctors; we think that’s the way it should be. This way, if you have a complaint and tell your doctor, the odds are you are speaking to an owner.

4. Who runs Caduceus?
Caduceus has a Board of Directors made up of only doctors . They make all of the decisions regarding which services to offer, which contracts to sign, and establish our policies. No outside third party is involved in these decisions.

5. Who manages Caduceus?
Caduceus is managed by Caduceus Management Services, a wholly-owned division of Caduceus. In other words, we manage everything: from referrals, coding, and submitting claims to staff payroll, accounts payable, and collections. We do not outsource these functions to outside companies.

6. What is a "Caduceus?"
Simply put, the logo of medical care, also known as a "snake on a stick." As far as its origin, we invite you to read the various stories located on our Legends of Caduceus page.

7. Do I need an appointment to be seen?
For primary care services, NO. We commit to see you the same day you call or walk in, even if it is not urgent. We call these Same Day Visits. For most specialist and diagnostic services, appointments are encouraged.

8. How do Same Day Visits work?
You may first call to find out the best time to come in -- or simply walk in. The advantage to calling first is simply to determine if there is any expected wait time and how long it might be. We make every effort to keep the time spent in our lobby short. During our posted hours, we will see you at any time you call or walk in. For non-urgent questions after our posted hours, we invite you to experience our Mouse Calls service, part of our new Online Concierge program.

9. May I make an appointment if I am more comfortable with having a reserved time?
Absolutely. We want to be available to you when you need us, whether that means walk-in service to the traditional doctor appointment.

10. Which hospitals do the physicians of Caduceus use?
Caduceus physicians are on staff at St. Jude, Placentia Linda and South Coast Medical Centers. For obstetric and neonatal services, we also are on staff at Western Medical Center, Santa Ana, and Anaheim Memorial Hospital. Keep in mind that your specific doctor may not be on staff at all of these facilities, but our physicians provide coverage for each other.

11. What if I prefer to go to a different hospital?
Not a problem. Through its contracted network of hospitals, Caduceus will arrange for admission to any hospital in Orange County at your direction, keeping in mind there may be health plan restrictions. We will coordinate the authorizations to take care of the admission and any services by specialists you may need while in the hospital.

12. How are referrals made?
Our referral process is easy. If a referral is for a service or to a physician that is on-site, we handle all of these through our patient friendly "CD" form – also known as Caduceus Direct.

If the referral is outside the Caduceus network, we will work with your health plan and strive to have an answer for you promptly, usually within five business days. If the referral is urgent, we will have an answer the same day, as a rule.

Some health plans and IPAs are more difficult when it comes to referrals; we will inform you of any delay or concern as it may arise.

13. Does Caduceus have more than one location?
Caduceus' main campus is in Yorba Linda, across the street from the Nixon Library. Nearly all services are offered on the main campus which consists of 20,000 square feet of office space.

Our Laguna Beach office is relatively small, yet handles a high volume of primary care services.

A third office is under construction in Irvine, on the corner of Jamboree and MacArthur. In addition to primary care, it will offer services such as ultrasound, massage therapy, allergy testing, and orthopaedics. Additionally, this site will house a full-service sleep laboratory.

For a complete, up-to-date listing of services available at each location, please contact the three sites directly.

14. What insurances does Caduceus accept?
We are participating providers for most health plans and insurances, both HMO and PPO/HSA.

15. if I don’t have health insurance and want to pay for services with cash?
No problem. For those patients without insurance, we are proud to offer our Cash Price list which can be found on this website. We will work with you on any bill.

16. Does Caduceus accept Medicare?
Yes, we are Medicare providers. Because we believe that they offer more benefits and services than traditional Medicare, we encourage our patients to consider a Medicare Advantage Program. These plans are known by names such as Scan, Secure Horizons, and others. We will accept patients with any type of Medicare coverage, however.

17. Does Caduceus accept Medi-Cal/Cal Optima, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids coverage?
As a service to the community, yes; however, recent state cut-backs in these programs have made it a challenge to administer without compromising care. The Caduceus Board of Directors is currently studying the feasibility of continuing with all of these programs.

18. How are prescription refills handled?
If your original prescription allows refills (indicated on the label), simply contact the pharmacy directly. However, if the prescription has run out, call our office directly for the refill. We turn around all refill requests within 24 hours. We do ask that patients not wait until the last day of their prescription before asking for a refill, because many medications should be taken daily and never be skipped.

19. How are phone or email messages handled?
Phone messages are handled the same day; if the call was made late in the day, the caller will get a response no later than the next day. E-mail messages are often answered more promptly; we encourage you to consider using our Mouse Calls program for your messaging system.

20. I am considering becoming a Caduceus patient. Is there a charge to meet my prospective new doctor?
No. Your future physician will gladly meet with you to discuss his philosophy, his background training, and any questions you have about the practice. We regret that current regulations do not allow the physician to perform a physical exam, write prescriptions or dispense medical advice during this introductory meeting.

21. What age groups do the physicians of Caduceus treat?
Caduceus is comprised of a variety of physicians, allowing us to see patients from the minute they are born. The cornerstone of the group is made up of board-certified Family Physicians, Pediatricians, and Obstetrician-Gynecologists.

22. Is Caduceus open to new patients?
Yes. Our physicians never close their practice.

23. How should I prepare for my first visit?
We suggest you download and complete our patient forms before your appointment. If you aren’t able to do this, allow an additional 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment to complete the paperwork. Additionally, please bring your most current insurance card, and a form of identification (such as a California Driver’s License). We apologize in advance, the majority of this paperwork is mandated by health plans or government agencies. If your first visit is for a complete physical exam, you may want to consider coming in fasting (no food or drinks for 12 hours) so that we may draw your blood at the time of your visit. Dress comfortably; no matter what your mother told you when you were young, we don’t pay particular attention to your underwear.

24. How can I transfer my medical records from my previous physician to Caduceus?
Just give us his/her name and address. There will be a form for you to sign and we will take it from there. Keep in mind there may be a fee from your previous doctor for this and waits of two to three weeks are common.

25. How do I receive results of my medical tests taken at Caduceus?
You will be contacted by a member of our staff using snail mail, email or phone, depending on your preference. Please communicate your preferences to us at the time a test is done. Unless your test is very unusual, it is a good idea to contact us if you have not heard from us one week from your test date. If the test had to be sent out, it sometimes takes some chasing and we want to be sure to get results to you in a timely manner.

26. I am enrolled in an HMO and I am worried about getting a denial for medical services. Do you help us fight them?
Absolutely. Our staff is trained at appealing HMO denials. We will contact you once the denial is issued and discuss your options with you; this policy is assuming the request is for medically necessary services. Cosmetic services, benefit issues, and patient convenience issues are frequently reasons for denials, and they are the ones that we cannot fight.

We ask only that you start your appeal process through us and let us guide you and help you. If you start your appeal through the health plan, we are less able to be of any help.

27. Is Caduceus an HMO or an IPA?
No. We are just a group of doctors that practice medicine. We take payments from HMOs, PPOs, Medicare, and Medi-Cal/Cal Optima, as well as accept payment by cash, check or credit card. We don’t work for an HMO and are not owners in an IPA. We are not owned by any hospital. This leaves us free to serve you-- the patient-- as our one and only customer.

28. Does Caduceus have a philosophy on the delivery of health care?
Yes, and it is an easy one to explain: we are PATIENT-centered and physician owned and managed. Many medical offices in Orange County are owned by a hospital, designed to be a "feeder," to use that particular hospital.

Other medical groups are heavily invested in the HMO and IPA system and designed to fit within that system. Another trend that many of our competitors have followed is to decline accepting any insurance and charge their patients a large annual fee to be their “concierge physician.”

Caduceus rejects all of these philosophies. We believe in working to provide patients the type of medical care THEY want. That is why we emphasize our Same Day Visits and Online Concierge services. Being physician-owned, physician-run, and physician-managed allows us to keep the patient’s needs first and foremost, and that is the only philosophy we need.