Office Policies

Appointment Policy

We require 24 hour notice for appointment cancellations. Please be aware that there is a $75.00 fee for missing a scheduled physical, new patient appointment, or hospital follow up visit. We also charge $25.00 for missed regular appointments. Due to the fact that we have an outside company performing certain ultrasounds in the office, there is a missed appointment fee of $75 for missed ultrasound appointments. These charges are your responsibility and are not billed to your insurance company. Please help us in serving you better by keeping your scheduled appointments or by giving 24 hour notice (week days only) before any cancellation.

Prescription Refill

If you have no refills remaining on your prescription, you are likely due for an office visit. Please contact our office at 678-597-3180 to schedule your medication refill appointment.

If you call to request a refill but are overdue for a follow-up visit and/or blood work (necessary for monitoring the safety or effectiveness of a medication), your provider may agree to call in enough medication to a local pharmacy to last until we are able to schedule an office visit.

POLICY: Prescription refill requests will be processed within 24-48 business hours of receiving the request. Please allow adequate notice of your need for refills before running out. Below are guidelines for requesting refills:

• Most maintenance medicines such as those for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol will be approved if you have had an office visit in the last 3-4 month timeframe.
• Narcotics, controlled substances such as ADD medications and sleep aids, require an office visit appointment every 3 months.
• If you think you may need an antibiotic, please speak with the front office to schedule a same day appointment.

PROCEDURE: If you are on a maintenance medication, you may request these refills by using your portal account or by calling our office and leaving a voice mail on the refill line. If you are having any problems with your pharmacy, please speak with one of the front office staff that answers the phone.

Chronic Pain Management

Our policy concerning chronic pain management is the treat acute or chronic pain for a very brief time. If your pain is more long term or ongoing, we will gladly refer you to the appropriate professional for treatment such as a pain management physician.

Narcotic pain medications will at no time be called in to your pharmacy after hours. All refill requests must be made during regular office hours. If you develop severe pain, please feel free to call our office, and we will be happy to assist you with a non-narcotic pain medicine or direct you to an emergency room or an urgent care facility.

If you have any questions regarding this policy, please feel free to contact our office for clarification.

Financial Policy

If you have medical insurance, we are anxious to help you receive your maximum allowable benefits. In order to achieve this goal, we need your assistance and understanding of our financial policy.

Co-payments, Co-Insurance and Deductibles

These payments must be made either at time of service or at check-in. This arrangement is part of your contract with your insurance company. Failure on our part to collect co-payments, co-insurances and deductibles from patients is considered a violation of our contract. Please help us uphold the law by making your co-payments and co-insurance at each visit and paying deductibles owed at the beginning of the year (including Medicare deductibles and 20% co-insurance). We will estimate what you payment will be, apply it to your account and file your insurance. Any difference in payment will be invoiced to you after the Explanation of Benefits is received by us from your insurance company. If you are unable to pay your co-payment, co-insurance or deductible at the time of service then you may be asked to reschedule your appointment or pay a fee of $25.00 for non-payment at the time of service.

Claim Submission

As a courtesy to you, we will process and file your insurance claims for services rendered by our Practice. Your insurance company may need additional information from you to process a claim, and it is your responsibility to comply with their request. If your insurance company has not paid your claim within 60 days, the balance becomes your responsibility. Your insurance is a contract between you, your employer and/or the insurance company. While we may provide services, we are not a party to that contract. We encourage you to contact your insurance carrier personally in order to remain informed of your benefits. Please note that we cannot hold claims waiting on your insurance information as the insurance company has a timely filing deadline. If you don’t have the appropriate information at the time of service then payment in full will be collected.

Non-covered Services

Not all services are covered by insurance; they vary from contract to contract. Some insurance companies arbitrarily select certain services they will not cover or which they may consider not medically necessary. In these instances, you will be responsible for these services. We will make every effort to ascertain your coverage for our services before treatment and make you aware of our findings. However, this does not guarantee payment from your insurance carrier. For in-house diagnostic testing we will attempt to get an amount from your service company however if you are concerned about the amount of cost that will be put to patient balance, please call your insurance company with the CPT codes to confirm this amount. Please note that when we request the amount of patient balance the insurance company gives a disclaimer that this is an estimate and that they won’t know the balance until the actual claim is filed.

For services that are not covered by insurance, the Practice requires payment of 100% of the total charges at time of service unless prior arrangements have been made.

Coverage Changes

If your insurance changes, please notify us as soon as possible so that we can update our records and help you receive the maximum benefits allowed under your coverage. If you are insured by a plan that we accept, but you do not have a current insurance card, payment is expected in full at time of service until we can verify your coverage.

Missed Appointments

We require 24 hour notice for appointment cancellations. Please be aware that there is a $50.00 fee for missing a scheduled physical or new patient appointment. We also reserve the right to charge for missed regular appointments in cases where patients have 2 or more non-cancelled or no show visits. Due to the fact that we have an outside company performing certain Ultrasounds and Nuclear tests in the office, there is a missed appointment fee of $250 for the Nuclear and $75 for the Ultrasounds. These charges are your responsibility and are not billed to your insurance company. Please help us in serving you better by keeping your scheduled appointments or by giving 24 hour notice before any cancellation.

Nonpayment

Balances are due upon receipt of our invoice. If your account is over 60 days past due, a late fee of $25.00 will be added and interest at the rate of 16% per annum, or 1.33% per month will accrue monthly. Our Billing department will work with you on monthly payment arrangements as long as you have a credit card to leave on file for the monthly amount of your payment. Please be aware that accounts that are 60 days past due are subject to being sent to a collection agency by our management company unless you have made arrangements for a payment plan with our office. Your account will become inactive until paid. If your account is turned over to an attorney or pursued legally for collection, you will be responsible for all reasonable attorney’s fees, filing fees, and service fees.

Returned Check Fee

If a check is returned there will be a $30.00 returned check fee. We realize that temporary financial problems may affect timely payment of your account. If such problems do arise, we encourage you to contact us promptly for assistance in managing your account. Our Practice is committed to providing quality medical care. Our prices are representative of the usual and customary charges for our area.

Prior Authorizations for Non-covered Medications

Our office will process up to 2 Insurance Prior-Authorizations per patient for medications at no charge to the patient annually. After 2 P.A’s have been processed there will be an administrative charge of $25.00 per P.A. If you wish to minimize your costs then please speak to your insurance company about which medications they prefer.

Form Fees

There is a $10.00 fee for forms one page in length and $25.00 - $35.00 for 2 page or more forms. This must be paid at the time that the form is sent in. Please note that some forms also require an office visit to be completed.

Thank you for understanding our financial policies. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about the above information or any uncertainty regarding your insurance coverage. We are here to help!