Office And Phone Hours
We are here in the office to take your calls at 314-909-1359 from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. Calls received after 4 p.m. may not be returned until the next business day. In case of emergency during other times, please call the medical exchange at 314-909-1359 or dial 911.
Dr. Collard’s regular office hours are:
Monday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Dr. Collard normally performs surgery on Tuesdays, Thursday mornings, and Fridays. He is not available for office appointments at those times.
Staff Roles
Dr. Collard’s highly trained staff is here to serve you and help you navigate the treatment process. Please feel free to contact them if you have a question regarding their area of expertise, as described below.
Kellie Tiepelman, LPN and Samantha Brady — Kellie and Samantha are Dr. Collard’s nurses. You are encouraged to contact them with any questions regarding surgery, surgery scheduling, medication refills and other medical-related concerns.
Alyssa Weinheimer — Alyssa is responsible for all diagnostic testing scheduling, insurance pre-certifications for tests and surgeries, and prior authorizations for worker’s compensation patients.
Medication Refills
Please plan ahead on prescription refills. When your medication supply begins to run low (that is, you have approximately a one-week supply), we recommend requesting a refill by calling your pharmacy and providing the prescription (Rx) number on the container. The pharmacy will then call us to confirm the refill. If your prescription is for narcotics such as Vicodin or Percocet, see the alternate instructions below.
Because Dr. Collard performs surgeries and is out of the office at least two days a week, it can take up to 24 hours to authorize a refill.
Our policy does not allow us to contact him during surgery with refill requests. Because it is important to consult patient files in this process, refills are also not available after hours or on weekends through our medical exchange.
In short: to avoid running out of medication, please do not wait until you are down to your last pill to call the pharmacy.
Special procedures for narcotic drugs. If your medications include Vicodin, Percocet or other narcotics, we are not permitted to authorize prescription refills through your pharmacy. For refills, call our office at 314-909-1359 during regular office hours. After the refill is authorized by Dr. Collard, we can eScribe your prescription to your pharmacy, if applicable, or you or a member of your family are required to come to our office and pick up the prescription and take it to your pharmacy to be filled.
In Case Of Emergency
We understand that emergency situations arise and want you to know that we are here for you. For emergencies and urgent situations (for example, a patient who had recently undergone surgery and is experiencing problems) that occur outside of normal business hours, we ask that you contact Dr. Collard through our medical exchange at 314-909-1359. He or the physician covering for him will contact you, generally within 15 to 20 minutes.
If your emergency is serious or life-threatening, go the Emergency Room at Des Peres Hospital or the nearest hospital immediately.
Our medical exchange number is also included in our voicemail message when you call our office after normal office hours.
Injections
If you receive a cortisone injection from Dr. Collard, he may ask you to wait seven to ten days to achieve the desired pain relief before contacting our office. If after this period the injection has not produced the desired effect – or pain returns at a later date – call our office. Our staff will inform Dr. Collard, who will assess the situation. Keep in mind that most cortisone injections can only be given once every six months.
Diagnostic Testing
If Dr. Collard orders an MRI, CT scan or other diagnostic test, you can expect to learn the results within three business days. It typically takes that long for Dr. Collard to receive and review the radiology report and films, and assess treatment options.
Dr. Collard or his nurse will call you with the results or, if you prefer, you may make an appointment to review this information in our office. In some cases, radiology reports take longer than 24 hours to process. If you do not receive a call within three to four business days of your test, please contact our office, and we will investigate.
Surgery
Dr. Collard typically schedules surgeries on Tuesdays, Thursday mornings, and Fridays. He has operating privileges at:
- St. Luke’s Des Peres Hospital
- Timberlake Surgery Center
- Orthopedic Ambulatory Surgery Center of Chesterfield
Your insurance coverage often dictates where a surgical procedure may be performed. After a location and date is arranged, Blanche will contact your insurance company to pre-certify the procedure.
Surgical follow up
You can expect a follow up call from Kellie, Dr. Collard’s nurse following your surgery. She will be checking on your condition, provide post-operative care instructions and answer general questions about your surgical procedure. Specific questions about the procedure will be addressed by Dr. Collard on the day of your surgery or at your first post-operative appointment. Please call to make your follow-up appointment as directed by your post-operative instructions.
Patient Questions And Phone Calls
An orthopedic injury or ailment can be painful and frightening. We are here to put your mind at ease and answer the questions that naturally arise as you progress through your treatment.
If you have a question, please call our office. The receptionist will ask for the general nature of your question(s), which she will write down and deliver to Kellie. Then Kellie (or, in her absence, the person covering for her) will return your call and obtain more details. If she cannot provide answers immediately, she will pose your questions to Dr. Collard between appointments and call you with a response. If the nature of your question requires for you to speak directly with Dr. Collard, he will return your call at the end of the day after his final appointment. His return calls are prioritized according to their seriousness and urgency.