Welcome
Welcome to our practice. We appreciate the opportunity to serve your health care needs. The following information is intended to provide a brief overview of our practice’s policies and procedures, from scheduling your appointment to billing. You may also contact our office staff by phone during regular business hours and we will be happy to answer your questions.
Appointment Policies
Requesting Appointments
For current patients, there are several ways to request an appointment.
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You can call us at 956-412-2836 and leave us a detailed message with the reason for your appointment as well as the time frame (date range, day of the week, time of day) you are seeking an appointment;
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You can request an appointment through the Spruce Health App (download at https://spruce.care/avfm). Don't forget to give us the reason for the appointment and the time frame (date range, day of the week, time of day) you are seeking so we can try to accommodate you the best our schedule allows; and
- You can send us a text message to 956-412-2836 requesting an appointment. However, it is important to note text/SMS is not a secure method of communication.
Confirming Appointments
When you schedule an appointment, we reserve that time specifically for you with our medical staff and doctor. We are committed to honoring appointment times, so it is critical that you confirm your appointment within 24 hours of your appointment time. All unconfirmed appointments may be subject to cancellation which is why we offer three ways to confirm your appointment:
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E-mail - If we have your e-mail on file, our electronic medical system sends an email to alert you of your upcoming appointment. All you have to do is reply.
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Text Message - Our electronic medical system sends a text message to alert you of your upcoming appointment. To confirm your appointment, be sure to reply back via text.
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Phone call - You can confirm your appointment by calling us day or night and letting us know over the phone or via voicemail. We check our messages periodically throughout the day.
As a courtesy, we try our very best to call all of our patients with unconfirmed appointments the day before. However, some days are more hectic than other and we are not always able to call , so we kindly ask that you confirm either via e-mail or text message.
Cancellations
Please call the office 24 hours in advance to cancel appointments. This allows other patients who are on the waiting list to be seen.
Late Arrivals
We are committed to prompt service, and will work very hard, barring emergencies, to stay on time. Please arrive 10 minutes early for your appointment to complete any paperwork associated with your visit. Please be prepared to show your ID and insurance card(s). Patients arriving after their scheduled appointment time may be asked to reschedule.
Missed/No-Show Appointments
It is necessary for us to make appointments in order to see our patients as efficiently as possible. Missed / no-show appointments including late-cancellations cause problems that impact our medical practice. When an appointment is made and not kept, it takes an available time slot away and delays the delivery of health care to other patients, some who are quite ill. As such, a failure to be present at the time of your confirmed appointment will be recorded in your medical record as a no-show and may be subject to a fee as well as possible dismissal.
Billing Policies
Financial Responsibilities
All payments including co-payments, co-insurance, and balances are due at the time of service. We accept cash, checks and most major credit cards. As a service, we will bill your insurance for you. If there is a balance due after payment is rendered by the insurance company, we will expect your prompt payment of that balance.
Patient's Responsibilities
As a service to our patients, we provide insurance billing services. However, in order to provide accurate billing of services, it is the patient’s responsibility to provide us with current insurance plan information prior to services rendered. We strive to offer our patients quality medical care and assist the patient to receive maximum benefit from their insurance plan. As such, there are times where we may require your intervention to be able to expedite the billing and/or payment process.
It is important to note, we do not do see patients, whether new or establised, for concerns related to motor vehicle accidents or work-related accidents. For motor vehicle accidents, it is strongly advised to seek urgent or emergency care with medical staff experienced in accident-related trauma. For work-related accidents, it is important for you to contact your employer or workers' compensation insurance provider to get a list of approved medical providers.
Patient Policies
Required Annual Wellness or Annual Physical Visit
All patients are required to complete their Annual Wellness or Annual Physical visit on a yearly basis. This is done to ensure we catch things EARLY and can be proactive about keeping you healthy!
Prescriptions
We strongly recommend you let us know 1 week in advance of needing any medication refills as some medication refills will require an office visit and/or pre-authorization from your insurance.
For patients not requiring an office visit or pre-authorization, the turnaround time is generally 3 business days for prescription refills. You can request prescription refills:
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Through the Spruce Health App (download at https://spruce.care/avfm)
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Calling the office and leaving a message in the prescription voice mailbox (OPTION 4) Important: please note that leaving a message with a member of our staff will cause delays as the information makes its way to the appropriate person
For patients whose insurance plan requires an authorization or prior authorization for their medication, the turnaround time is generally 5 business days or more depending on the following factors:
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The specific medication being prescribed/requested
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Previous medications already tried
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The patient's insurance, plan, and preferred pharmacy. For example, with Express Scripts, prior authorization approval takes about 10 business days once the paperwork is submitted from our office
Referrals
For new referrals and certain renewals, an office visit is required. This visit allows us to properly document the medical reason for the referral, as required by insurance plans and receiving specialists.
Referral turnaround times vary based on several factors, so please plan accordingly:
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The requirements of your specific insurance plan
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The medical urgency assigned to your referral
Typical processing times can vary by the time of the year, but generally are as follows:
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Routine referrals: approximately 2–3 weeks
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STAT (medically urgent) referrals: we make every effort to complete these in 1 week
Please note: Out of respect for patients already waiting in the referral queue, we do not offer priority processing for non-STAT referrals. To avoid delays, we strongly recommend scheduling your appointment at least 3–4 weeks before you will need a referral and/or authorization to see a specialist.
Here is what the process generally looks like:
For HMO Plans:
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Your referral is forwarded to our referral coordinator
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The referral coordinator will work on obtaining an authorization from your insurance plan. Authorizations are worked on in the order of the urgency level assigned by the provider (regular or STAT) as well as the order in which the referral was made.
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Once the referral and authorization are ready, we will send them and all appropriate records to the receiving specialist. Our office will also message you to let you know everything has been submitted and send you a copy of your referral and authorization via the Spruce app
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You call the specialist’s office to set up an appointment date and time that is convenient for you
For PPO Plans:
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Once the provider finalizes the note and all appropriate records are sent to the receiving specialist, our office will message you to let you know everything has been submitted and send you a copy of your referral via the Spruce app
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You call the specialist’s office to set up an appointment date and time that is convenient for you
IMPORTANT: Insurance policies and coverage requirements vary by plan. While we are happy to assist patients when possible, it is ultimately each patient’s responsibility to understand the details of their individual insurance coverage.
Delays may occur if:
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We do not have your correct contact information
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Your insurance information is not up to date
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Coordination of benefits has not been completed for multiple insurance plans
Emergencies and OnCall
If you experience a medical emergency, such as chest pain, severe shortness of breath, severe headache, or bleeding, call 911 or proceed directly to the nearest hospital emergency room. You can always call the office with any questions about acute medical problems after hours and our answering system will page the provider on call. For matters regarding appointments, If the provider on call does not return your call within 30 minutes, please recall the office.
Release of Records
Incoming: Please complete a records release form so we may obtain your medical records from your previous family physician and any specialists you may have consulted or may be currently consulting.
Outgoing: Please have the physician's office needing your records send over a signed medical release and we will send them the records being requested. If you are wishing to obtain copies of your medical records for personal use, you are able to view them via the patient portal.