PAYMENT

• Payment is always due at the time of service, unless prior arrangements have been made with the office's billing department. 
• Copays and outstanding balances are collected prior to patients being seen by the providers. 
• Additional fees may be assessed to patient accounts if payment is not provided at the time of service.

REFERRALS

• If your insurance requires referrals, you must get a referral from us before going to see some specialists.  Often, this will require an office visit before a referral can be generated.
• If you see a doctor when you are out of you standard service area, call our office at your earliest opportunity. We will make the necessary referral to your insurance carrier.
• Should you need your referral number, please call your insurance carrier to retrieve that number.

PRESCRIPTIONS

• All prescription refill requests, unless otherwise specified by the physicians, physician assistants, or nurses of Gates Family Medicine, require 72 business hours to fill.  To avoid a lapse in medication, patients should keep track of their remaining amounts of medications and make all refill requests AT LEAST 3 business days before they will run out of medication.
• New patients, or existing patients who have not been seen in 6+ months, must be see for an office appointment before any prescription refills will be provided.
• If you need a refill for a NON-CONTROLLED medication, please contact your pharmacy to have them submit a refill request to our office on your behalf.
• ALL controlled substance prescription refills require an office visit, this cannot be refilled over the phone or via E-RX request without an appointment.

APPOINTMENTS

• Patients are responsible for keeping track of their appointments.  When possible, and if authorized by the patient, the staff of Gates Family Medicine will attempt to confirm upcoming appointments by calling the authorized phone number of a patient 2 business days before the appointment.  This is done as a courtesy, and the inability of the staff to contact a patient with an upcoming appointment does NOT constitute a valid reason to miss an appointment.
• Cancellations of Standard appointments(i.e. acute illness visits, most follow-up visits, etc.) and Extended appointments (i.e. well-child appointments, comprehensive physical examinations, minor surgeries, etc.) require 24 hours prior notice so that the staff has the opportunity to fill the newly vacant slots in the schedule.
• Failure to provide 24 hours prior notice for a office visit appointment may result in a $40 fee being assessed to a patient's account, depending upon the circumstances of the cancellation and the ability of the staff to fill the vacant schedule slots. Fees not applicable to Medicaid patients.
• Failure to provide 24 hours prior notice for a well visit appointment may result in a $80 fee being assessed to a patient's account, depending upon circumstances of the cancellation and the ability of the staff to fill the vacant schedule slots. Fees not applicable to Medicaid patients.
• Missing an appointment without any prior notification will result in a fee being assessed to a patient's account that must be paid prior to being seen for any subsequent appointments.
• Repeated missing of appointments, or cancellation of appointments without 24 hours prior notice, may result in the termination of care and release from the practice.
• Any new patient whom fails to keep their first scheduled appointment in the office and does not give 24 hours of cancellation will not be rescheduled.