Welcome to Dawson Integrative Medical Center, LLC. Our practice policies are outlined below and have been created to maintain the highest level of care for our patients. We pride ourselves on being different from the rest, so we have very strict policies in place to allow us to deliver a different experience.
GENERAL: Please note that any changes to our policies will always be announced and made available to patients. Be sure you have subscribed to our Newsletters/Announcements AND that you follow us on social media for important updates, sales, promotions, informations and fun!
APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING & PATIENT PROFILE (SAVED CREDIT CARD): We see patients by appointment only. While we try to accommodate emergency or same day appointments, please understand there might be a longer than normal wait time. All appointments are conveniently self-scheduled online using our Schedulicity portal. As a patient, you are required to keep an online profile and a credit card on file in this portal. The credit card is used to guarantee an appointment but is not charged at the time of scheduling (unless otherwise noted on that specific appointment type). Payments will be processed during the office visit check in process using the card on file. The saved card will also be used in the event of a late cancellation, no show, or any balance. You can also request for this card to be used for any additional products or services.
ARRIVAL TIMES: In an effort to provide excellent care to our patients, our schedule is kept on time and is strictly structured. This allows us to focus equal time and attention to each patient in a non-rushed manner. If you are a new patient, you must arrive 15 minutes early to process you as a new patient. If you have not completed new patient forms, you must arrive 20-30 minutes prior. If you arrive late or without the paperwork completed (and not have arrived 20-30 minutes prior), you will be rescheduled.
CANCELLATIONS & NO SHOWS: We have a very strict scheduling policy. We require a 48 hour notice if you are unable to keep your appointment time. This allows us to provide that time to another patient in need. If you no show for an appointment or do not provide the required 48 hour notice, you will be charged a $100 fee to the card you have on file. If you have more than 2 late cancellation or no show occurrences, you may be subject to dismissal from the practice. We value your time and expect the same in return. We are a small practice that spends extended time with our patients. We often reserve 45-60 minutes for appointment times and when we are not given the courtesy of a 48 hour notice, we are unable to fill that time with another patient. This is the only way we are able to keep our fees so low and offer other cost effective services. Remember, we are a small, intimate practice and we prefer to keep it that way.
SCENT-FREE OFFICE: Please refrain from wearing fragrances to our office. We treat a number of patients that suffer from terrible allergic and autoimmune conditions that will exacerbate their symptoms when exposed.
BRINGING CHILDREN TO YOUR APPOINTMENT: While we are a family-friendly practice and see patients as young as 5 years old, we kindly request that parents only bring children to the office if the child is being seen. We spend an extended amount of time with our patients and many times, children do get restless and we have found that parents do not get the full benefit from their appointment with us. Additionally, there are very sensitive topics discussed during visits that are not appropriate for little ears. We respectfully request that you schedule your appointment when you have appropriate childcare OR schedule a telemedicine visit perhaps during nap time or a mutually convenient time for you and your child(ren).
MEDICATION POLICY: Please understand that our office practices within the Integrative Functional Medicine structure. This means our focus is on wellness, prevention, and reversal of chronic conditions, symptoms and disease. There are several conditions we will manage and prescribe medications for, but there are some we will not. Please be sure to read the full Medication Policy in the following disclosures. We do not prescribe controlled medication unless related to weight loss, hormone therapy or psychiatry. No medications will be prescribed or refilled unless during an office visit.
AFTER HOURS CONTACT: If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of an urgent medical need that is outside of our normal office hours, we ask that you text us at our contact number. If your need is medically urgent and you need to speak with a provider on call, there is a $20 after hours fee that will be charged to your credit card on file to connect with an on-call provider. If your need results in any type of assessment, medication or treatment plan, you will be charged $55 for a sick visit. If your need is not urgent, you will be responded to the next business day. If it is life-threatening or an emergency, we ask that you call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room and then inform us.
TREATMENT OF MINORS: Patients under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Please note that our office does not administer vaccinations. If vaccinations are requested or required, we will refer to the appropriate facility. We also welcome patients that are on a delayed vaccination schedule or opts out of vaccinations. School & Sports Physical Forms are completed at no extra charge if completed during an office visit. We welcome all ages for holistic and natural care only. We will prescribe medications within the following structure: for patients 2 years old +, nurse practitioner Nikki will prescribe medication during an office visit with her. We will require that all minors have access to their pediatrician OR have access to an urgent care facility if the need arises that is outside the scope of our practice.
LAB WORK: As a convenience to you, we do have the ability to draw labs in our office; however, there are certain tests that do require special processing, so you will be referred to the lab at that point. We do charge a nominal $35 lab draw fee. All specimens are then sent to the lab of your choice for processing. We do not handle any type of lab billing, so we encourage you to inquire with your insurance company to be sure the lab you have chosen is in your network and coverage/cost options. This is your responsibility. WE HAVE OPTED OUT OF INSURANCE SO WE CANNOT OBTAIN PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS FOR ANY SERVICES. IF YOU ELECT TO USE YOUR INSURANCE FOR THE EXTENSIVE LAB WORK WE DO, PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS YOUR RESPONSBILIITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR INSURANCE WILL AND WILL NOT COVER. ONE REASON WE OPTED OUT OF INSURANCE IS SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE UNHINDERED HEALTH CARE TO PATIENTS WITHOUT HAVING INSURANCE DICTATE WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO.
REFERRALS/ORDERS: It might be necessary at times to refer you to a specialist, another provider, or a facility for services. Our office will provide you with the referral or orders. It is your responsibility to select a provider (unless we have made recommendations). You will need to inquire with your insurance company to ensure that the provider or facility is in your network and what the costs are.
DISMISSAL: If you are dismissed from the practice, it means you can no longer schedule an appointment or consider us your provider. Common reasons for dismissal include: failure to keep appointments, no show, or late cancel, non compliance with treatment plans, abuse to the staff, and failure to pay your bill.
PAYMENT METHOD: As mentioned above, you are required to keep a valid credit card on your profile. Unless otherwise noted, a credit card is required to guarantee your appointment time but is not charged until you check in for your appointment. If you do not give the required 48 hour cancellation notice or no show, your credit card on file will be charged. Our office accepts only cash and credit cards. No checks are accepted. HSA and FSA cards are honored and any necessary paperwork will be given. We also accept Care Credit.
MEDICAL RECORDS: We will provide you a copy of your medical records upon a written/signed request. There is also a nominal fee to process your request. The State of Florida allows for a $1.00 per page charge for the first 25 pages and then $0.25 per page thereafter. Once we receive your request in writing along with the payment, we will process your request within 30 days. As a professional courtesy, if a request is made by another provider, we will provide these electronically at no charge.
FORMS/LETTERS: If you request our office to complete any forms, letters, or accommodation certifications, please note that we do charge for these timely services. The fees range from $20 for a simple letter to $50 for FMLA forms. Once you have made the request in writing, we will inform you of the appropriate fee. Once the payment has been made, please allow 5 business days for completion.
RESULTS: We will happily provide you a copy of all your results of testing that we have ordered. Please be aware that we will follow proper HIPAA compliant instructions that you have provided for communication purposes. Additionally, an office visit is required to review any abnormal results so that a proper treatment plan can be implemented.
BILLING/INSURANCE: Payment is due at the time of service for any services that are not covered by insurance or that we are out of network for (see below). We do not file insurance for Functional Medicine or Primary Care; however, we will provide you with any documentation so that you may seek direct reimbursement. We will file insurance for Acupuncture for the plans we are in network with. For the services we are able to bill, you hereby authorize us to release any and all medical records required by the insurance company in order to process any claims. Payment of all services are assigned to Dawson Integrative Medical Center, LLC. You also authorize all payment benefits be paid directly to the practice. You understand that you are responsible for any copayments, coinsurance, unmet deductibles, and any charges that are not covered by your insurance at the time of service or immediately upon insurance denial. You authorize our practice to charge the card you have in your profile immediately for any amount owed to us. For any declined payment or in event there is no valid card on file, you will be mailed an invoice. You will have 30 days to make payment and update your saved credit card on file. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from the practice and you will be sent to collections. You understand you are soley responsibile for any balance due the practice.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE/PRIMARY CARE: At this time, our office is considered out of network with insurance for Functional Medicine/Primary Care. Since we spend a considerable amount of time with our patients, most insurance companies will not appropriately reimburse for that time spent. For this reason, we have elected to remain out of network and offer affordable and attractive self-pay/cash options. If you have insurance, you may be able to utilize it for services we order; such as, but not limited to: laboratory testing at traditional labs (Quest, Labcorp, etc), radiology testing at independent facilities (xray, ultrasound, etc), and certain non-compounded prescriptions. Please note that our office does not process insurance prior authorizations, since we are out of network. These services include, but are not limited to: referrals, radiology orders, procedures, and prescriptions. You are able to pay out of pocket and seek reimbursement from your insurance. Compounded medications and weight loss medications are not typically covered by insurance.
ACUPUNCTURE/TCM TREATMENTS: While our office is in network with a select few plans for acupuncture, many plans do not cover all conditions and what they do cover, is minimal. For this reason, we will only bill the office visit and acupuncture (with or without e-stim) to your insurance, if we are in network. All other modalities of treatment will be self-pay, if you elect those services to be rendered. We do require payment of copayment, coinsurance, unmet deductible or any patient responsibility at the time of your visit, at check-in. The remainder of the acupuncture treatment will be billed to your insurance company that we are in network with. If insurance does not pay, denies, or only partially pays, you are responsble for this portion immediately and your card on file will be charged. We do require you to confirm appropriate benefits for acupuncture coverage and in network status at each visit. For all other patients that are either out of network or self-pay, prepayment is due at the time of service.
THIRD PARTY BILLING: If you receive a bill from a third party company (laboratory, imaging, etc) and believed you were billed in error or have questions pertaining to this bill, please contact the company or facility directly. Our practice does not have any involvement in billing for services not performed by the clinical staff of our practice. As a disclaimer, since each insurance plan is different, we encourage you to inquire about coverage for these services BEFORE you have them completed. There are a lot of factors to consider; such as: deductibles, plan limitations and exclusions and frequencies. We have no way to know this information and this is the responsibility the of the patient to know and understand their coverage. WE HAVE OPTED OUT OF INSURANCE SO WE CANNOT OBTAIN PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS FOR ANY SERVICES. IF YOU ELECT TO USE YOUR INSURANCE FOR THE EXTENSIVE LAB WORK WE DO, PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS YOUR RESPONSBILIITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR INSURANCE WILL AND WILL NOT COVER. ONE REASON WE OPTED OUT OF INSURANCE IS SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE UNHINDERED HEALTH CARE TO PATIENTS WITHOUT HAVING INSURANCE DICTATE WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO.
TREATMENT: You hereby authorize and direct Dawson Integrative Medical Center, LLC to perform medical assessment and treatment upon me. You acknowledge that the practice of medicine is not an exact science and that no guarantee has been made to you as to the outcome of treatment. With your signature below, you grant consent without duress, confusion or pressure from Dawson Integrative Medical Center, LLC. You understand that the information you have provided to this practice is true to the best of your knowledge.
By signing below, you certify and acknowledge that you have read and understand the entire contents of the Office Policies.