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Clinic Policies and Procedures

For your convenience, we have provided office policy information below. Some information is provided simply for your review so that you are well informed of your rights and obligations as a patient. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these policies, clinic registration staff will be glad to answer any questions that you may have. Please call your physician's office directly with your questions.

Appointments and Reminders
To schedule, cancel, or modify an appointment, you may call any physician's office directly. Clinic staff are available by phone Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Please call at least 24 hours in advance if you need to change your appointment so we can schedule another patient at that time. We ask that you arrive 15 minutes early for an office appointment to update forms as necessary. A reminder for your scheduled appointment will be provided by telephone call the day before your appointment.

Referrals to Our Specialists
Some medical conditions may require a referral to a specialist in a particular field of medicine. If this is the case, you will most likely need to see your primary care provider first. This is because your medical records are maintained by your primary care provider who understands your medical condition along with your medical history and course of treatment. Therefore, your primary care provider can recommend what specialists would be appropriate to visit.

If referred to a specialist, your insurance plan may require referral paperwork or other authorization for visits to any of our specialty physicians. Please contact your primary care physician/provider or insurance company for more information.

What to Bring to an Appointment
You can save time at the clinic by coming prepared to your visit with the following:

Any paperwork that the office has asked you to complete prior to arriving
Insurance card(s)
Photo ID
Medication bottles and supplements you are currently taking
A list of all allergies
A list of questions you want to ask your healthcare professional
A list of any medications you need refilled

New Prescriptions/Prescription Refill
The following guidelines for new prescriptions and prescription refills are provided to ensure you receive quality care and service:

For medication to be effective, it should be taken exactly as your provider prescribes. It is much easier to evaluate the progress made with a medication if a patient has remained compliant with instructions.
A new antibiotic or an antibiotic refill is not provided without an evaluation first. Contact your provider's office to schedule an appointment. If your prescription bottle indicates you have refills left, you do not need to call the office; your pharmacy will refill this for you.
It will generally take your provider 24-48 hours to contact your pharmacy when issuing a refill request. Whenever you feel a medication is ineffective or needs adjusting, call your provider's office to schedule an appointment.

After Hours Care
During normal business hours (8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.), contact your physician’s office directly. Outside of these hours, physicians are on-call to direct your care. If you have a situation that necessitates contacting your physician during these off-hours, please call (309) 833-4101 and your physician, or a covering physician, will be notified to return your call. If you have an emergency that you would consider serious or life-threatening, go directly to the Emergency Room or dial 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.

If you are in need of medical care or treatment for an uncomplicated minor illness, injury or skin condition, you may also visit the MDH Convenient Care Clinic located at the Macomb Hy-Vee.

Convenient Care Normal Business Hours:
Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday - Sunday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
*For patients greater than 18 months old

Requesting Records
When requesting copies of your medical records, we ask that you please allow a minimum of two business days to prepare your request for pick-up. For your convenience, you may call and place your request by calling your physician's office directly or you may print the Authorization For Release of Medical Information Form and present it to your practitioner’s office.

A patient may request records for:

Personal use (charges will apply)
To leave your current practitioner and have your medical care transferred to a new practitioner in another clinic (charges will apply)
When your practitioner has referred you to the care of another practitioner or specialist (no charge)

No-Show Policy

Attending regularly scheduled appointments is necessary to provide quality care. If you need to reschedule an appointment, adequate notice needs to be given. Non-participation in treatment as exhibited by not coming to scheduled appointments or excessive cancellations is cause for terminating the physician/patient relationship. If you do not show or fail to cancel an appointment at least 24 hours in advance for 2 consecutive appointments or 3 appointments within a 12-month period, the provider may pursue closing your case and terminating the relationship.

Arriving Late for an Appointment
If you arrive late for an appointment, you may be asked to reschedule. Every attempt will be made to get you in to see your practitioner, but this will depend on the remaining patient schedule and the availability of the practitioner.

Patient Termination Policy
Although it is an infrequent occurrence, a patient/physician relationship may be terminated. Common reasons for termination include, but are not limited to: use of foul language; chronic noncompliance with recommended therapy; abusive behavior of staff, physicians, visitors or other patients; or other disruptive behavior. A patient whom is terminated will be notified of the termination and given 30 days to locate another medical office for their continued care. Patient termination can be recommended by the patient's primary care provider but will be reviewed and decided upon by a committee consisting of other staff and administration within MDH.

Patient Feedback/Advocacy
Our clinics welcome and encourage your feedback, both positive and negative. Therefore, you may be randomly selected to receive a patient survey from Press Ganey, the entity selected to conduct our patient opinion surveys. If you do receive a survey in the mail, we encourage you to share your opinions with us.

Further, if you feel a negative experience has occurred that requires prompt attention, a system is in place to address these matters in a timely manner. McDonough District Hospital’s Advocacy Services assists with the coordination, investigation, and resolution of any consumer complaint regarding either your hospital experience or services received within one of our clinics. Advocacy Services may be contacted by calling (309) 836-1636.

Privacy Policy
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your medical information. We are also required to notify you of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding your medical information and abide by the terms of this Notice. This Notice of Privacy Practices provides detailed information about how we may use and disclose your medical information with or without authorization as well as information about your specific rights with respect to your medical information.