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Our Patient Office

Practice Policies

Please note these important policies related to patient appointments, referrals, and other matters. Thank you!

APPOINTMENTS & VISITS

We look forward to having you in the office for your appointment!

Please arrive 10 minutes early to your appointment for registration and check-in.

If you are a new patient, bring along (or complete online) your New Patient forms, your insurance card and a photo ID. All patients MUST bring to their appointment their current insurance card and a payment method for their copay, or the appointment may need to be rescheduled.


If you are more than 10 minutes late for your scheduled appointment time, the appointment may need to be rescheduled. Please see our On-Time Arrival Policy below for details.

As a courtesy to other patients waiting for their appointments, please call and give 24 hours notice if you need to cancel your appointment.

REFERRALS TO SPECIALISTS

Every patient must have at least one visit per calendar year with us prior to seeing a specialist.

 

Before pursuing specialty care for a problem, please see one of our skilled clinicians first. Most times, we are able to evaluate, diagnose, and manage the problem in one visit. However, we also are very cognizant of our limitations and will not hesitate to refer you to a specialist should that be in your best interest.

 

Most patient insurance will charge much lower (or no) copays for primary care visits, compared to specialists and ERs. So it is also beneficial to patients from a cost standpoint to start here.

 

We are also committed to the delivery of high-quality, value-based health care. We have spent the last 15 years carefully curating a list of specialists and services to whom we would trust our own families. In order for you to benefit from this exhaustive research and experience, we ask that you schedule a visit here to discuss your specialty care with your primary care provider. If you have not yet seen us this year or specifically for this problem, please call today to schedule an appointment.

ON-TIME ARRIVAL POLICY

Your on-time arrival isn’t for your clinician. It’s for you! (And the patient after you.)

When you arrive, we know you are putting your faith in us to see you in a timely manner and provide a relaxed and thorough appointment.

 

We put our faith in you, too – a specific amount of time is reserved for you, and we need every minute to serve you well and provide high-quality care.

 

When patients are late, our ability to do this is diminished. The clinician falls out of sync with the schedule for the day. The next patient is delayed and enters the exam room feeling stressed. Before you know it, one or two late patients can cause an entire day to fall behind.

 

Our clinicians arrive at the office at least 30 minutes before their first patient. If you are waiting for us past your appointment time, this is almost always because a patient before you needed extra time. If that’s you, you will get that extra time. An on-time arrival is the best way to get the most from your appointment and ensure time for important discussions.

 

Our practice policy is that if you arrive more than 10 minutes late, you may be rescheduled in order to meet the needs of patients who are on time.

 

We will either check the schedule for an opening with another clinician the same day, or we will schedule you for another date and time.

 

Thank you for caring for your health, and for the health of the patient waiting beside you. We appreciate and care deeply about you both!

OTHER PRACTICE POLICIES

Lab work for Annual Physical Exams
Occasionally we get requests from patients to have lab work completed prior to their scheduled annual physical exam.  Our office does not send out a standard fasting lab slip. During your annual physical exam, your clinician will determine based on your individual health status and medical conditions what specific lab work is needed for you. At the end of your visit, you will receive a lab slip for your necessary tests. We recommend you contact your insurance company prior to completing the lab work to determine any out-of-pocket responsibility you may have for the lab tests. When your lab results are received, your clinician will review the results and give you a call or contact you via the health portal with a copy of the labs and any follow-up instructions. A follow-up may be required to review complex results.  

Accepted Insurances

We accept most major insurances. We do not accept Medicaid, nor do we enroll private/cash-pay patients (paying entirely out of pocket). We are not in-network with many EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) and multi-plan insurances. We accept patients for whom we are out-of-network, but your copays may be higher. Before completing your New Patient paperwork to enroll as a patient, please call your insurance company to be sure we are in-network or affordable to you out-of-network.

Controlled Medications Are Refilled During Business Hours Only

Please note that we are unable to call in or authorize refills of controlled medications after hours or on weekends. Due to tightened DEA regulations, medications such as narcotics, anti-anxiety medications, and ADD medicines will only be refilled Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Please check your medication quantities carefully before the end of the week.  Please also note that if you are on a controlled substance for ADD (Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, Concerta, Focalin and others) you must be seen at least every three months in order for refills to be authorized.

Medical Marijuana

Please read our full post on this topic here.

"No Surprise" Billing

"Surprise billing" is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can't control who is involved in your care — like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider. This notice (PDF) explains your rights under these situations.

Exiting the Practice

Patients who decide to leave the practice for reasons other than moving out of the area or an insurance change, may not re-enroll as a patient in the future. This policy applies whether you withdrew just a few weeks ago or have not been under our care for many years. It is critically important that patients trust and value the medical guidance of their primary care clinician. In our professional experience, a decision to withdraw from a practice signals a lack of trust, severs the medical relationship, and creates tension between patient and clinician. This tension diminishes our ability to provide high-quality care and the patient's ability to value and benefit from our guidance, which can lead to poor outcomes.

 

The decision to change primary care clinicians should not be made in haste. If you are feeling a disconnect with your clinician or are not "on the same page," in lieu of withdrawal from the practice we encourage patients to schedule an appointment with another clinician on our CMMD team. Sometimes the right fit comes down to personality – we understand this, and we want you to be completely comfortable at every appointment! Should a frustration arise from scheduling, billing, or other administrative areas, we welcome you to contact our owner and founder Dr. Christine Meyer directly at christine@christinemeyermd.com to express your concerns and give us an opportunity to address them, before deciding to leave the practice.

 

If you decide our practice is not right for you, we wish you the very best health as you move forward to find another primary care practice.

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