General Policies & Procedures / Patient Bill of Rights

Thank you for choosing Dr. Darvin Hege to be of service to you and your family for your behavioral healthcare needs. Please read these polices completely, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask for clarification.

Patient’s Bill of Rights:We are happy to provide you with this list of your rights as defined by the American Medical Association:

• Non Discrimination
• Information about your diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan
• Voluntary consent to treatment
• Approximate overall cost and billing information
• Right to seek another opinion
• Continuing healthcare after discharge from outpatient or inpatient care
• Privacy
• Third person present during treatment
• Identification of person providing service
• Active participation in decision making about your health status
• Knowledge of the need for continuation of care
• Knowledge of human experimentation
• Expected conduct in the outpatient setting
• Safety

Appointments: Appointments are scheduled according to each patient’s needs and the availability of the physician. The time of your appointment is reserved for you. You are expected to give 24 hours notice with a staff member or with the answering service if you will not be keeping your appointment, or it will be necessary for you to pay an unkept appointment fee of $115.00. Your insurance company will not cover this fee. It is your responsibility.

Office Courtesy: Please consume all food and beverages before you enter our waiting area. Please do not use your cell phone while in our office. Please do not bring babies and/or children to our office. This policy is (1) for their safety and (2) so that you and Dr. Hege will be able to concentrate on your quality care.

Maintaining Patient Status: In our area of healthcare, it is very important that you be seen on a regular basis. At the end of each appointment, Dr. Hege will tell you how long a period of time he would like you to schedule a follow-up appointment in the office. We urge you to make the follow-up appointment before you leave our office in order to schedule the most convenient time for you. If you fail to keep and/or maintain follow-up appointments for a period of 120 days or greater, we will conclude that you have terminated the patient-physician relationship.

Fees: You, the patient, or your legal guardian are financially responsible for the total cost of services rendered. Full payment is expected upon arrival at our office and before you are seen by Dr. Hege. If you are unable to pay for your service (i.e., full payment or copay or deductible payment), you will be asked to reschedule for another time. If this happens more than once, you will also be charged a $115.00 unkept appointment fee.

Phone calls: Emergency calls are handled as a priority. If you are having an emergency of a medical nature, please call 911 immediately. Routine calls will be handled by the office staff. Please leave a message on our voice mail or with our answering service for the office staff to return your call. Calls that require the doctor to call you back will be handled as timely as possible. Please leave a phone number and a time span of when you will be available for a return call. We have a 24 hour answering service if your call is urgent and cannot wait until the office is open. If possible, please call during business hours, 8:30am – 5:30pm, Monday – Friday.

Medication Refills: We handle all refills during your regular scheduled appointments. If a medication refill becomes necessary, please provide us with your pharmacy phone number, medication name and how you are currently taking your medication. We will require you to make an appointment with Dr. Hege, then we will call in enough medication to last until your appointment. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping track of your medication supply in order to avoid running out. Allow 24 to 48 hours for telephone prescriptions. We do not accept fax requests from your pharmacy. You need to contact us directly for new prescriptions or additional refills. There is a $30 fee for medication refill requests between appointments.

Confidentiality: Your patient records are strictly confidential. For this reason, no information concerning you as a patient is released without your written consent. Disclosure of information to anyone such as another doctor, an attorney and/or a family member must be requested by written authorization by the patient. In an emergency situation when you, the patient, are at imminent risk of death or serious medical consequence, Dr. Hege will release minimal, critically relevant information to assist in preventing dire medical consequences that may result if that relevant information is not released. In the case of a minor, their legal guardian must sign the authorization. The physician is legally bound to break doctor-patient confidentiality in cases of threat of harm to self or others and in reports of child or geriatric abuse.

Medical Reports/Correspondence: Disability forms, work excuses, calls to employers, return to work letters, etc. will be provided on a fee basis. The fee must be prepaid in order for us to complete the requested task. The fee will be based on time spent preparing the requested information.

We are glad you have chosen us to provide your care. We will make every effort to provide you with quality care and professional support, respect and consideration. If you have any concerns, please bring them to the attention of our office staff immediately.