Please click on any of the menu items below to read the details of our policies.
We may charge for certain services where substantial activity is required on your behalf after your visit. Examples of these activities are requests for prescription refills, duplicate prescriptions, insurance or disability forms, or other needs occurring outside your regularly scheduled visit to our office. Please be aware that fees for these types of services are generally not covered by most insurance contracts.
If you are having a medical problem after our regular business hours,
please call our
main number for recorded directions [ 231-487-2460 ] and contact information
to reach the physician on-call.
Anticoagulation (Coumadin) Patients
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Please advise us if your name, address or health insurance has changed since your last visit to our office. If your insurance has changed or if you are a new patient, please have your insurance cards available for our staff. On an annual basis, we will ask that you review the information we have previously collected and provide a new release signature.
At your visit, we will review your medication history and renew your
prescriptions that may be needed. We would ask that you present any insurance
forms that may be required. Make sure that you address any health concerns
that may have. A list of items to discuss with your physician or provider
may be helpful.
Care or Services Outside this Office
Our focus is on meeting your health care needs. To accomplish this goal, your care may require treatment and/or diagnostic services outside this office. We encourage that you become an informed consumer of healthcare services, and to be knowledgeable about your specific plan and any limitations that may be present.
If you have questions about whether a service or referral is covered by your health plan, please contact your plan's member services to obtain definitive information. Our office can assist you in rescheduling services, but it is your responsibility to assure coverage.
Please be aware that failure to verify coverage can result in patient
in-balances.
The criteria for physician office coding are standardized through the American Medical Association (AMA). These standards include three key components: history, examination, and the complexity of medical decision-making. Each physician or provider is responsible for coding the services that they render, with review of the various coding rules by our billing staff at the time that the charges are entered.
The physicians and providers in our practice will manage your overall health, in conjunction with any specialists that may be required. The management of chronic pain and the requirement for narcotic prescriptions will require a pain management specialist. Our staff can facilitate a referral to a pain management specialist for this type of service.
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We participate with most insurance companies. In cases where your insurance does not pay or where we have been unable to exact payment from them, you can expect to be billed for the services provided. Our billing staff can provide you with detailed information about your visit should the need arise.
Payment is due at the time of service unless other arrangements have been made. Similarly, patient co-pays are due at the time of service. Returned checks will be assessed a $25 fee. For your protection, it is our policy to provide a receipt for any funds collected at the check-in desk; any future inquiry about a payment received must be accompanied by this receipt or your canceled check.
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Insurance Coverage for Services
We participate with Medicare and many commercial insurances, and will assist you by filing the claim on your behalf. Payment is due at the time of service unless other arrangements have been made. Patient co-pays are also due at the time of service.
Our billing staff will process primary and secondary claims for you,
unless otherwise required. Insurance balances that extend beyond a reasonable
time period may be reclassified as a patient balance. Please be aware
that patient and insurance balances are pursued aggressively, and account
balances may be sent to an outside firm for further collection efforts.
Late payment charges of up to $20 may be added for each visit that age
beyond thirty days.
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We understand that situations may occur that will cause you to miss your
appointment. We ask that you contact our office as soon as possible, so
that your appointment time may be cleared for use by another patient.
There may be a missed appointment fee of between $25-75 assessed, depending
on the type and length of visit.
Internal Medicine of Northern Michigan PLLC wants to be your partner in health care. The following policy outlines what your responsibilities are as a patient.
- You are responsible for providing full and accurate information about
past illnesses, hospital stays, use of medications and other matters
related to your health
- You are responsible for reporting any changes in your condition or
problems in your treatment including your ability to care for yourself
- You are responsible to asking questions when you do not understand
or are not satisfied with the information or instructions given to you
by the physician, provider, or the staff
- You are responsible for the consequences of your decisions if you
refuse treatment or do not follow the instructions or your physician,
provider, or staff
- Your are responsible for telling us when you are not satisfied with
the care or services provided, would like to discuss ethical issues
related to your health care, or when you have concerns about possible
abuse or neglect in the home
- You are responsible for following rules of the practice, following
instructions on case of emergency, and being considerate of and respecting
the rights of other patients and staff
- You are responsible for providing accurate and timely information
about methods of payment for services, and for resolution of any patient
balances that may be experienced
- You are responsible for discussing your wishes and choices about
future health care. We encourage you to discuss your wishes with your
family and physician. An Advance Directive or Durable Power of Attorney
for Health Care Decision Making can speak for you if you are unable
to. <back
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Unless you are provided a laboratory slip prior, it is not the practice or our physicians or providers to have blood drawn before the visit. If laboratory services are required, ...
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We prefer to handle your prescription refills at the time of your annual
visit, at a time when you have our undivided attention and the benefit
of your chart. Refills between appointments should allow 2-3 business
days for processing, and may require approval from your physician or provider.
Charges may be experienced for care between appointments, including duplicate
or renewal prescriptions.
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Internal Medicine of Northern Michiganrecognizes and supports the need to protect the privacy rights of our site visitors and supporters. When you visit our site, we log the IP address, type of operating system and browser software used by each visitor, and from this information we can derive the identity of the visitor's geographic location and Internet Service Provider.
We use this data to build higher quality, more useful facilities by analyzing the collective characteristics of our visitors and measuring usage. Internal Medicine of Northern Michigan will will refrain from any disclosure of personal information, career information or contact details to any third party or outside entity.
We ask that our visitors periodically review this page to ensure familiarity with the most current version of our privacy policy. If you have any questions or comments about our privacy practices, you can contact us at: info@imnm.com
We take confidentiality of your health information very seriously. Every person has certain rights regarding who can access their medical record, and access can be granted only by the patient or authorized representative. *Also see HIPAA
Under Michigan law, the medical record is the property of the physician or practice providing care or treatment. As a patient, you own the data in the record. Copies of the record can be requested by the patient or authorized representative. Authorizations must contain the name and address of the recipient, as well as enough data to identify the patient. An additional service fee - in addition to the per page fee - is assessed if immediate processing is required.
Specific authorization is required if your medical history includes any records relating to substance abuse, AIDS/HIV and/or psychiatric problems. The authorization form has an area for authorization of release of specifically-restricted or sensitive data.
Our practice utilizes the services of Smart Corporation for record release services. A proper request will be processed and mailed to the desired recipient; this process generally takes ten to fourteen days. There is a nominal fee for this service ($0.50 per page, maximum $25 plus postage), and Smart Corporation will invoice you directly for the services provided. <back
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