Gordon Medical Associates

Innovative Health Care

Important Information For Our Patients

Updated January 2008

This document is available in PDF format for easy printing.

It is important that you not wear perfumes or scented items when coming to our office as we have patients with sensitivities.

 

OFFICE HOURS AND APPOINTMENTS
Clinic phone hours are generally Monday 9 AM to 12 PM, Tuesday - Friday 9 AM to 12 PM and 2 to 5 PM. We do check our messages during lunch and on Monday afternoons. If you need to call for an appointment, or any other purpose, we do appreciate your calling during these hours. We do not see patients on the weekends.

Cancellations and Rescheduling: There will be no charge for cancellations made at least 48 hours before the time of appointment (72 hours for appointments of one hour or more), otherwise you will be charged for the half of the fee unless your appointment time is filled. Appointments scheduled for Monday must be cancelled by noon on the preceding Thursday.

 

CONTACTING OUR OFFICE
Please allow 24 hours for a response to your inquiries and requests. To eliminate confusion, please do not call more than one staff member in our office or contact us in more than one manner (fax, email, phone) about the same issue unless you do not hear back from us. We may need 48 hours to handle more complex and less urgent matters.

Emergency Services: A variety of health services are provided on an outpatient basis, but we do not admit patents to hospitals or make hospital rounds. It is highly recommended that you have an ongoing relationship with a general practitioner outside of this clinic who is available for emergencies and urgent care.

In the interest of keeping our office visit fees as low as possible, and due to the staff time involved in patient care, we must charge a fee for some services, as you will see throughout this informational document.

If you need to call for clarification of the Doctor's instructions there will be no charge for the initial 10 minutes. If you call for general information and it requires more than 5 minutes of staff time, there will be a $1.00 per minute charge. To provide you with optimal care when you have individualized questions, the Doctor may need to review your chart and for this there will be a $10 - $20 charge. If your question requires further chart review, you may be asked to schedule a brief office visit or phone consultation with the Doctor at regular office fees. We appreciate your understanding. Please talk to our Office Manager, Marilyn, if you have questions about any of our policies or procedures.

Voice Mail
It is best if you can call during our regular office hours. We make every attempt to answer all of your calls. If we are busy with other callers, or if you call after hours, you will be asked to leave a message. Your call will be forwarded to the person who can best help you based on the information you leave on the voice mail. Please leave brief, concise messages.

Fax
We prefer to receive your medical inquires and supplement requests via fax or email. This often helps to clarify your needs and can save in response time. Be sure to include your name, (the patient's name, if different), your contact information (phone and fax number), and your GMA physician's name.

Email
Email requests are easier for us to respond to than phone calls, if this works for you. Email addresses available to you are:

These emails will go directly to the person who can most efficiently help you with your particular inquiry or request.

If you feel you need to use secure email in your communication with us, please let us know and we will supply you with information on how to use secure email in accordance with current HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations.

 

SUPPLEMENTS
If you need a refill on supplements from our office please send your list via fax or email (supplements@gordonmedical.com) at least 2 days before you plan on picking them up. Be sure to include your phone number and the date you will be picking them up. We will either have them ready or let you know if we are out of what you need and when we anticipate having it back in stock. We can UPS your supplements for an additional shipping and handling charge based on the actual cost of shipping plus approximately $3 packaging/handling fee.

If you want to pick up supplements when you have an appointment in our office, upon arrival, please let us know what you will be needing (if you know), and it will help us check you out faster when you leave.

Supplements may only be returned to this office for credit if they are unopened and were purchased within the last 30 days.

 

PRESCRIPTIONS
If you need a prescription refill, even if you have used the number of refills allowed, you must ask your pharmacist to send the refill request to our office via fax (707-575-5509). If you are changing pharmacies, again, call your pharmacist; the new one will contact the old one for you.

If you need a new prescription filled, send your request along with your name, contact phone numbers, GMA physician name, pharmacy information, drug name, strength and dose (if you know), via fax or email if possible. For all non-triplicate prescriptions, please allow at least two working days (48 hours) for your request to be handled. There will be an administration fee of $10 charged on "same day" prescription requests.

Triplicate Prescriptions
Allow at least 4 days for triplicate prescription refills to be processed. You must have a visit with the doctor at least every 3 months in order for us to continue to refill your triplicate prescription requests. There is a $5 charge per month for each patient needing one or more triplicate prescriptions during that month. "Same day" triplicates are $10.

 

LAB TESTS
Results for lab tests requested by our office are usually received within 3 weeks from the time the lab receives the specimen, with rare exceptions. (Some specialty labs do not have results for 45 days.) Therefore we ask that you, our patient, schedule an appointment now, to see your doctor three (3) weeks or more after

a) You have blood drawn here
b) You plan to go to your local lab
c) You plan to mail your specimen with the kit we have given you.

 

FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENTS
After your initial appointment with the doctor, it is best to see the doctor in person for the next few appointments, and you may want or need to continue doing so. However, phone consults are available to you by appointment, and are charged the same as an office visit. The doctors' time is charged in 15-minute increments, e.g. 12 minutes will be charged at the 15-minute rate. Insurance does not usually pay for telephone consultations.

Most office visits are scheduled for one half hour, however your second visit needs to be 45 minutes. If you feel you would like more time, please let the receptionist know, and you will be scheduled and charged accordingly.

It is recommended that you bring someone with you for your follow-up visits, as you were requested to do on your initial visit. There is always a lot of information to absorb. Please write your questions down and have them prioritized, as the doctor may not have time to address all of your questions on every visit.

If a patient has not seen the Doctor for over 2 years, or are coming in for an entirely new problem, additional time will be needed.

Any patient receiving IV treatment in this office must have an appointment with the Doctor at least every 3 months in order to continue their IV therapy.

 

FEES AND INSURANCE BILLING
Insurance companies will only pay for mainstream medical treatments. We offer innovative treatments that are not yet accepted by the medical establishment. Please do not expect your insurance company to pay for all of the treatment you receive in our office. Insurance companies will only pay for services they deem "medically necessary" for your condition. We do not know what your individual policy will cover. Due to the time involved, we do charge for reports to your insurance company.

We charge a $50 blood-handling fee that is NOT billable to insurance. You are responsible for these fees and all injection fees at the time of service. Only the cost of some injectable medications will be billable to insurance, and if paid will only be a minimal amount. We do not send reports to insurance companies to justify IV and injection services.

We have opted out of Medicare as of 10/1/05. This means we will no longer bill Medicare for services rendered to Medicare-covered patients, and you will need to sign an agreement of understanding legally required by Medicare. Medicare patients, as all other patients, will be required to pay for services rendered at the time of the service.

If you have questions regarding insurance reimbursement for any service in our office please ask before receiving the service.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES
In order to serve your needs for phone consults, letters, research, and records, supplement mailings or pick-ups "on the run," etcetera we need to keep your credit card number and current expiration date on file. This will be protected (credit card numbers are encrypted) and maintained confidentially. We appreciate your cooperation with our front desk on this matter, as well as keeping us updated on any changes. Your card will not be charged without notification and appropriate authorization.

Disability and Related Letters
Patients needing disability or related letters must schedule an office visit with their GMA physician, and bring all the information needed to address the letter properly. Due to the time involved and the history that must be reviewed, there will be an additional charge above the office visit fee.

Medical Records Request
Request for the release of medical records must be authorized by the patient (or their guardian). If you have not recently signed an Authorization to Release Information form in our office, please do so. You can obtain one from our office or print it out on our web site. Please allow 10 business days for your request to be processed. Depending on the volume of records copied, there may be a reasonable charge assessed for the copies; this charge may or may not be covered by your insurance carrier.

Research
If the doctor needs to spend time researching your particular case there may be an additional fee. You will be notified in this case.

 

RECORD KEEPING
We do endeavor to make a copy of all instructions the doctor has written for you, as well as lab slips and prescriptions you may be handed during your appointment. Before you leave, please help our front desk by letting them copy anything the doctor has given you.

Thank you.

This document is available in PDF format for easy printing.

 

 

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Created: 08/16/00
Last updated: April 24, 2008 1:24 PM

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