Medicare: All Medicare patients will be required to review and sign a private contract before being seen. If you are a new Medicare patient, be prepared to review and sign this prior to your first visit.
Standard of Care and Scope of Practice: The standard of care at Minnesota Natural Medicine may differ in some areas from those standards deemed acceptable by the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and many other organizations who are thought to represent the standard of conventional medical care. Many of Minnesota Natural Medicine's standards are also consistent with those of the American Holistic Medical Association, American College for the Advancement of Medicine, and the American Association of AntiAging Medicine. By signing our disclosure statement, patients acknowledge that these more progressive medical standards and approaches may be a significant part of their treatment regimen at Minnesota Natural Medicine.
We encourage you to have a primary MD within the usual and customary insurance system. Since we are not participating providers in the usual sense, there may be expensive procedures that may be appropriate for you that will be covered only if ordered through such a physician. We emphasize that we are not an emergency room or urgent care facility. Serious problems such as acute chest pain, shortness, of breath, severe abdominal pain, etc., should be handled in an acute care setting or by calling 911.
Julie Tebben is a Certified Nurse Practitioner. A nurse practitioner is licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse in the State of Minnesota and certified through the National Certification Corporation with a specialty in Women’s Health Care. Ms. Tebben and Dr. Foley have a collaborative practice model that consists of a mutually agreed upon scope of practice between an advanced practice registered nurse and a licensed physician. This practice is consistent with the standard of medical care in Minnesota.
Dr. Ratte is a naturopathic physician. NDs are not licensed in the State of Minnesota and hence a separate “Patient Bill of Rights” applicable to patients being seen by non-licensed providers in Minnesota must be signed as well as this document in order to adhere to current statutes. Drs. Ratte and Foley and Mr. Norman have a collaborative practice model. All practices are otherwise consistent with the standard of medical care in Minnesota and/or the standards for non-licensed practitioners in Minnesota
Disclosure: Minnesota Natural Medicine is a private medical practice. Dr. Foley has served as a paid consultant for the manufacturers of both Pharmacist's Ultimate Health and Doctor's Natural Therapy products, both of which may be sold in the area and our office. All patients may choose to purchase recommended prescriptions or nutraceuticals (dietary supplements) elsewhere. There is no obligation to purchase them here.
Office visits and follow up: Our responsibility for medical consultation is no different from any other medical office. Phone calls and email, unless otherwise specified, are not a substitute for appropriate office follow up. Failure to follow up in a timely fashion based on our suggested schedule precludes our capacity to consult with you. Changes in treatment plans requiring documentation will be done only by appointment or specified telephone and/or email consultation.
Cancellations: New patients who fail to cancel appropriately within 2 business days are charged the full new patient fee that is non refundable, but 50% of this fee will be credited to rescheduled visits should they reschedule. Failure to cancel follow up appointments within 2 business days will be duly noted. Patients who repeatedly fail to appropriately cancel follow up visits will be required to pay in advance for subsequent visits. Policies for cancellation of Age Management Exams differ slightly and are detailed on the Age Management page.
Fees: Consultations are $300 per hour for Dr. Foley ($350 per hour after March 1st, 2010) and $225 per hour for Julie Tebben CNP ($250 per hour after March 1st, 2010). Follow up consultations are billed at the same rates. If there are significant amounts of medical records that require review, that time will be billed at the same rate as the consultation fee. Fees for seminars and forums will vary based on the specific venue and topic. Laboratory tests are billed directly to the patient or the patient's insurer unless otherwise specified. We do have a very low laboratory fee schedule for those wishing to pay in cash or by credit card. We do charge a $35 handling fee per laboratory test ($40 after March 1st, 2010) and an additional $40 for venipuncture ($45 after March 1st, 2010) . Fees for the Age Management Exams are detailed on the Age Management page and differ from these fee policies.
Payment: Our payment policies are different from those of most clinics in that payment is expected at the time of service. We do not participate in any way whatsoever with Medicare. A separate private contract is mandatory for all Medicare patients. We will supply you with the necessary documentation that will allow you to submit the claim to your insurer (other than Medicare which is forbidden by the federal government). Claims for our services cannot be submitted to Medicare. We do not have any control over these policies. There is no guarantee that submitted claims will result in coverage. Our experience has been that most reasonable insurers will cover the costs at some level.
Paperwork, authorizations, letters of medical necessity, etc. will be completed promptly on request at the time of your appointment when possible. There will be a charge of $ 50 per report ($75 after March 1st, 2010) or more based on the complexity if these reports are required outside of appointment times. The hourly rate for more complicated reports will be the customary hourly rate for that given practitioner.
Privacy: As a patient of Minnesota Natural Medicine I acknowledge that it is my obligation to read and review the Notification of Privacy Policies posted on the Minnesota Natural Medicine website at www.minnesotanaturalmedicine.com or as provided in the offices of Minnesota Natural Medicine. These new policies can be made available for review by the staff if there is no internet access.
Email: Simple inquiries by existing patients will be answered at no charge. If there is a change in prescription, natural compound, or overall treatment plan requiring documentation in the patient's chart, there will be a minimum $75 charge or the customary hourly charge for more complex consultations. Please be prepared to offer a credit card # unless we already have it on file. We generally only answer email inquiries for registered patients.
Telephone consultations: Available on request and will require appropriate scheduling. These will be charged out at the customary hourly rates for that practitioner. Payment will be requested by credit card or check in advance.
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