New Patient

Thank you for choosing His Branches Health Services as your Primary Care Provider. We’re looking forward to serving you. Here is some important information for you:

Responsibilities as a New Patient

• Please contact your insurance company and change your PCP (Primary Care Physician) to one of our staff physicians (Drs.  Karen Dalton, Nancy Green, Matthew Mack, or William Morehouse). If this is not done before your first appointment you will be held responsible to cover your appointment in full, as your insurance company will not comply with payment without one of our doctors listed as your provider.
• Included in your “New Patient Packet” you will find a “Records Release Form.” Do not hesitate to inform us if you need more than one. Write in where you would like us to obtain your records. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to contact any previous physicians and advise them that you will be transferring care to a new doctor.
• Please arrive to your first appointment with us at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time.

Our Office hours

8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday (closed for lunch between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm) with some evening and Saturday hours.

After Hours

Our answering service receives calls daily from noon to 1:30 pm while the office is closed for lunch and overnight from 5:30 pm to 8:30 am as well as on holidays and weekends. We share after hours care among our team of providers. If you need urgent care after normal business hours, just call your regular office number (Grace Family Medicine at 585-235-2250, or Joy Family Medicine at 585-697-0004), ask our answering service to page the on call provider, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible. Please call during regular office hours with questions about appointments or prescription refills (see below).

Appointment Scheduling and No Show Policy

We will try our best to schedule your appointment at the most convenient time possible. If you need to be seen the same day, we will work you in with your primary provider if they are available, or with one of our other associates if needed. As a courtesy, we attempt to contact every patient to remind them of their appointment in advance; however, it is the responsibility of the patient to arrive for their appointment on time. Cancellations should be received 24 hours in advance. Patients who do not contact us at least 3 hours before their appointment may receive a no-show charge of $25. Patients who have missed three or more appointments within a 12-month period will be dismissed from the practice.

Our providers have many patients on their schedules, usually one every 15 to 30 minutes. Therefore, promptness is necessary to provide you with the treatment you deserve.

• Please check in with the secretary as soon as you arrive.
• If you arrive more than 10 minutes late, it will be at your provider’s discretion to treat you for the remaining time or reschedule your appointment.
• If you are chronically late (multiple and/or consecutive times), the provider may discuss with you an alternate treatment time or possible discharge from services.
• If you arrive early, the provider will try to accommodate you. This may not always be possible.

• Click here to print a copy of our Cancellation and Lateness Policies.

Insurance and Demographic Information

We must verify your insurance card and demographic information at each visit. This ensures that we process accurate billing for you and your insurance company. If you do not have your insurance card available at the time of the visit, we may ask that you reschedule your appointment until you can present your card.

Co-payments and Collection

Co-payments (co-pays), co-insurances, and deductibles are due at the time of service. Payment is required for past-due balances prior to your visit. You may be asked to reschedule your appointment if you are unable to make payment. We accept cash, checks and credit/debit cards.

Prescription Refills

Your refills for most prescriptions can be handled most directly if you check your prescription bottles before your appointment and request new prescriptions during your visit with the provider or directly through your pharmacy. For refill requests outside of appointments, please note the following:

Allow 48 hours for all refill requests.

Your prescription refill request will be expedited if you CONTACT YOUR PHARMACY first. They will fax or electronically notify us of your request.

If your prescription for maintenance medication is out of refills, you may be due for an appointment and/or necessary lab work. Our office will discuss this with you if this is the case.

Narcotic pain medications require a written prescription and may not be called into the pharmacy. NYS law also prevents us from refilling prescriptions for controlled substances (for pain, ADHD, etc.) without having a “face-to-face encounter” (office visit) with the patient in advance. Per our policy, narcotic prescriptions will not be called in after-hours.

Prior Authorizations

Some insurance policies require Prior Authorization for radiology studies, referrals and/or certain prescription medications. This may cause a delay in scheduling appointments outside this office or obtaining non-urgent medications. Our office will file the appropriate forms in a timely manner, and you will be notified of the insurance company response promptly. Please give 2-4 business days before calling our office to obtain a Prior Authorization number.

Referrals

Referrals for specialists will be handled on the same day for urgent matters and within 48 hours for all other appointments. Please make sure our office staff has the best phone number to reach you in order to communicate your appointment information. We will make every effort to insure that the specialist accepts your insurance. However, it is ultimately each patient’s responsibility to confirm that a specialist is covered by your specific insurance plan before your scheduled appointment with him or her.

Requests for Medical Records

We will only release copies of a patient’s medical record with written patient authorization. Any PHYSICIAN’S OFFICE requesting your medical records will be given a copy free of charge. However, if you personally want a copy of your records, and/or we must forward them elsewhere other than a physician’s office a standard fee will apply per page requested. Please allow 7 to 10 business days to have your records forwarded from the date written authorization is received.

Forms

Disability, employer, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), insurance forms, or any other paperwork that requires your provider’s input, can be very time consuming for both you and your provider. Please be sure to complete all required information prior to submission to your provider. You may be asked to schedule an appointment with your provider to review the requested information.

Termination from our practice

Our office values its patients’ relationships and wants to protect patients’ rights. We will only terminate patient relationships with cause and careful consideration. Reasons for termination include but are not limited to: being hostile/abusive to staff; not complying with recommended medical care; or repeatedly not showing for scheduled appointments.

Welcome Information PDF

• Click here to print a copy of the information on this page.