CALLS DURING OFFICE HOURS:
All patients are encouraged to call with any questions. The office staff is trained to answer most non-clinical questions, including billing inquiries. For medical related questions or problems, please leave a message for the your doctor or his individual staff. If you have a medical related inquiry regarding yourself or your child, then a nurse, your primary care physician, or the doctor on-call will return your call.
Please keep in mind when leaving messages during office hours that our priority is with the patients that are in the office. Thus, your call will be returned once a medical caregiver finishes seeing our priority patients in the office.
AFTER HOURS CALLS:
If you or your child becomes acutely ill after office hours and you cannot wait until the next morning, the “on-call” will return your call. Our phones are answered after hours by hospital operator at the Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca, TX 361-552-6713. They will take your message and forward it to the doctor.
The doctor will determine whether she can handle the situation by phone and see you in the office the next morning or whether it will be necessary to have your child seen more urgently in the emergency room. If you have any doubt about the serious nature of any illness or injury or have any difficulty contacting the doctor on call, please proceed to the emergency room or dial 911.
When you are waiting for a doctor to return your call after hours, it is recommended to disarm the feature on your phone that does not accept calls from anonymous numbers. For privacy purposes, our doctor’s have this feature on their home and cell phone.
PRESCRIPTIONS:
For you safety and for the safety of your child, it is the general policy in the office that no new medication is prescribed without being seen in the office. Furthermore, if you believe that you or your child is sick enough to require an antibiotic, we highly encourage that you make an appointment at the clinic to be medically evaluated.
We require 72 hours’ notice for monthly medication/prescription refills during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Please plan accordingly. Controlled substance prescription refills over the phone and after hours are generally discouraged. Requests for refills for lost or misplaced medication may not be honored, and it is highly encouraged for patients to discuss changes or refills of controlled substances with their primary care provider.
PAYMENT AT THE TIME OF SERVICE:
Payment is required at the time services are rendered unless other arrangements have been made in advance. This includes applicable coinsurance and copayments for participating insurance companies. The Port Lavaca Clinic (PLC) accepts cash, personal checks (in-state only), VISA, MasterCard, Amx and Discover. There is a service charge for returned checks.
Patients with an outstanding balance 30 days or more overdue must make arrangements for payment prior to scheduling additional appointments. We realize that financial difficulty is a reality.
INSURANCE:
We bill participating insurance companies as a courtesy to you; however, the benefits provided by your insurance carrier are an arrangement between you and the insurance carrier. You are expected to pay your deductible, co-insurance, and copayments at the time of service. You are responsible to be sure all charges are paid whether by you or your insurance carrier. Self pay patients are expected to pay for services in full at the time of the visit.
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact The Billing Coordinator at 361-552-6721 ext 6572 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
REFUNDS:
Patient/guarantor credits in amounts less than $10.00 will be retained on account to be credited toward future balances unless a request for refund is received. Amounts $10.00 and greater will automatically be refunded to the patient/guarantor.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS/LATE CANCELLATIONS:
Broken appointments represent a cost to us, to you and to other patients who could have been seen in the time set aside for you. Cancellations are requested at least 1 hour prior to the appointment. We charge $25.00 for missed or late cancelled appointments. Excessive abuse of scheduled appointments (3 missed appointments) will result in patient being placed on a walk-in basis only. We reserve the right to ask you to find another physician for repeat no show appointments.
If you are late for your appointment (15 minutes or more), we will do our best to accommodate you. However, on certain days it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment.
TRANSFER OF RECORDS:
If you transfer to another physician, as a courtesy to you we will provide a copy of your records, free of charge to that physician. We will need a signed Medical Records Release Form.
FORMS AND FEES:
There is a $15 prepayment fee for completion of single page forms, and a $25 prepayment fee for completion of multiple page forms.