Policies

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Cancellations

Please call the office 24 hours in advance to cancel appointments. Failing to do so could result in a $25.00 charge, for which you are responsible, since insurance will not cover this.

Late Policy

We are committed to prompt service, and will work very hard, barring emergencies, to stay on time. We may ask you to reschedule if you arrive for your appointment more than 10 minutes after your scheduled appointment. Always arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for an appointment to complete any paperwork associated with your visit.

Referrals

You should call the office at least three (3) days before the appointment to give us the information needed to complete the referral. That information includes: your name, the physician you are being referred to, his or her phone and fax numbers, the date of the appointment, the diagnosis for the referral, your insurance, whether it is for a visit or a specific procedure (such as surgery), and where it is going to be performed (office or hospital). We do not mail referrals to specialists. You should familiarize yourself with your insurance plan, and determine if it requires you to take a referral with you; if you are not certain of how your referral is handled, please ask a staff member in the office, and they will help you to determine what to do.

Lab and X-Ray Results

When lab or radiology work is ordered by another physician other than Family Medicine Specialists, please give us two (2) days to complete this request. You can call or drop off the order.

Prescriptions

Calls for prescriptions received in this office after 12:30 p.m. will addressed the following day after 2 p.m. Please try to call the office at least 48 hours in advance for all medications. Calls received after 12:30 p.m. on Friday will be returned after 2 p.m. on the following Monday if we do not have Saturday hours that weekend.

When you call, you may be asked to leave a message in the prescription voice mailbox. When prompted, please provide the following information:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Phone number
• Name of medicine (spell if necessary)
• The prescription number on the bottle
• The time period of the prescription
• Name of the pharmacy (including address)

Emergencies and On Call

If you have an emergency, such as chest pain, severe shortness of breath, severe headache or bleeding, call 911 or proceed directly to the nearest hospital emergency room. You can always call the office with any questions about acute medical problems after hours. If the physician is not in the office, the machine will direct you to leave a message for the physician on call and our answering system will page him. If the doctor on call does not answer your call within 30 minutes, please call the office again.

Drug Samples

To avoid conflicts of interest, we have chosen not to keep samples of most medicines.

We understand that many patients have received samples from doctors in the past, and that some of you will have difficulty paying for prescriptions. If you feel that you cannot afford your medication, please inform your nurse or physician and we will connect you with local, state or pharmaceutical company programs for financial assistance with medications. We will make every effort to help you to obtain the proper treatment. If you have any questions, please speak with one of the nurses or medical assistants.