Office Policies
Payment
Payment is due at time of service. Cash, personal checks, and debit/credit cards are accepted. If you have a financial difficulty making a payment, please contact us to make alternative arrangements.
If you write a check that is not honored by our bank, any bank charges incurred (charged to our practice) will be passed on to you and you will be assessed an additional $50 Returned Check Fee.
Cancellation Policy
Because a significant amount of time is set aside for each patient, we require at least a 48-hour notice for cancellations of new and established patient appointments, in order to give us enough time to offer the appointment to another patient. In the case of a missed appointment, future appointments will not be scheduled until the missed appointment fee has been paid in full. Our no call, no show visit fee is $50.
Appointment Scheduling and Office Hours
An established patient appointment can be made by doing one of the following:
Schedule your own appointment online (see patient portal page), email our office at drsandborn@violetskiesfamilyhealth.com, or by calling the office.
Controlled Substances
Violet Skies does not prescribe long term controlled substances (opioids or benzodiazepines). We will not prescribe controlled medications beyond acute needs (7 days or less). Patients requiring long term opioid pain medications will be required to see a pain management specialist for their medications and treatments. Long term benzodiazepines are not appropriate treatment for anxiety, depression, or other mental health issue. Patients requiring long term benzodiazepines will need to see a psychiatrist for treatment.
Violet Skies Family Health will be closing
The last day of care for patients in office will be 12/16/2022.
The office will be officially closing 12/31/2022
Medical Weight Loss Management will continue 1-2 Saturdays per month. See front web page for details.
Appointment Reminders
You will receive an email and text appointment reminder at least 48 hours before appointments to allow adequate time to cancel, if needed. It is your responsibility to make sure we have your current phone number and email address.
Telephone and Email Consultations
An appointment fee will be assessed at our discretion for telephone or email consultations of $25
Vacations and After Hours Call
Dr. Sandborn is not available after hours by phone or text. Please utilize the patient portal for any needs after hours and your message will be addressed as soon as possible. As a courtesy to myself and my family, please do not call after 9 pm or before 8 am unless it is an urgent matter. If you leave a message, I will call you back as soon as possible. When leaving a message, please leave your first and last name, a phone number where you can be reached, and the purpose of your call.
In case of any life-threatening emergency, do not call the office or Dr. Sandborn!
Instead you should always call 911 or go to the nearest hospital for any emergency.
Prescription Orders and Refills
If you need a refill for a prescription medication that you take on a daily or continuous basis, please contact the pharmacy first. They will either fill the prescription or contact our office to request a refill authorization. If you have not been seen within the past year, you will need to schedule an appointment in order to continue receiving medication refills.
If you need a refill for a prescription medication that you do not take regularly, in most cases you will need to schedule an appointment first, especially if it has been more than one year since you were last seen.
Except for a few situations, new medications will not be prescribed over the telephone. For medical legal reasons, I will usually need to evaluate you first whenever a new prescription is written.
Insurance Plans
I do not participate with any insurance providers, including Medicare or Medicaid for payment of any medical services.
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flex Spending Account (FSA), you may be able to use those funds to pay for office fees. Check with your Account Manager
It is your responsibility to know the details of your insurance coverage by checking with your employer, insurance agent, or other appropriate person. It is your responsibility to notify the office of any changes in your medical coverage.
Medicare Patients
Unfortunately, Violet Skies Family Health cannot accept medicare patients at this time. Federal law requires that a physician seeing a medicare patient must bill the patients medicare insurance. Since this practice does not participate with insurances, including medicare, I cannot see medicare patients until I opt out of Medicare. Opting out of Medicare allows medicare patients to pay the monthly membership fees without having to bill medicare for these membership services. At some point, I will opt out of medicare in order to see medicare patients and I will keep these you updated on this progress.
Secure Messaging (Patient Portal)
You can register for the Patient Portal, a secure messaging system, to communicate with me and access your electronic health record. Once you have agreed to sign up for Patient Portal, an invitation will be emailed to you with registration instructions. You will need to click on the link in the email and a secure invitation code will be texted to your phone to complete the registration.
*If you do not see the invitation email in your inbox, check your spam folder for the invite.
Confidentiality and Its Limits
Discussions are strictly confidential and will not be shared with anyone without your expressed permission given in writing to Dr Sandborn. There are, however, certain exceptions that you should be aware of:
1. Suspected cases of child abuse must be reported to the police and Child Protective Services.
2. Elder abuse must be reported to the police and Adult Protective Services.
3. We may need to report you to public safety officers if she feels that you may be in imminent danger of harming yourself or others.
4. We are obligated to attempt to warn and protect intended victims if we have reason to believe you are likely to inflict bodily harm on someone else.
5. We may be ordered by a court of law to testify or to release medical records.
Billing and Payment Policies
Service Fees
All fees for services will be expected prior to service. See Medical weight loss fee schedule for pricing.
Last Updated 11/20/2022
Please see written office policy in the office for full list of policies
