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What should I do if my child or myself
becomes sick during the middle of the night?
Call our office number as usual.
Our answering service will relay your message
and have the "doctor on call" return your call.
The doctor on call will be a physician from one
of our clinics. The doctor may be busy with
patients at the hospital at the time that you
call, which may result in a slight delay in
returning your call, BUT THEY WILL RETURN YOUR
CALL.
Some of you may have chosen to have your home
phone line "blocked" so that anonymous phone
calls cannot ring through to your home. When you
call the clinic after hours and request a phone
call from the physician on call IT IS IMPORTANT
THAT YOU TEMPORARILY 'UNBLOCK' YOUR LINE. If you
are unable or unwilling to do this, it may delay
or interfere with receiving a timely response
from the physician on call.
What should I do if I get sick on a
weekend?
The Plymouth office is open
Saturday mornings from 9:00 am to noon. The
Crystal office is open Saturdays from
9:00 am - 3:00 pm. Saturday appointments are left
open for "urgent care" such as injuries, sore
throats and ear infections. Crystal Gallery
Urgent Care is open 10:00 am - 6:00 pm during
the weekend.
How do I go about setting up lab
appointments?
Strep Test: We do offer a
24 hour strep test to our established patients.
This is done in the lab and the results will be
available the following day. If the test is
positive, the lab will call in a prescription.
If the test is negative, the patient would need
to set up an appointment time if they wish to
see a doctor.
Allergy Shots: We offer allergy
shot hours for our patients who receive allergy
shots. Please call your clinic for specific days
and hours shots may be scheduled. Some evening
hours are available.
All other labwork: Most other
labwork needs to have a doctor's authorization
before we can perform the test. Your doctor will
tell you when you need to schedule these tests.
An appointment needs to be scheduled with the
lab for all labwork. WE DO NEED YOU TO CALL IN
ADVANCE TO SCHEDULE LAB APPOINTMENTS. THIS WILL
HELP TO AVOID LONG WAITS IN THE LAB.
When I pick a doctor, will I always see
him/her?
We always try to keep you with
the same physician so that you doctor is
familiar with your health records. In case of an
urgent situation, we will try to schedule you
with your primary physician. However, if that
doctor is not in that day, we will schedule you
with someone that is available on that day.
Can I be billed for my co-payments?
We are not able to bill you for
co-payments. Through the contracts that we sign
with the insurance companies, we are required to
collect the co-payments at the time of your
visit. If there is a reason that you cannot pay
at the time of the visit, let the receptionist
know and they can provide you with an envelope
that you may mail back to us within 10 days.
Can I go to any of the three Northwest
Family Physicians clinics?
You can go to any of the three
clinics. It is best for you to decide which
location is best for you and to try to stay at
that one unless an emergency arises. That way
your medical records stay at one site for the
physician to review when you need to be seen.
What do I do if I cannot accompany my
teenager or child to their appointment?
Unless a life-threatening illness
or injury is occurring, a minor will not be seen
without consent of the parent or guardian. We
prefer that a note be written authorizing
treatment. Without a parent or guardian present,
it can sometimes be more difficult to get an
accurate history and to explain options for
treatment. For this reason, we encourage a
parent to be present when possible.
There are some exceptions to this
policy.
A minor living apart from their parents
and managing financial affairs themselves may
give consent to treatment.
By state law, a minor has the right to
consent for treatment of pregnancy and
conditions associated with pregnancy, venereal
disease, alcohol and drug abuse treatment and
the hepatitis B vaccine. Treatment of these
conditions is confidential and cannot be
discussed with the parent without the minor\'s
consent.
A minor must be informed of any drug
testing done. A written consent from the minor
must be obtained prior to testing.
How should I go about making follow-up
appointments?
It's best to make your follow-up
appointments as you are leaving the office, that
way there will be more appointments open for you
to choose from to correlate with your schedule.
If you need to schedule routine appointments,
such as a physical, pap or well baby checkup,
please call us as far in advance as possible.
There is approximately a month wait for an
appointment for a physical or a pap. Calling to
schedule these appointments on Wednesday,
Thursday or Friday will help keep our
appointment lines open on Mondays and Tuesdays,
which are our busiest days.
What should I do when I need to call the
doctor to ask a question?
Call our office and one the
triage nurses will take a message for your
doctor. We need to retrieve the patient's chart
from our file room and give it to the nursing
stations. It's very helpful to let us know what
your call is regarding, this way the nurse can
talk with the physician in between seeing
patients without having to call you back first
to gather information. Generally your doctor's
nurse will return the call, but there may be
times that is necessary for the doctor to call
back. The return calls are made in a timely
manner between seeing scheduled patients and at
break times so there may be a time delay. If it
is possible, please indicate when is the best
time to reach you, so we can avoid unnecessary
calls.
What should I do when I need a refill on my
medication?
The fastest way is to call the
pharmacy where you received your prescription.
Please call them several days before your
medication is finished. That way there is enough
time for all of the appropriate steps to be
completed. Refills are done Monday through
Friday only.
What should I do if I need to see a
specialist?
While there are many types of
insurance, many of them require a "referral"
from one of our doctors. In most cases, it is
required by the insurance company that you see
your primary physician first. It is then up to
the doctor to determine if your condition needs
to be seen by a specialist or if it can be taken
care of in our clinics. The doctor will
generally have the referral coordinator set up
the appointment or leave a message for her to
call you to set up the appointment. Please be
sure to keep the referral office informed of any
follow-up appointments that you may have. For
routine eye exams, you can contact our referral
department directly without making an
appointment. REMEMBER THAT IT IS THE PATIENT'S
RESPONSIBILITY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR SPECIFIC
INSURANCE POLICY AND ITS REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING
REFERRALS.
Which doctor would I see if I happen to be
hospitalized?
Our doctors work through North
Memorial Medical Center. Every week a physician
from one of our three locations "rounds" at the
hospital. That doctor sees all of the patients
from Northwest Family Physicians. Although your
normal family physician may not be the one to
see you in the hospital, they will be informed
of your condition.
Who should I call if I have questions about
my billing?
The insurance/billing department
for all of our clinics is located at the Crystal
office. You may dial them direct at (763) 504-6550.
They can help answer your questions
Monday-Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm.
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