How Things Work at OFHC

Welcome to Orcas Family Health Center. We are honored that you have chosen us as your health care provider. Our goal is to provide the highest quality care for all our patients in a timely and respectful manner. We are a small, independent, family practice, not owned by a large healthcare entity or group. We are “patient centered” meaning we work as a team around you to help you meet your healthcare needs and goals. We can also partner with your specialist by performing lab draws, EKGs, x rays, or pre-op exams as needed, and with an order, to reduce trips to the mainland.

Here are a few things you should know so we can ensure a consistent level of care:

Appointments

  • We are busy! We keep daily spots available for very urgent appointments that cannot wait; however, please anticipate we may need to schedule out a couple of days for routine appointments.
  • Please arrive 10 to 15 minutes before your appointments to check in. If you are 5 minutes late or more we will likely need to reschedule, although we will double check with the provider first. Some appointments may require specific paperwork; we will do our best to ask you to come 10 to 15 minutes early to give you time to complete it. Click on the “Patient Forms” menu item at the top of the page to see, and print, the most common forms required.
  • From time to time, a patient emergency arises and we may be running late for your visit. You will have the option to re-schedule or stay to be seen and we will keep you informed of how long the delay may be.
  • We understand that appointments sometimes need to be changed, please call in as much in advance as possible so we can open up that spot for another patient. If you are one of those busy folks who tend to forget about appointments, please ask us to give you a reminder phone call each time to reduce “no show” appointments.
  • If you have an urgent need after hours that cannot wait until the next business day, call the regular office phone number and leave a detailed message with your name and phone number; the system will alert the provider on call that there is a message and they will call you back to help determine what the next best step will be.
  • Bring your insurance card and ID to each appointment. Please let our staff know if you have any information changes since your last appointment. You will be asked to fill out new registration forms annually so we may update your information.

Medication Guidelines

  • Our guidelines have been put in place for patient safety, legal compliance, and best practices.
  • State laws have changed regarding opioid medications—please anticipate needing a medication contract, and more frequent office visits to monitor these medications. We will provide you with a referral to a pain management center if you need this specialized form of care.
  • If you are on a medication that requires refills for a chronic disease (for example high blood pressure or diabetes), you will be given ample refills for 30 or 90 days at a time. When you are two weeks from needing a new prescription with refills, please call the office to check on the need, or not, for a follow up visit. This will give us enough time to schedule your appointment so you are not without your medication.
  • For regular refills, please call your pharmacy to requests refills of your medications at least 2 business days before you will run out. If for some reason you are unable to do that, give us at least 3 business days to take a message and send the refill request through the office.
  • Our local pharmacy, Ray’s Pharmacy, has an email notification program that you can sign up for which sends you a message when your medication is ready to be picked up. Their automated refill request system is very easy to use.
  • Requests for new medications (including antibiotics) will require an appointment and evaluation with a provider.

Billing

  • If you know you have a co-payment or deductible to meet, we would appreciate you making your payments at the time of service. We do all of our own billing and we do not use a collection company. We do accept monthly payment plans which can be set up for automatic payments and have a sliding fee scale for discounts based on income.
  • We send out patient statements on a quarterly billing cycle. However, you can call us anytime, or stop in, to check your balance and pay before we send statements.

Identity Theft Policy

  • It is the policy of Orcas Family Health Center to follow all Federal and state laws and reporting requirements regarding identity theft. To view our policy statement select this link to the PDF file:

OFHC Red Flag Notice


If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact Aaimee Johnson, Office Manager, at the office phone number, or [email protected].

Thank you for choosing Orcas Family Health Center