Office Policy & Procedure
|
Office Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. We are closed for lunch between 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. After Hours: You may call our main number and follow the prompts. The answering service is responsible for paging the physician on call.
Appointments Scheduling
We seek to accommodate the needs of our patients and will schedule your appointment at the most convenient time possible. If you need to be seen the same day.
Emergency/After Hours
If you do experience a life threatening emergency, dial 9-1-1. If you have an urgent problem after regular office hours and you need to speak with the physician please call the office. Follow prompts to have the doctor paged.
Insurance and Demographic Information
We must verify your insurance card and demographic information at each visit. This ensures that we process accurate billing for you and your insurance company. If you do not have your insurance card available at the time of the visit you will be considered self-pay and payment is expected at the time of service. We DO NOT bill any HMO plans, we will be more than happy to give you a print out of your visit, so you then can try and get reimbursed through your insurance. We accept most PPO plans, Tricare, and Medicare.
Co-pays and Collections
Your co-pay is due at the time of service. We are unable to discount or waive this fee due to our contracts with the insurance companies. All deductibles and outstanding balances are also due at the time of your visit. You may be asked to reschedule your appointment if you are unable to make payment. We accept cash, checks and Visa/Master cards. There is a $25 returned check fee. Accounts past due after 90 days are turned to a collections agency. An additional 35% fee is added to account balances once they are turned to collections.
No-Show Policy
We attempt to contact every patient to remind them of their appointment; however, it is the responsibility of the patient to arrive for their appointment at least 15 minutes earlier than their scheduled appointment time. Failure to keep a scheduled appointment has, in effect, prevented another patient from receiving medical care during the allotted time slot. Cancellations must be received 24 hours in advance, so that we may accommodate patients who need to be seen. Patients who do not contact us prior to their appointment may receive a no-show charge. This fee can range from $25 for a standard office visit or $75 for a complete physical exam.
Completion of Forms
Employer, FMLA, insurance forms, or any other paperwork that requires your provider's
input, can be very time consuming for both you and your provider. Please be sure to complete all required information with your provider to review the requested information. Fees start at $20 for completion of forms.
Prescription Refills
Please call the pharmacy that filled your prescription for any refills, even if there are none remaining. Do not wait until you are out of your medication. Allow at least two working days for the provider to approve refills. Please do not call the office for refills. If there are no refills remaining, the pharmacy will contact our office for authorization. If the doctor has concerns, he/she will deny the refill and ask you to call the office.
Medicolegal reasons require the doctor to examine the patient in the office before giving a diagnosis or offering treatment. We will not accept refill requests on Fridays after 12p. It is the policy of THFM that we DO NOT prescribe antibiotics over the telephone. An office visit is required to determine necessity. Where applicable, 90-day prescription forms are patient’s responsibility to obtain and fill out, or have them faxed to us by your mail order pharmacy. No prescription refills will be made after office hours or on weekends.
Test results
Good medical care cannot always be accomplished over the phone, so we may advise you to schedule an office visit to discuss your concerns, problems, or test results.Test results may take up to a week. Your provider or their assistant will contact you by telephone or by mail with your test results once they have been received. LabCorp Bill: If you have questions about your bill for lab services, we ask that you contact LabCorp directly at 1-800-859-6046.
Referrals & Authorization
A referral from your provider may be made to an outside specialist. If your insurance does not require a referral from your primary care provider you may contact that specialist office directly to make an appointment. If your insurance does require authorization from your primary care provider you may be asked to make an appointment with our physician before the referral can be issued.
Requests for Medical Records
We will release copies of a patient's medical record with written, signed patient authorization. Standard legal fees for copies apply. You will not be charged a fee for records requested by a physician to whom we have referred you.
| Release of medical records enables us to obtain your medical records from your previous physician. If at all possible, FAX this document to us a few days prior to your visit. Termination from our Practice Our office values its patient relationships and wants to protect patients' rights. We will only terminate patient relationships with cause and after careful consideration. Reasons for termination include: repeated no-showing for scheduled appointments; not complying with recommended medical care; being hostile or abusive to staff; or not paying bills in a timely manner. Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) The federal government requires us to share our Privacy Notice, which is posted at the front desk and throughout our practice. Please review the Privacy Notice, which explains policy on sharing patient information for treatment and billing issues. |