Office Policies and Procedures
Our goal is to provide and maintain a good physician-patient relationship. Letting you know in advance regarding our office policies allow for a good flow of communication and enables us to achieve our goal. Please read this carefully and if you have any questions, do no hesitate to ask a member of our staff.
Appointments
Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC is committed to providing quality care to our patients. To ensure timely continued care, we encourage patients to schedule appointments in advance to followup due dates. While we strive to schedule appointments appropriately, emergencies can and do occur in Primary Care. We strive to give all of our patients the time that they require. For this reason, we kindly request your patience and understanding should a delay or rescheduling become necessary on your appointment date. To ensure quality care, Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC, does not treat patients that we have not seen (i.e., we will not call in prescriptions or offer medical advice for patients prior to their initial visit). Follow up may be required to be scheduled after testing has been completed, so that results may be reviewed together, so and effective and appropriate plan for your health care can be determined.
New Patient Time Policy
New patients must arrive at least 20-30 minutes prior to their appointment time. Please fill out all paperwork ahead of your appointment time in order for our staff to prepare for your appointment. New patient forms and health history will be posted to your patient portal. They are also available online for download via our website at www.tapiaclinic.com. We require a 24 hour notice for canceling or rescheduling any appointments.
Established Patient Time Policy
Established patients should arrive 5-10 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment times to check in and verify information.
Cancellation and No Show Policy
When you schedule an appointment with Tapia Internal Medicine, PLLC we set aside enough time to provide you with the highest quality care. Should you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please contact our office as soon as possible, and no later than 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment. This gives us time to schedule other patients who may be waiting for an appointment. Please see out Appointment Cancellation/No Show Policy below:
- Any established patient who fails to show or cancels/reschedules an appointment 4 consecutive times and has not contacted our office with at least 24 hours notice will be seen on a walk-in basis only.
Financial Policy
Payment for the office visit and any additional charges incurred during that visit will be due at the time of service, including any co-payment, co-insurance, or deductible. Please confirm that Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC is an in-network provider with your insurance prior to your visit. If Tapia Internal Medicine Clinc, PLLC is not, you will be responsible for the entire balance of your account.
Please notify us of any insurance or personal information changes prior to your office visit. If you fail to provide us with the correct insurance information, you may be responsible for the balance of the claim.
We must obtain a copy of a valid photo ID and your insurance card(s) to provide proof of insurance.
If your insurance company does not pay your claim in 90 days, the balance will automatically be billed to you. Patient balances are billed on receipt of your insurance plans explanation of benefits. Your remittance is due within 30 days of receipt of your bill. If after reasonable attempts have been made to collect monies due to Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC it may be necessary to send your account to a collection agency. If that occurs, the patient may be dismissed from the practice for non-payment.
We understand that temporary financial problems may affect timely payment of your account. If such problems arise, we encourage you to contact us for assistance in the management of your account. Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC charges a returned check fee of $35.00 plus the amount of the check, which must be paid in the form of cash or money order, at which point, checks will no longer be accepted as a form of payment.
Medical Record Requests and Special Forms
All forms required to be filled out and signed by a physician will require an appointment. We do not accept any paperwork through the front window.
If patients request records from our facility, we will print the first 5 pages free of charge. If more than 5 pages of records are requested then a medical records request form will need to be completed by the patient and will be sent to our medical records team for processing. Allow 72 hours for completion.
Conduct and Behavior
At Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC we pride ourselves in customer service and care with a personal touch. We strive to treat all of our patients with dignity and respect, and work hard to maintain a positive environment. As patrons of our practice our staff expects the same mutual courtesy. If you have a concern please address it with our office manager and we will do our best to work with you to solve any concerns or issues that may arise to the best of our ability. In order to maintain a positive environment for both our patients and our staff we will dismiss patients from our practice that are aggressive, disrespectful or demeaning towards a staff member or patron. We reserve the right to involve law enforcement in the event our staff feels threatened.
Controlled Substances
Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC does not prescribe controlled medication for chronic pain management, ADHD and/or anxiety. You will be referred to the appropriate specialist if you require chronic pain management, ADHD and/or anxiety medication. Other controlled substances (such as certain anxiety medications) will only be prescribed at the physicians discretion and these medications will be weaned as deemed appropriate by the physician. A contract will need to be signed by the patient if any controlled medications are prescribed.
Prescription Refills
Please inform Tapia Internal Medicine Clinic, PLLC of which pharmacy you use and update us if this should change. Please allow one to two business days for refill requests. We encourage our patients to review their medications prior to their office appointments and to requests refills at that time, if needed. Please note that we do not fill controlled medications over the phone and will require and office visit.
Telephone Messages
Please allow up to 24 business hours to return phone messages. We will do our best to return phone messages as quickly as possible.
Patient Forms
Patient Registration Form
Signed Forms and Letters
Health History