Family Health Care Center - Office Information


Office Information Hours We have a walk in office hour every morning from 8:00 am to 9: 00 am for short acute problems (fevers, colds, flu, stomach virus). Other office hours are by appointment, 9:00-5:00 , Monday through Friday. Allergy shots will be given from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Please realize that shots and blood pressure checks are fit into the daily schedule as soon as possible. Other priorities may cause delays in these non-scheduled visits. On busy days, such as Mondays or Fridays, delays are more likely. If you are on a tight schedule, you may want to phone ahead to check when the best time is to come. Philosophy Our purpose is to provide total health care in a continuing fashion to all members of the family from newborns to seniors. We function as a team of physicians, nurses, medical technicians, and office staff, in delivering successful health care. We feel that patient education is extremely important. We strive to do our share, and expect the patient to share the responsibility of his or her treatment or prevention plan. It is the patient's right to understand as much as possible concerning his or her medical problems or treatment, as well as the potential consequences of them. If you have any suggestions, questions, or complaints, please let us know. A patient suggestion box is located in the waiting room for your convenience. We certainly hope that we can provide you and your family with as friendly and personal health care service as possible. Appointments Office hours are by appointment. However, emergencies and unexpected delays are at times unavoidable. Since we do not want to cause unnecessary waiting, the receptionist will, upon request, reschedule your visit for a more convenient time, when your doctor has been detained. "Walking in" without an appointment is discouraged unless it is an emergency. The secretary will work routine problems at the next available opening. Please call early in the morning for the same day appointment. If you cannot keep an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible, so that another patient can be scheduled. Since seating space in the waiting room is limited, we request that you limit the number of persons (children, friends, relatives, etc.) accompanying you to the office. We do understand that babysitting problems may interfere and your ability to travel alone may necessitate a companion. Some patients may be seen first even though they arrive after you did; usually such patients are for some minimal treatment or attention (offered by only the nurse) and will not delay your appointment. Financial Arrangements In an effort at cost containment, it is the policy of FHCC to receive payment at the time services are provided. Please come prepared to pay your co-payment at the time of the visit. We accept VISA and Master Card for your convenience. Family Health Care Center participates in many area insurance programs, including Medicare and Amerigroup. We are a Blue Cross Preferred Provider for both GSU and State Health employees. Please call (912)489-4090 for an updated list of participating insurance programs. Emergencies Emergency problems require patients to be seen on short notice. The provider will decide with the nurse and receptionist about the best way to handle the emergency so that prolonged waiting delays for others in the waiting room can be avoided. Family Health Care works with East Georgia Regional Hospital to take care of emergencies that occur after normal operating hours. Problems such as a suspected heart attack need to go directly to the emergency room or call 911. A physician will be available at all times (including nights, weekends, and holidays) for emergencies. This service is strictly for emergencies or urgent needs, and not for routine or minor problems which can be handled during office hours. If an emergency occurs after hours, please have paper, pencil, and pharmacy phone number available. If your call involves a medication, please know the name of the medication. Understanding Our Policies 1. As a general rule we are currently accepting no new Medicare patients. The reason for this is we have a commitment ongoing to our current patients. This means the current patients that have Medicare and those aging to the point that they soon will have Medicare will always be served. Our goal is to continue to be a true family practice that is to follow a patient and their family though out the life span. To do this we must have a diverse age group of patients that we see i.e. our motto, Newborn to Seniors. Unfortunately as we age our health problems tend to multiply and if our patient population consists of mostly Medicare aged patients we will not be able to have adequate time to serve our pediatric and younger adult patients. An exception is made at times when a regular patient of ours has an older parent move here and does not have an established doctor. 2. Payment at the time of service: As a primary care office most insurance companies establish a co-pay for each visit. These co- pays are usually $15-30 per visit. In the past many patients left without paying this co-pay. An analyst by a practice consultant showed the billing for these individual $15- 30 charges costs the practice more money then is collected yet not to collect them obviously costs the practice loss of revenue. It is not fair to shift this cost to higher rates for all patients thus we established the Pay First policy. 3. No refills on chronic medications if a patient has not been seen in the office in the last six months. To assure we provide quality Health Care, chronic illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes, emotional disorders, COPD and other disorders must be reassessed at least every six months. This policy is for the patient’s safety. Information about medications and treatment is constantly being updated, new treatments are being discovered, medications can have side effects that need to be monitored and diseases advance or improve to the point that dosages of medications need to be adjusted. If your condition is stable when you visit the office you will be issued a prescription with enough refills to last you till it is time for your next appointment. When you receive your medication and the bottle states NO REFILLS it is time to call the office for a follow up appointment PRIOR to running out of your medication. 4. Policy about SAMPLE MEDICATION. Pharmaceutical companies provide us with a limited amount of samples. These medications are designed to be given to patients when they first start a new medication to make sure they tolerate the medication and it produces the desired effect. We also will distribute some samples for brief time periods to patients in financial need to hold them over until financial help can be arranged. We cannot fill patient’s prescriptions with sample medications every month, as we are not given that much medication. Patients that know their financial needs are ongoing should contact Med Connections at 764-8196 for assistance as soon as possible. 5. Appointment Scheduling. We ask that those patients with routine appointments (physicals, pap smears, well baby checks and medication refills) call several weeks in advance for an appointment. Acute illnesses with high fevers and/or vomiting will be scheduled the same day in all high-risk patient groups (i.e. the very young infants, the very old seniors or those with conditions like cancer or insulin dependent diabetes). Colds, coughs, sinuses infections that have lasted a few days will be scheduled as soon as possible but may not receive a same day appointment during the busy seasons. Please understand our reasoning on the appointments. We want your wait to be as short as possible when you visit our office, if we overbook our appointments this will not happen. There are times when our staffing is low due to vacation or illness and the capacity of patients seen must be reduced. Remember we want to provide quality health care each and every visit. This cannot be done if we rush people in and out.

Office Information

Hours

We have a walk in office hour every morning from 8:00 am to 9: 00 am for short acute problems (fevers, colds, flu, stomach virus). Other office hours are by appointment, 9:00-5:00 , Monday through Friday. Allergy shots will be given from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Please realize that shots and blood pressure checks are fit into the daily schedule as soon as possible. Other priorities may cause delays in these non-scheduled visits. On busy days, such as Mondays or Fridays, delays are more likely. If you are on a tight schedule, you may want to phone ahead to check when the best time is to come.

Philosophy

Our purpose is to provide total health care in a continuing fashion to all members of the family from newborns to seniors. We function as a team of physicians, nurses, medical technicians, and office staff, in delivering successful health care. We feel that patient education is extremely important. We strive to do our share, and expect the patient to share the responsibility of his or her treatment or prevention plan. It is the patient's right to understand as much as possible concerning his or her medical problems or treatment, as well as the potential consequences of them. If you have any suggestions, questions, or complaints, please let us know. A patient suggestion box is located in the waiting room for your convenience. We certainly hope that we can provide you and your family with as friendly and personal health care service as possible.

Appointments

Office hours are by appointment. However, emergencies and unexpected delays are at times unavoidable. Since we do not want to cause unnecessary waiting, the receptionist will, upon request, reschedule your visit for a more convenient time, when your doctor has been detained. "Walking in" without an appointment is discouraged unless it is an emergency. The secretary will work routine problems at the next available opening. Please call early in the morning for the same day appointment. If you cannot keep an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible, so that another patient can be scheduled. Since seating space in the waiting room is limited, we request that you limit the number of persons (children, friends, relatives, etc.) accompanying you to the office. We do understand that babysitting problems may interfere and your ability to travel alone may necessitate a companion. Some patients may be seen first even though they arrive after you did; usually such patients are for some minimal treatment or attention (offered by only the nurse) and will not delay your appointment.

Financial Arrangements

In an effort at cost containment, it is the policy of FHCC to receive payment at the time services are provided. Please come prepared to pay your co-payment at the time of the visit. We accept VISA and Master Card for your convenience. Family Health Care Center participates in many area insurance programs, including Medicare and Amerigroup. We are a Blue Cross Preferred Provider for both GSU and State Health employees. Please call (912)489-4090 for an updated list of participating insurance programs.

Emergencies

Emergency problems require patients to be seen on short notice. The provider will decide with the nurse and receptionist about the best way to handle the emergency so that prolonged waiting delays for others in the waiting room can be avoided. Family Health Care works with East Georgia Regional Hospital to take care of emergencies that occur after normal operating hours. Problems such as a suspected heart attack need to go directly to the emergency room or call 911. A physician will be available at all times (including nights, weekends, and holidays) for emergencies. This service is strictly for emergencies or urgent needs, and not for routine or minor problems which can be handled during office hours. If an emergency occurs after hours, please have paper, pencil, and pharmacy phone number available. If your call involves a medication, please know the name of the medication.

Understanding Our Policies

1. As a general rule we are currently accepting no new Medicare patients. The reason for this is we have a commitment ongoing to our current patients. This means the current patients that have Medicare and those aging to the point that they soon will have Medicare will always be served. Our goal is to continue to be a true family practice that is to follow a patient and their family though out the life span. To do this we must have a diverse age group of patients that we see i.e. our motto, Newborn to Seniors. Unfortunately as we age our health problems tend to multiply and if our patient population consists of mostly Medicare aged patients we will not be able to have adequate time to serve our pediatric and younger adult patients. An exception is made at times when a regular patient of ours has an older parent move here and does not have an established doctor.

2. Payment at the time of service: As a primary care office most insurance companies establish a co-pay for each visit. These co- pays are usually $15-30 per visit. In the past many patients left without paying this co-pay. An analyst by a practice consultant showed the billing for these individual $15- 30 charges costs the practice more money then is collected yet not to collect them obviously costs the practice loss of revenue. It is not fair to shift this cost to higher rates for all patients thus we established the Pay First policy.

3. No refills on chronic medications if a patient has not been seen in the office in the last six months. To assure we provide quality Health Care, chronic illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes, emotional disorders, COPD and other disorders must be reassessed at least every six months. This policy is for the patient’s safety. Information about medications and treatment is constantly being updated, new treatments are being discovered, medications can have side effects that need to be monitored and diseases advance or improve to the point that dosages of medications need to be adjusted. If your condition is stable when you visit the office you will be issued a prescription with enough refills to last you till it is time for your next appointment. When you receive your medication and the bottle states NO REFILLS it is time to call the office for a follow up appointment PRIOR to running out of your medication.

4. Policy about SAMPLE MEDICATION. Pharmaceutical companies provide us with a limited amount of samples. These medications are designed to be given to patients when they first start a new medication to make sure they tolerate the medication and it produces the desired effect. We also will distribute some samples for brief time periods to patients in financial need to hold them over until financial help can be arranged. We cannot fill patient’s prescriptions with sample medications every month, as we are not given that much medication. Patients that know their financial needs are ongoing should contact Med Connections at 764-8196 for assistance as soon as possible.

5. Appointment Scheduling. We ask that those patients with routine appointments (physicals, pap smears, well baby checks and medication refills) call several weeks in advance for an appointment. Acute illnesses with high fevers and/or vomiting will be scheduled the same day in all high-risk patient groups (i.e. the very young infants, the very old seniors or those with conditions like cancer or insulin dependent diabetes). Colds, coughs, sinuses infections that have lasted a few days will be scheduled as soon as possible but may not receive a same day appointment during the busy seasons. Please understand our reasoning on the appointments. We want your wait to be as short as possible when you visit our office, if we overbook our appointments this will not happen. There are times when our staffing is low due to vacation or illness and the capacity of patients seen must be reduced. Remember we want to provide quality health care each and every visit. This cannot be done if we rush people in and out.