Office Policies

Pain/Sleep Medications:
We do not prescribe narcotics/controlled substances (Cough syrup with codeine, Vicodin, Xanax, Percocet, Ultram, Tramadol, sleeping pills such as Ambien)

Work injury: 

We do not handle any workers compensation cases or work related injury cases for new patients (YOU MUST GO THROUGH YOUR JOB OR GO TO AN OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE CLINIC)

Excuse notes for work: 

We do not give work excuse notes (or fill out ANY work related forms) if you are a new patient and this is your first visit. You must go to an occupational medicine clinic or see your previous doctor.

Walk-Ins: 

We take walk-in patients. If you choose to walk in, the wait may be longer than expected unless you make an appointment (appointments get priority). Please be patient. Walking in does not guarantee you will see the doctor. If there are too many patients waiting, you will be directed to the closest urgent care or emergency room. This is a small office and we can handle only specific amounts of walk-ins per day without sacrificing quality of care.

No Show/Cancel/Reschedule Appointments:

If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment 24 hour notice is required . A $20.00 fee will be charged if you fail to notify us. within 24 hours of your appointment.

Car accident cases:
We do not handle car accident cases if you have an attorney (for established patients) or if you’re a new patient. You must see a physician your attorney assigns to you. We will not bill your regular insurance for this. Please contact your insurance and/or attorney to find out where to go.

Identification: 

You are required to bring your insurance card and valid government issued ID to every doctor visit.

Food/Drink Policy:
There is NO EATING OR DRINKING in our office. You will be discharged from the practice if this is violated.

Cell Phones:
Keep your phone on silent while in our office. There is no talking on the phone in the lobby. Any music or loud speaker phone conversations will not be tolerated and will be grounds for dismissal from our practice.

Imaging: 
We do not order MRI or CT scans without a full review of your medical records that you should bring in from previous doctors and hospitals. Allow 2 weeks for review of the entire medical record.

New patients:
All new patients should get us their old records as soon as possible. Sign release today.

Test Results:
We do not discuss most lab results/x-ray/test results over the phone. You must return to review them in person.

After hours prescriptions:
We do not prescribe any medications over the phone when the office is closed.

Retro-billing:
If you pay out of pocket for an office visit today, we will not bill insurance after your visit. There will be no refunds and no re-billing of insurance. We can give you a receipt to submit to your insurance.

Phone calls during office hours:
If you call the office during office hours asking to speak to the doctor, it must be a life threatening emergency. For all other matters, schedule an appointment with the doctor and do not call.

Prescriptions and Refills:

The best time to get a prescription refill is at your appointment

If you need to call for refills, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU RUN OUT. Most refills require doctor’s approval.

Allow 2 business days for all refill requests.

If the provider feels that you need an office visit for labs or any other reason prior to a refill being authorized, you will need an office visit to get your medication. Many medications require blood test monitoring.

DO NOT CALL AFTER HOURS FOR PRESCRIPTION REFILLS. EMERGENCY LINE IS FOR EMERGENCIES.

We do not accept phone calls from pharmacies for refill requests. All refill requests must be faxed or electronically sent from your pharmacy. The doctor will not call your pharmacy.

Mail Order Prescriptions:

Many insurance companies offer 90 day prescriptions or financial incentives for using mail order pharmacies. We are glad to print out prescriptions for your mail order pharmacy needs. You can pick up the written prescription in our office. WE DO NOT FAX OR CALL IN MAIL ORDERS.

Referrals:

Prior authorizations and referrals take time. Please be patient.

As a patient, it is your responsibility to ensure that your specialist is in your plan. You should always call your insurance before getting any test done or seeing a specialist to make sure you are in network. You should pick up a copy of your test results from our office and hand deliver them to your specialist. We will NOT fax test results and it is possible that the specialist will not see you without these test results. Please understand that it can sometimes take several weeks to get an appointment with a specialist. That is not something we have control over.

Dismissal:

If you are “dismissed” from our practice it means you can no longer schedule appointments, get medication refills or consider us to be your doctor. You have to find a doctor in another practice.

No show/Cancel/Reschedule Appointments:

If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment 24 hour notice is required. A $20.00 fee will be charged if you fail to notify.

Common Reasons for Dismissal

• Failure to keep appointments/frequent no shows
• Not following clinic policies listed here
• Noncompliance (which means you won’t follow physician instructions about an important health issue)
• Abusive to staff (verbally and/or physically), cursing in clinic, eating in office
• Exhibiting threatening behavior
• Disrespecting staff or providers
• Failure to pay your co-pays or your bill
• Dismissal Process: We will send a letter to your last known address, via certified mail, notifying you that you are being dismissed. We will forward a copy of your medical records to your new doctor after we receive a signed medical release from them.

Physicals for work or pre-employment:
Most insurance companies only cover one physical per year. This does not include a pre employment physical and there will be a charge for physicals related to any pre employment.

Disability, Insurance Forms, Physician statements, FMLA forms: 
There will be a charge for completion of medical forms and you may be required to schedule an appointment. Payment for forms is due at the time that you pick up these forms. We do not fax the forms for you. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for the completion of these forms. FMLA forms require that you come in for an appointment.