Office Policies

FINANCIAL POLICY

Every attempt is made to keep our expenses down, while still providing you with quality care.  However, in the last few years the medical community has been faced with continuous cuts from insurance carriers while the cost to practice medicine and provide you with excellent service has increased drastically.  Our policy is established to avoid any miscommunications about what is expected if you chose Hearts South, PC as your provider.  We accept cash, check, money orders, debit or credit cards.  

• Insured Patients (patients with insurance)
  • ALL co-pays are due at the time the service is performed, as REQUIRED by your insurance company/companies.
  • ALL unmet or unpaid deductibles are due at the time the service is performed, as REQUIRED by your insurance company/companies.
  • Non-covered services by your insurance company/companies will be collected. 
  • If payment is made by your insurance company/companies and your account has a credit balance that will be refunded to you.

Please note that it is our LEGAL OBLIGATION to abide by the contract that we have with your insurance carrier and collect payments as deemed by them.

• Non-Insured Patients or Self-Pay (patients without insurance)
  • A minimum deposit is required based on the services required if the full payment cannot be paid at the time of service. 
• Payment plans
  • Because all of our patients are important to us, we set up payment plans based on financial need after a deposit has been paid.  We will do our best to assist you.  Your payments will be set up on a regular basis and you are responsible for staying in contact with our billing department to avoid being turned over to collections.
• No Show Appointments
  • You will be charged $25.00 for appointments that are missed if you do not call to cancel prior to your appointment.
• Rebilling Fee
  • If you do not pay your co-pay, deductible, payment plan at the time it is due then you will be charged $25.00.
• Returned Checks
  • Your account will be charged a fee of $30.00 for non-sufficient funds on all returned checks.  Future services will require payment by cash, money order, or credit card for your payment obligations.

 

OFFICE POLICY

Hours of Operation

Hearts South, PC is open Monday – Thursday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and on Friday from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm to serve your needs. 

Paperwork

• Please complete all paperwork required for your visit. These forms may be printed out from this website.  Please bring them completed with you on the day of your appointment.
• You will be asked to arrive earlier than your scheduled appointment time to allow us adequate time to update your information in our system.
• Make sure you bring your current insurance cards and ALL of your current medications including prescribed, over the counter medication, vitamins, supplements, etc. with you to your appointment. 
• It is our policy to have a photo ID and we ask that you are prepared to have your picture taken.  This photo is NOT shared and is just for identification at your appointments.  We do not make copies of your photo ID.  This information is not shared with anyone else.

Appointments

• Our physicians and nurse practitioners see patients by appointment only. Should you have an emergency during regular business hours, please call our office to consult with our medical staff.  If you feel your emergency is urgent or after hours, we recommend you report to the emergency room immediately.
• Appointments, both routine and new, may be scheduled during regular office hours by calling (334) 793-5672.
• New patient appointments generally require more time than established patients. This is because a complete medical history of the patient is compiled.
• If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, please call our office as soon as possible.  This will permit us to use your time for another patient. Failure to do so may result in a $25.00 charge.

Prescription Request

IT IS OUR POLICY THAT PRESCRIPTIONS MUST BE REQUESTED DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS.

• Prescription refill requests will be transferred to our prescription refill request line.
• Please make sure to give us the following information:
  • The name of the medication 
  • The strength of the medication
  • The directions of how you are currently taking the medication
  • The number of days that you need the prescription for (30 or 90 day supply)
  • Your pharmacy name and their telephone number
• We make every effort to get your prescriptions called in the day requested but ask that you allow 24 hours for your request to be completed. However, you may check with your pharmacy to see if your prescription is ready.  We will not contact you unless we have a question regarding your request.

Disability and Other Forms

Completing forms is extremely time consuming and falls outside of the contractual relationship between you and your insurance company. Understanding that special forms are sometimes necessary to provide documentation of medical conditions, we make every effort to complete these forms in a timely manner. Please allow appropriate time for completion.  All forms completed by Hearts South will incur a filing fee which will be due upon completion of the forms. The fee is based on the type and complexity of the form to be completed.

Medical Records

We are happy to provide you a copy of your medical records but ask that you please give us at least one week notice. There is a per page charge to cover the cost of this and it is in accordance with Alabama Code.