Important Policies
Email/Text
As a courtesy, we provide email communication for non-urgent, simple matters with our clinic staff and doctors through our HIPAA-compliant patient portal. Due to the volume of emails we receive and the time required for patient appointments, our portal allows patients to send up to five emails of 500 characters between office visits. Please limit email communication to clarifications of previously discussed issues that require a simple answer. Email communication does not take the place of appointments and cannot be used to discuss a new health concern, laboratory results, or prescribe new medication.
Please allow up to three business days for a response. Questions or requests that are related to administration, such as appointment scheduling or billing, should be directed to our staff. For more complex and/or urgent questions or requests, please call the clinic to schedule an appointment.
The text communication feature in our electronic medical records is for appointment reminders. Occasionally text is used for quick, non-medical communication. The text feature is not HIPPA-compliant so please do not use the text feature to communicate any medically-related information.
Lab Results
Many laboratory tests we order are complex and are integral to diagnosing complex conditions. Because of this, lab results will only be discussed with your doctor at office visits. Lab tests will only be ordered during office visits and require a follow-up visit with your doctor to discuss the results. Results can be made available 24 hours prior to your appointment so you can prepare for your visit.
Prescription Medications and Refills
Your doctor will authorize the number of refills to last you until your next office visit. If you are in need of a refill and not scheduled for a follow-up visit, please refer to the ‘Summary’ of your last appointment to determine if you need to schedule an appointment. Patients need to be compliant with follow-up care for the management of medications.
Prescriptions for new medications should be discussed during your appointment. Please allow up to three business days to process refill requests.
Rescheduling/Cancellations
Our goal is to help people identify and treat the root cause of their symptoms or illness. To accomplish this, we dedicate adequate time to our appointments and see a limited number of patients per day. If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, please contact us using the below timeframes.
First office visits - Two (2) weeks notice
Return office visits - One (1) week notice
IV appointments - Two (2)business days
If you do not provide sufficient notice for a first office visit, your deposit will be applied as the late fee. If you do not provide sufficient notice for a return visit, you will be charged the cost of the appointment. We will waive the fee one time if your appointment is rescheduled on the day of cancellation for a date within two weeks.
Fragrances
To protect our patients who are sensitive to fragrances, we are a fragrance-free clinic. Please refrain from wearing fragrances to Marin Natural Medicine Clinic.
