Washington PCP Office Policies

Phone Calls
Every phone call is important to us. All patients are encouraged to call with any questions they may have concerning their care. However, it would be most unfair to our patients who are already in the office for the doctor to leave the examination room to answer every call. The staff is trained to answer many of your questions and they will relay any information to your doctor for decision-making. If you need to speak with the provider personally and he/she is busy with another patient, he/she will return your call as soon as possible.

Appointments

• Appointments can be made by calling the office between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• When scheduling an appointment, please advise the receptionist of the exact reason for the visit and if you have seen the doctor previously.
• If you are seeing the doctor for a pre-operation physical exam, please have your paperwork (indication test needed) with you from the requesting physician.
• Physical exams are booked 4-6 weeks in advance.
• If you need to cancel your appointment, please call to advise us at least 24 hours in advance. Appointments not kept or cancelled in 24 hours will result in a no-show charge of $30 to $50.
• Please arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled appointments so that you can find parking and we can review, update or complete your demographic information. Please notify us immediately of any changes in your, name, address, phone number or insurance.
• Bring your current insurance card with you for each appointment. If your insurance coverage is through a family member, please have that person's information as well. If we do not have your current information, you will be responsible for payment. New patients will also be asked for photo ID (driver's license).
• Familiarize yourself with your insurance guidelines regarding copays, deductibles, payments of annual physicals, referrals to specialists and ER visits.
• If you have a copay, payment is required at the time of service, in accordance with your insurance company guidelines.
• Please bring your medicine bottle(s) or a complete list of your medications with you to each appointment.
• If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your scheduled appointment, you may be asked to reschedule your appointment or given the option to wait until scheduled patients have been seen.
• If calling for an urgent or same-day appointment, you may not be able to see your regular provider. We will let you know the name of the provider you will be seeing when you make your appointment.
• We will gladly fill out forms for school, work or DMV. When not completed at the time when other medical services are provided, there will be a minimal fee for this service. However, a physical must have been performed at our office in the past year. This process usually takes 3-5 business days.

Prescription Refills
When calling for a routine prescription refill, please allow 24 hours for your prescription to be called into the pharmacy. Routine prescriptions are those that have been prescribed to you previously and are taken every day.

• If you need a medicine urgently, we will make every effort to respond to you that same business day.
• When leaving a message on the pharmacy line for a refill, please leave the following information: your name, phone number, date of birth, full name of the medication(s), the dose, the frequency with which you take it, your doctor's name, and the pharmacy name and number.
• If you are interested in a new medication, please schedule an appointment to speak with your doctor. We do not routinely call in medicines that have not been previously prescribed.
• Please remind your doctor of any medication allergies or other medications that you are taking from another provider.

Referrals
When your provider suggests a specialist evaluation or diagnostic testing that requires a referral, we will make every effort to provide this for you as soon as possible. Some referrals require insurance pre-authorization and cannot be processed immediately. Insurance guidelines prohibit us from backdating referrals. We require 3-5 business days for the processing of routine referrals.

• Please call the main number and ask to speak to the referral desk.
• When leaving a message for a referral, please include the following information: your name, phone number, your doctor's name, the name of the doctor or test requested, the date of the appointment or test for which you need the referral (if already scheduled), your insurance information, and if you prefer to have mailed to you or you will pick-up.

Laboratory
We have an onsite lab drawing station. We will draw blood for all laboratory studies. Please allow three working days for routine results to be received by mail. Patients with abnormal test results will be called. If you wish to know the results of your tests, please call during normal business hours after three days from your blood draw.

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