NFA HOUSE RULES

In an effort to provide a safe and healthy environment for the staff, patients, and their families; we ask everyone to refrain from any behaviors that are disruptive or pose a threat to the rights or safety of other patients and staff. Please be patient with the staff, sometimes appointments run behind. Please keep in mind that some patients need extra attention for their unforeseen conditions. Please treat the staff and physician with respect. Any harassing, offensive, or intimidating statements or threats of violence are not tolerated and will lead to immediate dismissal from our practice. We will try to keep you informed as much as possible, and see you as quickly as we can, or reschedule your appointment as soon as possible. Please note the following:

OFFICE HOURS

Our regular office hours are 8:00am - 5:00pm Monday through Friday, with the exception of holidays. We are closed for lunch from 12:00pm - 1:00pm every day. Appointment times may differ from our regular office hours, so please ask our front desk staff for more details.

MISSED VISIT POLICY

We ask that you give our office 24 hours’ notice if you are NOT going to be able to make your appointment. If you do not call or show up for your appointment, it will be documented as a “no show”. If you are an Established Patient and “no show” for your appointment three times, you will be charged a fee of $25 per missed visit. If you are a New Patient and cancel or reschedule your new patient appointment three times, your file will be locked and you must pay a $25 fee in order to unlock your file and schedule any additional appointments.

LATE APPOINTMENTS

 Please allow yourself time to make your scheduled appointment. If you are going to be a few minutes late, please notify our office. If you are going to be more than 15 minutes late, we ask that you please reschedule.

COURTESY CALLS

Often times you will receive a courtesy call reminding you of your upcoming appointment. This is only a courtesy. The patient is still responsible for making their appointment time even if they did not receive a courtesy call.

SANITATION

Our staff works very hard to maintain a clean office for all of our patients and we ask that you please respect them and help maintain the cleanliness of our facility. Please remember that there are other patients who come in behind you for appointments. Be mindful of things that you may be tracking into the office from outside and do your best to help minimize any risk of infection. Outside germs, debris, and pests can be a large health risk for our patients. Please also be aware of your personal hygiene when coming to your appointments. Our staff has any supplies that you might need to clean up behind yourself readily available for your convenience.

OFFICE CO-PAYS

Our office requires that we collect the amount of your office co-pay BEFORE each visit, with the exception of post-op care inside the global fee limit. If you are unable to pay your office co-pay, we ask that you please reschedule your appointment.

PATIENT INFORMATION

Please provide the doctor with your accurate and complete medical history, along with current address, phone number and social security cards. These things are required to update our records and necessary for billing purposes. Please notify the doctor of any pre-existing conditions and any changes of symptoms or changes in health.

INSURANCE CARDS

Our business office requires a copy of your insurance card upon your first visit and must be presented each visit. Insurance companies often change claim filing addresses and phone numbers. Capturing your current information will help us file your claims in a timely manner. If you do not provide us with a copy of your insurance card at the time of your appointments, we will need to reschedule until you have your insurance card with you.

CASH PAYING PATIENTS

Patients that are uninsured are considered cash paying patients. Total payment is required in the form of cash, credit card, or check at the time of your visit.  Our office has no way of knowing prior to the date of service what the actual charge for that day’s appointment will be. We can give you an estimated cost, but there is no way of knowing until after you have seen the physician. 

DELInQUENT BILLS/PAYMENTS

We understand that sometimes medical bills can be quite expensive and overwhelming. We will work with you in any way that we can to take care of these matters. If the business office feels that they have made every effort to assist you and the account is still delinquent, further legal action will be taken. If your account with us is delinquent, we will expect you to make payment arrangements with our business office before a future appointment can be scheduled.

PAPERWORK

If you request paperwork to be completed by our office, and it is not the day of your scheduled appointment, you may drop it off or fax it to us. Please allow 2 business days from the time we receive it to prepare it. We will call you when it is ready and there may be a service charge, depending on the number of pages.

 REQUESTING MEDICAL RECORDS/X-RAYS

If you are in need of any medical records (including x-rays), please allow our office 2 business days to process your request. You will need to sign the appropriate authorization/release forms. Please advise the staff of what records you are needing and who/where they need to be sent. We will NOT release x-ray records to anyone except the patient without the appropriate authorization forms. Our office will give you a courtesy call to let you know when your records/x-rays are ready to be picked up. There is a service fee of $5.00 for an x-ray CD.

PRESCRIPTIONS

We do not call in medications after hours, on holidays, or on weekends. Medication needs are the responsibility of the patient. If you need your medication changed, please call our office and leave a message for the staff stating your request and what pharmacy you use. Your call will be returned within 24 hours, with the exception of Fridays. If you are in need of medication on Friday or over the weekend, please call by Wednesday afternoon. If you need a refill on your prescription(s), please call your pharmacy and they will forward the request to our office. All requests for refills will be addressed in a timely manner. Please call your pharmacy to see if your prescription is ready.

Our office considers narcotics/pain medication prescriptions on a case by case basis. If you are in need of a refill of a controlled substance, you will need to contact our office directly. These requests will be processed as stated in the above paragraph. Please note our office has access to the North Carolina Narcotics Information report that discloses the filling of all narcotics. If the physician feels that any of these reports show misuse and/or guidelines have been violated, we will not continue to write you narcotics/pain medication prescriptions.

PHONE CALLS

Phone calls will be returned within 24 hours, with the exception of Fridays and Holidays. Please leave a detailed voicemail with a good call back number in order to receive a return call.

EMERGENCIES

For any after-hours emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room. The Emergency Room will notify Dr. Noah if necessary. Please give our office a call to set up a follow-up appointment, or to advise us of your visit to the Emergency Room, on the following business day.

Thank you for your business and please contact our office with any questions!