TELEPHONE POLICY
Due to the large volume of calls our office receives and the nature of the practice, we have instituted a telephone policy that is strictly enforced. Please review the following carefully.
Routine Calls requiring 5 minutes or less of the physician’s time (simple instructions or clarification) are at no charge. We ask that you reserve discussing more intricate questions about your health condition or regimen for office visits so that we can dedicate adequate time to explaining your regimen and how it addresses your diagnosis. If the patient insists on handling questions that require detailed responses over the phone, this often results in 1-5 minute conversations, for which there will be a $15-45 fee for each conversation.
Generally, information, clarification, and answers to your questions will be given to the receptionist to relay to you within 48 hours, depending on priority and day of the week. When you call with a question or message, if it can be answered and responded to simply, you will receive a return call from the receptionist. If your question or message requires a detailed response, then a phone consultation will be set up.
Phone Consultations
Pre-arranged- You will reserve a time to call in (usually on a Wednesday evening between 9-10pm). Please treat this appointment like an office or educational visit done over the phone. The fee for a 15 minute phone consultation will usually be $85. Pre-arranged phone consultations are often used as a follow-up visit for patients on Homeopathic remedies or for patients who live a long distance from the office. We offer this service to patients as a convenience because we realize the fees are less.
Non-arranged – For acute needs, the doctor will educate, prescribe homeopathic remedies, or disseminate nutritional advice for colds, coughs, allergies, etc. There is usually a charge for this consultation based on the amount of time dedicated to obtaining the details of the symptoms and communicating the treatment regimen. If only a pharmaceutical is prescribed, there is usually no charge because the information gathering process is not as extensive.
If you are directed to the answering service during office hours, know that we are on the phone with another patient. Please try back every 15 minutes until you get through.