office policies
Appointments:
*Patients are seen by appointment only. Urgent Appointments: -Patients may email the office directly at DrH.Office447@gmail.com *We will make every attempt to schedule your appointment as soon as possible. If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room for urgent treatment. No Show Policy/Late Policy: Dr. Heidenfelder's hours are by appointment only because patients and others rely on his availability. Please be courteous of others and when possible cancel or reschedule your appointment at least 24 hours in advance when necessary. California Law Requirement: Patients under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for every visit unless prior alternative arrangements have been made. Payment Policy: Payment in full of all co-pays, deductibles or visit charges is due at the time the service is rendered. For your convenience, our office accepts all major credit cards and cash. We only accept checks at the discretion of the office staff/Dr. Heidenfelder. Letter/Form Requests: Dr. Heidenfelder will provide letters and completed forms for patients requesting these items. Any requests that are particularly lengthy or time consuming in nature could incur additional charges. *Please allow sufficient time for the completion of these requests. In general, requests can take up to 2 full weeks to complete. Medical Records/Confidentiality: -We keep a record of the health care services we provide you. You may ask us to view and copy that record. You may also ask us to correct that record. We may deny these requests under certain circumstances. We will not disclose your record to others, unless you direct us to do so, or unless the law authorizes or compels us to do so. Dr. Heidenfelder may require that you sign an Authorization for Release of Information form if you want us to provide information to others, including family members. -Dr. Heidenfelder may be required by law to report suspected child abuse. He may be required by law to provide information to others in order to protect someone you threaten to harm. He may be required by law to provide information from your record if ordered to do so by the courts. *Any request for records requires a Release of Information that needs to be emailed to the office at DrH.Office447@gmail.com -All request for records will be handled as quickly as possible, but we ask that you please allow up to 4 weeks for processing. |
Refill Requests :
*All refills/prescriptions are now processed electronically. *Refills are provided during appointments and in cases of emergency. *NOTE: In many cases you may already have refills available, so please double check with your pharmacy before contacting the office for refills. *Refills will no longer be issued by fax request. At your appointment you will be given enough medications and refills to last until your next appointment. *If you believe you need a refill you may email the office. All requests will be verified with your medication record on file. *Refills WILL NOT be issued if our records indicate that you should have refills available so all patients are encouraged to make certain that their chosen pharmacy correctly documents each and every written prescription that is turned in and every medication they receive. *If, for any reason, a patient requires an additional prescription refill, the refill will be provided (at Dr. Heidenfelder's discretion). Patients are responsible for making sure they safeguard their medication and attend all scheduled appointments to avoid disruption in their medication regimen. Additionally, patients will need to discuss any discrepancies/issues that arise from pharmacy error with their pharmacy directly. Our office WILL NOT CORRECT any pharmacy errors, so we STRONGLY suggest that you select a pharmacy that is reliable and dependable. *Please allow up to 3 business days for all refill requests. *Treatment or refills of medications for any patient with a balance due is at the sole discretion of Dr. Heidenfelder. Controlled Substances: Early refills/prescriptions for controlled substances (stimulants or benzodiazepines) WILL BE REISSUED AT THE DISCRETION OF DR. HEIDENFELDER. In general, early refills for controlled medications will not be given until the date the prescription is due to run out. You are responsible for safeguarding your prescriptions and medications. Benzodiazepine Use: Dr. Heidenfelder cares about your overall safety, health and longevity. He expects all patients to manage these type of medications responsibly and take ONLY as instructed. Any misuse of these type of medications will result in the discontinuation of these medications as instructed by Dr. Heidenfelder and could result in TERMINATION OF TREATMENT. *All patients taking these type of medications acknowledge the inherent risks of misuse and of the risks of abrupt cessation/withdrawal which can lead to life threatening side effects. Narcotic Medications: Dr. Heidenfelder does not prescribe schedule II narcotic pain medications to any patient unless clinically indicated as part of their mental health treatment. All patients being prescribed these types of medications from another provider MUST INFORM Dr. Heidenfelder of the use of these medications. Failure to fully inform Dr. Heidenfelder of this information could result in IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF TREATMENT. *Any patient taking controlled pain medications or any other type of controlled medication without informing Dr. Heidenfelder understands the inherent risk of self harm/overdose of withholding such information. Telephone policy: *Our preferred method of communication is via email. Patients that do not have access to email or patients with urgent needs may call the office directly and leave a message or, if necessary, be connected to office staff or Dr. Heidenfelder. Email Policy: Emails are answered in order of urgency/priority. Dr. Heidenfelder does not provide significant treatment decisions or changes thru email. The use of email to correspond with Dr. Heidenfelder or the office staff is not meant as a substitute for in-person treatment/appointments. Only urgent emails will be answered outside of normal business hours. *By using email, all patients acknowledge and accept the inherent confidentiality risks regarding their personal health information. |