Office Policies

 

Appointments

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Visits are by appointment only. However, if you or your child is seriously ill, we will always try to accommodate your “walking in”. Please keep in mind, our office is not set up to be an acute care facility, so, not having an appointment could result in a lengthy wait.

We encourage well check appointments to be made in advance.

Any appointee arriving for their appointment 10 minutes late will generally need to reschedule. If you know you are going to be late, please call and let us know. We will do our best to work you in in a timely manner.

It is not a problem for more than one child to be scheduled together. However, we must ask that you inform us of this prior to your appointment. Otherwise, we may be obliged to reschedule. This helps in enabling us tobe prepared stay on schedule. This is one of the most common reasons for the doctor to “get behind”. 

School and work notes for absences are obtained from the front desk.  We cannot fill these out unless you were seen during the time requested for the note.

 

Waiting Times

 

Please always try to see you as close to your appointment time as possible. However, we are human and are unable to predict circumstances that may lead to us running behind. Your patience during such an event is much appreciated.

If you walk in without an appointment, you will be seen on an “emergency work-in basis”. Please be prepared to wait. We will, again, do our best to have you seen as soon as possible.

We appreciate your busy schedule, and will inform you when we are running behind schedule, making every effort to let you know about how long your wait may be. We will generally attempt to contact you prior to your appointed time if we have had multiple appointments called in, so please give us the most available phone numbers and updated information. This is a courtesy to you; you may reschedule or at least you will know the status prior to arrival.

Please come 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. The later you come, the longer the wait may be.

 

Payment for Services

 

Payment is due at the time of your visit or when services are rendered. If you have insurance, please be sure we are in your network. We will file your insurance as a service to you. However, you still remain the responsible party for any leftover balance or any lengthy claim problems. We will ask that you help us with your insurance claims if necessary.

Claims that are not paid by your insurance within 45–60 days remain your responsibility. You must check with your insurance company or will then be responsible for the full amount due after 60 days.

No secondary insurances are filed unless prior arrangements have been made. You, as the insured, are responsible for knowing your benefits. All insurance companies will help you with this. We will “assist” you as necessary, however, as a small office we are not equipped to research every patient’s benefits. We thank you in advance in your understanding of this policy.

If your insurance requires an authorization number or prior authorization for referrals, we must have a 72-hour notification to ensure that you will have it before your appointment at the consultant’s office. Failure to obtain the required referral may result in being requested to reschedule your appointment. Alternatively, you may be held responsible for the full amount of the specialist visit.

Payments may be made with the following:

     - Cash

     - Check (No temporary checks please)

     - Credit Cards/Debit Cards (Visa & MasterCard only)

We work on good faith and realize there may be unplanned financial difficulties. We are happy to work with you, however, once a payment plan is established, we do expect compliance unless other arrangements have been discussed.

For questions regarding payment, finances or insurance, please contact us at (817) 424-3774. FMLA forms require a form to be filled out in advance, and there is a $25 processing fee.  These forms can take several days to process.

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Pain medication protocol

 

 This office does not use the medication hydrocodone for pain medication purposes.

 

Long-term pain medication

 

This office does not write chronic narcotic pain medication prescriptions for patients.

 

Short-term pain medication

 

For acute pain the maximum number of narcotic pain medication doses shall be five days or 30 pills.

 

Long-term as needed pain medication

 

For long-term use of as-needed narcotic pain medication the maximum number of pain medication doses shall be 10 days per 30 day period, or 60 pills.