Policies

• Refills are obtained during follow-up appointments. This is when we assess how well your medications are working and decide if any change in dosing or additional testing is needed to keep you as safe and healthy as possible.
• We do not accept phone refill requests from patients.
• We are not set up to receive FAX refill requests from local and mail order pharmacies.
• Please schedule your follow-up appointment to obtain the refills that you need at least 2 weeks before your prescription(s) run out.
• Our providers generously & routinely prescribe up to 6 months of maintenance medications for stable medical conditions.
• Individuals taking controlled substances, particularly pain medications, sleeping pills, stimulants for attention deficit, antidepressants, and nerve pills for anxiety must be seen more frequently to comply with state laws and standards of care.
• Acute, wellness, procedure, and mental health testing appointment types do not provide the additional time needed to re-assess refills, consider dose changes, review labs, and provide patient education.

We understand that situations arise that require you to change your appointment. Should you need to reschedule, please call our office as soon as possible. Same-day cancellations AFTER 9 AM will be charged a cancellation fee. There is also a fee for missed appointments (no-shows) starting at $50. Be considerate of others by notifying us as soon as you realize that you must reschedule. Several patients may have been turned down for your reserved appointment time.

Cell phones should remain silent in our office. Rings, vibrations, & talking on the phone in exam rooms are distracting to patients and providers. We are pleased to offer a guest WIFI network for patient use in our lobby. Password: family.

• Results from lab tests are routinely posted within 7 days to your personal, protected patient portal in E-clinical works, our electronic health record. Our front desk staff is happy to help you set this up using your e-mail address. Results from lab tests obtained one week prior to wellness visits and diabetes follow-up appointments will be discussed at your appointment.
• Normal mammogram and bone density test (DEXA scan) results will be sent to you in the mail within 2 weeks following the procedure. If you do not get your results within 2 weeks, please contact our office.
• Results from imaging studies—such as MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, echocardiograms, and nuclear testing to name a few—are done at a follow-up appointment 5-7 days following the procedure. If you schedule the imaging study yourself, please call our office for an appointment to discuss the results. The follow-up appointment to discuss the results is an excellent time to re-evaluate your concerns, discuss other testing options, and make any referrals that may be necessary.

For nursing questions during office hours, dial 936-441-2003 and select option #2. Nursing questions will be returned within 24 hours. More urgent medical needs should be addressed by scheduling a same day acute appointment or by visiting a local urgent care or emergency room. Patients may also send questions to our clinical staff through the patient portal. Portal questions will also be answered within 24 hours. During clinic hours, our physician and mid-level providers make it their goal to be focused on providing the best possible healthcare to the patients with scheduled appointments. Our providers rely on our nursing staff to return phone calls and answer questions from patients. If your concerns are not adequately addressed after talking with our nursing staff, please make an appointment with a provider at your soonest convenience.

Medicare is serious about how prescriptions are written for scooters, motorized wheelchairs, and other power-assisted mobility devices. After discussing what you need with your provider, you will be asked to shop for the exact make and model that fits your specific needs. After obtaining the correct paperwork from the medical supplier that sells the device that you decide on, you will need to make an appointment with our office to have this form completed at a face-to-face visit. This is a CMS (Medicare) requirement.