Office Policies

Financial Policies

Payment is required at the time of service unless other arrangements have been previously made.   We do not directly bill any insurance plans.  If your insurance company covers our services, we will give you a copy of your bill marked PAID and a coded superbill that you may submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.  Payment may be made by cash, check, or credit card (VISA or Mastercard).  There is a $20 fee for returned checks.

There will be a charge for appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours notice.

Phone, Skype, E-mail and After Hours Consultations

A phone or skype consult is initiated by the patient to consult on a new illness or a current condition.  It may take the place of an office visit and may consist of an intake, reviewing lab tests, consulting about health care options, or designing a treatment plan.  It is not a follow-up phone call to report briefly on the status of a current treatment plan or to reorder supplements.  Pre-arranged phone consults that are in lieu of an office visit are charged at the same rate as office visits.

E-mail consults may need to occur when in person or phone contact is not possible.  An e-mail consult follows the same guidelines as a phone consult, and is also charged at the same rate as an office visit, based on the length of time required for proper response.  All e-mail communication must take place within our patient portal, which each patient is registered for upon joining our practice.

After hours calls (cell phone) will be billed unless the call is to clarify an existing protocol or regarding an acute condition for which we have already consulted and is under ten minutes in length.

Medical records

Medical records are strictly confidential and will be copied in whole or in part with a  written request directly from the patient or guardian.  Records will be mailed or available for pickup within ten business days of receipt of your request, unless an urgency exists which requires they be sent sooner. Due to confidentiality concerns, we will only transmit records by fax when there is urgent medical need.  We can also scan your records and create a pdf document that we can transfer to a jump drive that you provide.  Because copying records takes time and materials, there is a $25 fee for copying records.

Prescription or Supplement Refills

If you need a refill on a prescription that you receive from a pharmacy, please call your pharmacy and have them fax us a refill request.  Our fax number is 925-949-8436.

If you need a refill on supplements that you receive from our office, please call or contact the office through the patient portal before you run out to ensure that we have what you need.  Our office is open for supplements pick-ups and refills Monday through Friday 9-5 (we are closed for lunch between 12-1pm).

If you need supplement items mailed to you, please call your order in or e-mail through the portal by 1:00 FRIDAY.  All packages are mailed via USPS Priority mail, and should be received within 2-3 days, depending on distance.  We do require payment by check or credit card before shipping supplements.