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Preparing for your visit

Go into your medical care feeling prepared, with information about the financial aspects of treatment, what to do before a procedure, and assistance we offer for children and patients with hearing impairments.

Before your stay

Take time before your upcoming procedure or hospital stay to review your insurance coverage and make sure you are prepared to pay your copay or deductible. If you're unsure of your specific coverage, call your insurance company in advance.

You also can register online for your stay to save time at check-in.

Items you need for admission

  • All active insurance cards
  • A list of all the medications you currently take
  • Photo identification (such as a driver's license)
  • Living will and other advance directives, if you have them
  • Referral forms (if required)
  • Medical records, X-ray films or prior test results (if your doctor requested them)
  • Written letter of authorization from your insurance carrier (if covered by worker's compensation)
  • A check or credit card for deductibles, copayments or deposits

Items you need during your stay

  • Personal toiletries
  • Comfortable, easy to remove clothing, such as a bathrobe and slippers or socks
  • A list with names, doses and schedules of all medications you take on a routine basis (do not bring these medications with you to the hospital unless your doctor writes an order for you to do so)
  • Glasses, dentures, hearing aids or any other assistive devices you may need
  • Clothes to wear when you go home

We also recommend that you do not bring any items of great value.

Transfer your medical records, if applicable

Requests to transfer medical records must be made in writing. See the release of medical information guidelines for more information.

If you have any questions about transferring your medical records to HCA Virginia, call Consult-A-Nurse® at (804) 320-DOCS.

Before your procedure

Your doctor's office will provide you with specific information about preparing for an upcoming procedure or hospital stay, but here are some basic suggestions to prepare for your visit:

Interpreters and services for people with a hearing impairment

To ensure effective communication with patients and their companions who are deaf or hard of hearing, we provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services free of charge, including video remote interpreting, sign language interpreters, TTYs, written materials, assistive listening devices and telephones compatible with hearing aids.

Interpreters for non-English speaking patients are also available upon request.

X-Plain patient education

HCA Virginia provides interactive audio-visual tutorials that help you better understand what you can expect before, during and after your visit to our hospital.

To view these tutorials you will need an access code that is given to you by the hospital or your provider.

Please print your certificate of completion and bring it with you on the day of your procedure.

Begin a tutorial

To view a tutorial, please enter the patient education access code provided to you in the box below and press "Enter" to begin. It is important that you complete the entire tutorial.

  • Enable this website in your browser to always allow popups
  • Download the Adobe Acrobat Plug-in. To print health information handouts you need Acrobat Reader.