Dr. Gabriela Bowers, M.D.

Dr. Brian Thomas, M.D.

MDVIP Affiliate (click for details) MDVIP Affiliate (click for details)

Gabriela W. Bowers, M.D. is a board-certified internist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, where she previously served as an Instructor and Chief Resident.  Dr. Bowers advocates preventive care and is an affiliate in the MDVIP network of proactive physicians.  She is was awarded the Charles Ream Award from the University Medical Center at Princeton, and is an electee of the AOA honor society at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she completed medical school and performed her residency in internal medicine.  She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Rutgers University and Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of South Carolina.

Brian D. Thomas, M.D. is a board-certified internist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick where he previously served as an Instructor and Chief Resident.  Dr. Thomas is an affiliate in the MDVIP network of physicians, who actively support prevention of disease.  He is recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Certificate for Excellence in Teaching.  Dr. Thomas received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry from Duke University before pursuing his medical education and internal medicine residency training at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Insurance and payment

Our doctors participate with the vast majority of health insurances in the state of New Jersey. While coverage varies by plan, we generally participate with plans through Aetna, Amerihealth, Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, CIGNA, Devon, Multiplan and Qualcare. Please feel free to call the office for details, as the insurance market is constantly evolving.  Call or visit your insurer website to verify our participation status prior to your visit.

 

 

 

 

If we are not participating providers with your insurance, you still have options with us!  Our fees are very reasonable, and most traditional or "PPO" insurance plans will pay a large percentage of your bill for out-of-network care; often this means you end up paying little more than the "co-pay" would be for a "participating" doctor.  Lab tests and radiology studies can often be done at facilities that do participate with your plan, further minimizing your out-of pocket costs, and we will work with you to find in-network specialists.

 

Our goal is to provide high quality care at an affordable cost. We believe that it is our responsibility to charge patients reasonably for the services that we perform.

 

If you want to be seen 'in-network,' it is extremely important that you contact your insurance company, either on-line or by phone, to verify that we are participating with your health plan prior to scheduling your appointment! Insurers frequently change their benefits and provider panels, and only the insurance company can tell you for certain if the doctor you are seeing is in-network with your plan.

 

If you have an "HMO," we also recommend asking your insurance carrier prior to your visit to find out if the carrier requires you to choose a primary care doctor (PCP).  If so, please select Dr. Kaur, Dr. Bowers, Dr. Thomas, or Dr. Sanghvi as your provider prior to your first visit to avoid extra costs imposed by the insurance company.

 

Health insurance is NOT required to be a patient of our practice. As a self-pay patient, please be aware that payment for our fee is expected at the time of service. Rest assured that you will be afforded the same quality care as our insured patients. We will work with you to minimize costs while still providing the best, personalized care possible.

 

Finally, please note that if your primary insurance is Medicare and you have a secondary or "medigap" insurance, it is important to notify Medicare about your secondary insurance plan so that you automatically receive the full benefits to which you are entitled through both plans.

 

Office Policies

EMERGENCIES

 

If you are our patient, rest assured there is a physician on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you with an urgent medical problem.  Just call our main office number or your doctor's direct after-hours number to get in touch.  IF YOUR MEDICAL CONDITION IS LIFE-THREATENING YOU SHOULD CALL 911 INSTEAD OF WASTING PRECIOUS TIME TRYING TO CONTACT OUR OFFICE!!!

 

CONTACTING US

 

We strive to be available for you when you need us.

 

To reach out for NON-URGENT reasons, such as appointments, refills, referrals, and general questions we encourage you to either send us a message through the secure patient portal (see below) or call the office during business hours.

 

For URGENT issues that are not emergencies after business hours, you can call the office and leave a message for the on-call doctor OR call your doctor's direct after-hours number.  Please do not use text messaging or e-mail for urgent problems as we are not able to guarantee your request will be seen in a timely fashion.

 

We generally discourage the use of text messaging with your doctor or sending email with sensitive information because these are not a secure form of communication and your message may be overlooked.  If you do send text (SMS) messages directly to your doctor or choose to email the office, you indicate acceptance of these limitations.  Should you elect to send text messages and later wish not to receive texts from our office simply text 'STOP' and you will receive no further messages.

 

OFFICE VISITS

 

We see patients by appointment only. We have same day appointments for established patients because we understand that if you are ill you may need our help! If you haven't yet been seen in our office, please understand that you must establish yourself by seeing our doctors before we can see you for acute illness.

 

If you are a new patient, please bring your completed patient intake forms with you to expedite your visit and ensure you get the most time with the doctor.  They are available under the Forms tab.

 

There are four basic types of visits you may schedule:  sick visits, follow-up visits, well-patient visits ("physicals"), and the MDVIP Annual Wellness Program.  It is helpful to understand the difference between these types of visits so that you can get the most out of the appointment.

 

"Sick visits" may be scheduled on short notice and allow us to address an acute problem for you quickly.  Typically our established patients can be seen for a same-day or next-day appointment.

 

"Follow-up visits" are frequently scheduled as you leave our office.  They allow us to closely monitor your chronic conditions, such as blood pressure or diabetes.  You may also need to follow-up for a particularly severe acute illness.

 

Well-patient visits, or "physical," are often overlooked by patients but are immensely important in your continued health.  This visit includes updating all of your immunizations, performing of screening tests in accordance with the latest recommendations of the American College of Physicians, disease prevention, and a complete physical exam.  All patients, regardless of age or medical condition, should schedule a physical once a year to ensure your continued health and well-being.  Please schedule these visits separately from "sick" or "follow-up" visits to ensure the entire appointment may be dedicated to this purpose.

 

The MDVIP Annual Wellness Program is a yearly comprehensive health evaluation that complements the prevention discussed at a physical.  This program consists of two visits about two weeks apart in which specialized testing and lab testing is performed, then you return for a thorough one-on-one review of the results with your physician.

 

APPOINTMENT CANCELLATIONS

 

Kindly provide notice of at least 1 business day if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment.  Repeated failure to do so may result in a $50 charge to your account for each occurrence.  Missing your appointment is unfair to our other patients, as this prevents them from being seen during your scheduled time slot.  Everyone will benefit from your courtesy in this regard, perhaps one day even you!

 

PHONE VISITS and TELEHEALTH

 

Telephone and telemedicine visits are available for your convenience upon request, but keep in mind the limitations of receiving care in this way.  Performing an exam in-person is often very helpful in understanding your condition, particularly for a new problem.  We do find that telemedicine is very useful for patients who want to discuss mental health concerns, or those who want to review testing done through our office.  Please be aware that you may be charged for medical treatment provided by the physician over the phone or through telehealth in accordance with current and accepted CPT guidelines.  Due to licensing requirements that differ from state to state, we are unable to provide remote care outside of the state of New Jersey.

 

COMPLETING FORMS

 

We understand that our patients may have a variety of forms that need to be completed by our office, including forms for school enrollment, verification of physical exam, disability paperwork, and vaccine history among others.  We encourage you to bring any such form to an appointment since many of them require up-to-date information.  Depending on the information requested by the form, a visit may be required to complete it.

 

WEB PORTAL

 

Once established with us, we encourage you to set up an account with our practice portal. This system reminds you of upcoming appointments, gives you instant access to test results, permits referral requests, allows you to review your bills, and provides direct communication to your doctor through a secure and encrypted system.

 

Please refer to the full terms & conditions of use regarding the web portal when logging in to your portal site. Communication via the portal is designed only for non-urgent problems, as it typically takes 1-2 business days for us to read and respond to your message.

 

REFERRALS

 

Some health plans require referrals for you to see specialists.  This is because they want to ensure your problem requires care beyond the scope of care we can provide.  We can only ascertain this if you come to us for evaluation.  You must schedule an appointment with us to be granted a new referral.  If you need to extend an existing referral or schedule a visit with a specialist whom we referred you to, you may not be required to schedule an appointment with us and should speak with our staff for help.

 

PRESCRIPTIONS

 

If you are on long-term medication, our doctors will typically prescribe a sufficient quantity to last until your next visit.  If you are running out of medicine, you may be due to be seen for a follow-up visit.  If you have an upcoming appointment, make a note of what medicines you need refilled so we can do so when you are seen.  Many prescription drugs require periodic monitoring... which is why you need to follow-up with us!  Please note that it may take up to 2 business days to approve refill requests for your medications.

 

If you have a visit coming up soon, please check on what medications you need refilled and let us know during your appointment.

 

Prescriptions written by other doctors or for narcotics/controlled substances will not be refilled without an office visit.  Routine refill requests will be handled only during business hours; this is because pharmacists are authorized to dispense three days worth of medication to you without a doctor's approval.

 

New Jersey info about SAFE and SECURE MEDICINE DISPOSAL: Unused medications that remain in your medicine cabinet are susceptible to theft and misuse. To prevent medications from getting into the wrong hands, New Jersey's Office of the Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs urge you to properly dispose of your expired and unwanted prescription medicine at a nearby Project Medicine Drop location. DROP OFF IS SIMPLE, ANONYMOUS AND AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY – 365 DAYS A YEAR, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Simply bring in your prescription and over-the-counter medications and discard them in an environmentally safe manner. Always scratch out the identifying information on any medicine container you are discarding. For a list of Project Medicine Drop locations, please visit http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/meddrop.

 

RECORDS

 

We would be happy to provide specialists or other doctors with your latest labwork, progress note, or medical summary.  Contact our office with the other doctor's information to arrange this by fax, or you may pick up a copy of the documents at our office.  If you require a copy of more substantial parts of your chart, we are happy to arrange this as well.  .

 

 

Windsor Regional

Medical Associates

Medicine... how it should be!

 

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(609) 490-0095

300A Princeton-Hightstown Road

Ste 102

East Windsor, NJ 08520

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