Access Care

Need to talk to a provider? Make or change an appointment? Get a referral? Start here.

Call our Front Desk to make or change an appointment:

(508) 939-9358

When You Make An Appointment

Call our Front Desk to make an appointment:

(508) 939-9358

New Patient PACKET:

When you make an appointment, be sure to let our staff know the nature of your visit (sports physical, ear pain, etc.) and also if you have several questions or concerns to discuss at your visit. We want to be sure to schedule enough time to meet your needs!

If you anticipate being late for an appointment, please call us. If you are more than 5 minutes late, we may suggest your appointment be rescheduled, or ask you to wait, depending on the provider’s availability. Please note that we don’t offer walk-in appointments, but we do reserve a limited number of same-day appointment slots. Please call our front desk at (508) 939-9358 and we will do our best to get you in for a same- or next-day appointment. Please do not show up to the clinic without a scheduled appointment. 

Missed appointments dramatically impact our other patients and the office staff, as well as your own health care. If you are unable to make it to your appointment, please call to cancel. If you do not call to cancel prior to your scheduled appointment time, you will be charged a $25 missed appointment fee.

Before Your First Visit

Call our Front Desk for assistance:

(508) 939-9358

All new patients should complete the forms in the New Patient Packet before their first appointment.
 
You may submit it via fax (508-939-8644) or postal mail (P.O. Box 9000, Edgartown, MA 02539), or by dropping it off at our office.
 

When you book your first appointment, front desk staff will assign you to a provider/care team based on current appointment availability. You are free at any time to request another provider/care team, understanding that appointment availability among providers and teams varies somewhat. We will work with you to accommodate your request as soon as availability occurs.

In order to make Island Health Care your primary care provider (PCP), you may need to contact your insurance company to notify them in advance of your first visit and make any changes. This process can be complicated and is slightly different depending on which insurance you have.

First Visit Tips

Call our Front Desk for assistance:

(508) 939-9358

In advance of your first visit, you will receive a text from Island Health Care confirming the date, time, and location of your visit. 

You will be asked for a photo ID and insurance card (if you have one) for us to scan into your chart.

Bring all of your medications you are taking with you. Bring the actual containers or a list of the medications with the dosage and number of times a day the medications are to be taken. Include any over-the-counter medications.

Bring vaccination/immunization records.

Come prepared to review our New Patient Education/Orientation Packet, and sign the Patient/Care Team Agreement.

If you are transferring records from another provider or need us to send records to another provider, or if you need a referral, you will need to fill out and sign fill out and sign the Authorization to Request & Disclose Patient Health Information in the Patient Form Library.

Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. This is called a Good Faith Estimate. You can learn more here.

After Your Visit

Prescriptions/Refills

Please be prepared to provide the name and dose of the medication and your preferred pharmacy. Prescription refill requests require at least 24-48 hours; plan ahead so you do not run out!

We cannot refill medications we did not prescribe, or medications for patients we have never seen or haven’t seen in the past year. We do not prescribe new medications over the telephone; you must make an appointment.

Please note that many prescriptions now require prior authorizations and this may cause a delay in processing your refill request.

Laboratory and Diagnostic Services

Island Health Care is temporarily discontinuing in-house testing. All laboratory test orders will require that you go to a hospital laboratory.

Lab Results

Your lab results will be posted on the secure patient portal. Your provider will contact you by telephone if necessary.

Other Test Results

Your imaging results will be posted on the secure patient portal. Your provider will contact you by telephone if necessary.

Same-Day Appointments

Island Health Care reserves a limited number of same-day appointment slots to ensure that we have availability for patients who need to be seen right away. If you have an urgent issue, please call us at 508-939-9358 and select option 3 to speak to a nurse and we will do our best to get you in for a same- or next-day appointment.

We do not offer walk-in appointments—please do not show up at the clinic without a scheduled appointment.

Referrals

For assistance, contact our Front Desk or Mary-Beth Pate:

(339) 215-3779

If you need a referral to another provider or facility, you will first need to fill out and sign the Authorization to Request & Disclose Patient Health Information in the Patient Form Library.

Patient Form Library

Download the forms you need below in either English or Portuguese. Complete the forms and either mail them to us or drop them at the clinic. Please do not email the forms.

At this time, Island Health Care is not able to see walk-in patients.

If you are already a primary care patient of IHC and need to be seen right away, please call us at 508-939-9358 and we will do our best to schedule you for a same- or next-day appointment. Please do not show up at the clinic without a scheduled appointment.

If you are not currently a patient of IHC, you may submit a new patient packet and we will contact you to schedule a new patient appointment. If you require walk-in/same day care, please go to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Emergency Room.