Maintaining clear and effective policies regarding prescriptions and appointments is essential for ensuring quality healthcare and smooth operations within any medical practice. At Northwest Family Medicine, we are committed to providing our patients with the best possible care, and part of that commitment involves transparent and well-defined procedures for managing your healthcare needs. This document outlines our prescription and appointment policies to help you understand how we manage these crucial aspects of your care at our clinic.
Prescription Policies at Northwest Family Medicine
Our practice at Northwest Family Medicine emphasizes responsible medication management. To ensure patient safety and the effectiveness of your treatment plan, we adhere to the following prescription policies:
Scheduled Prescription Refills: Prescriptions and refills are primarily managed during scheduled office visits. This approach allows your healthcare provider at Northwest Family Medicine to thoroughly evaluate your condition, assess the ongoing appropriateness of your medication, and make any necessary adjustments to your treatment plan. We will prescribe enough medication to last until your next scheduled appointment, ensuring continuity of your care.
Annual Medication Review: We request that patients be seen annually for routine medication refills. This annual visit is a crucial opportunity to review your overall health, discuss any concerns or side effects you may be experiencing, and ensure your medications are still the most effective and appropriate for your needs. Running out of medication before your next scheduled refill may indicate it’s time to contact our office to schedule your next appointment.
Prior Authorizations: If your prescription insurance plan requires prior authorization for a medication, obtaining the necessary Prior Authorization Form from your insurance company becomes your responsibility. Please bring this form to your appointment so your physician at Northwest Family Medicine can complete it. While our staff and physicians are dedicated to assisting patients in maximizing their prescription benefits, it’s important to remember that insurance plans, including drug coverage, are agreements between you and your insurance provider. Understanding your plan’s requirements is key to a smooth prescription process.
Pharmacy Transfers and Mail Order Prescriptions: Should you need to change pharmacies, including switching to a mail-order service, Ohio state law allows for the transfer of non-expired prescriptions to a new pharmacy without any charges or interruptions. However, it’s important to note that some mail-order pharmacies may require new prescriptions to be written. If you prefer to change to a mail-order pharmacy before your next routine visit, you have a few options:
- Schedule an Appointment: Make an appointment to see your doctor for repeat refills and to facilitate the pharmacy change.
- Wait for Routine Visit: Wait until your next regularly scheduled appointment to make the pharmacy change request.
- Prescription Rewrite Fee: If you need the change expedited before your next visit, a fee will be charged for your Northwest Family Medicine physician to review your medical records and rewrite the prescription. This rewritten prescription will need to be picked up at our office.
Lost or Stolen Prescriptions: Please be aware that lost or stolen prescriptions for controlled medications, such as pain medications or sleeping aids, will not be replaced. We urge you to keep your prescriptions secure to prevent loss or theft.
Discouraging Call-In Prescriptions: At Northwest Family Medicine, we strongly discourage calling in prescriptions for refills. This practice bypasses the essential opportunity for both you and your doctor to re-evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of your medication and to monitor the condition for which it was prescribed. For the same reasons, we do not accept refill requests directly from pharmacies. When a pharmacy contacts us for a refill, we will always request they contact you, the patient, directly to schedule an appointment.
Appointment Policies at Northwest Family Medicine
To ensure that we can accommodate all patients and provide timely care, Northwest Family Medicine has implemented the following appointment policies:
Arrival Time Policy: To maintain our schedule and respect the time of all our patients, arriving more than 15 minutes after your scheduled appointment time will unfortunately be considered a No Show, and you will need to reschedule your appointment. We encourage you to arrive on time to ensure you receive your full appointment slot and to minimize wait times for other patients.
Cancellation and No-Show Policy: We understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise. However, we require adequate notice for appointment cancellations.
- Same-day appointments: Cancellations for same-day appointments must be made at least two hours in advance.
- All other appointments: For all other appointments, we require at least 24-hours’ notice for cancellations.
Failure to provide sufficient notice, or failure to attend a scheduled appointment (No Show), will result in a $35 charge.
Appointment Reminders: As a courtesy, Northwest Family Medicine provides reminder calls or text messages about upcoming appointments. However, these reminders are not guaranteed. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to remember your scheduled appointment time. Failure to receive a reminder call or text does not waive the $35 charge for late cancellations or no-show appointments.
Termination of Medical Relationship: Consistent adherence to our appointment policies is essential for maintaining a positive and productive patient-physician relationship. More than three instances of last-minute cancellations or no-show appointments may unfortunately result in the termination of our medical relationship. This policy is in place to ensure fair access to appointments for all patients and to maintain the efficiency of our practice.
We at Northwest Family Medicine appreciate your understanding and cooperation in adhering to these prescription and appointment policies. These policies are designed to ensure we can provide you and all our patients with the highest quality of care. If you have any questions or require clarification on any of these policies, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
