Medication Refills:

Please make sure to get prescriptions for your chronic medication during your visit to last until your next scheduled visit. Please make sure to get refills before you run out. If your pharmacy sends us a faxed prescription request it may not be done for up to 72 hours so plan accordingly.

Cancellation:

Please cancel appointments 24 hours in advance or a service charge may apply. Also please call if you will be more than 15 minutes late. We will try to call you if the provider is running significantly behind schedule.

Telephone Calls:

So that our providers may give patients their complete attention during their office visits, the staff is instructed not to interrupt for telephone calls (except, of course for emergencies). When you call to inquire about a bill, for the results of lab tests, to make an appointment, or to renew a chronic medication, the staff will be able to handle the problem. Should you need to speak to a provider directly, your call will be returned between appointments, or at the end of the day.

Emergency Service:

In the event you need to reach a provider outside of the usual office hours, please follow the directions left on the answering machine. There is always a backup physician on call. Backup physicians will not have access to laboratory or x-ray results and will not refill chronic medications, so make sure to call for these during normal office hours.

In a medical emergency DO NOT WAIT:  call 911 or immediately go to the nearest Emergency Room. In Bellingham: St. Joseph Hospital.

Narcotic Prescriptions:

Any patients on chronic narcotic prescriptions for non-cancer pain will be asked to sign a "Pain Contract" which will include random urine testing. Patients who have substances in their urine not prescribed from our office or do not have substances that we are prescribing will be dismissed from the practice.