New Patient Information

Welcome to our practice.

We realize that the selection of a primary health care provider is an important decision. As a primary health care practice, our goal is to help you maintain your health throughout your lifetime. As part of serving as your primary health care home (medical, integrated behavioral health within primary care and dental) and providing you with quality, evidence-based health care, we will ask you to choose a provider and your future appointments will be scheduled with this provider for continuity of care. As we operate as a coordinated interdisciplinary team, when your primary care provider is unavailable, we will arrange for you to be seen by another provider here. You may also wish to change your primary care provider within the clinic. If this is the case, please let us know, and we will try to accommodate your request.

As part of our practice, we do the following for all new patients:

1. Assess your overall health status.

2. Develop a mutual plan of care that addresses both your preventive and chronic health needs. This may include:

   • A request for information such as prescriptions and test results from any other primary care provider, specialist, or urgent care/Emergency Room provider you may see

   • A review of your previous health history, including obtaining past medical records

   • Arranging for an age-appropriate, physical examination

   • Screening for disease-specific laboratory/radiologic tests

   • Immunizations

   • Health promotion, including development of self-management goals

   • Assessing your last dental and eye exam

   • Coordinated care across multiple settings to ensure “whole person care”

Please realize that the process of integrating you as a new patient may take more than one appointment, but we will strive to be as efficient as time and information allow. When we see you for the first time and review your health history and status, we may find that the health care services that you require are beyond our ability to manage. If this is the case, we will advise you so you may seek care with another health care provider. While we strive to capture whether you require specialty care at the time of your appointment, by asking what your reason for your visit is, sometimes this doesn’t become clear until you’re being seen.

ICHC does not provide ongoing pain management that requires treatment with opioids, psychiatric evaluations, behavioral health assessments; or prescribe psychiatric medications for serious mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, and/or personality disorders). ICHC, as a primary care practice, also doesn’t provide occupational health or disability determinations, or manage for non-continuity care patients, workers compensation or automobile injuries. The clinic does provide primary care to individuals with the above health problems, but does so in conjunction with the appropriate specialty care provider addressing these conditions.

ICHC cannot guarantee to new patients that a prescription will be written, and does not guarantee that a controlled substance, non-therapeutic drug, and certain other drugs which may be harmful because of their potential for abuse will be prescribed.

As a patient, while you may seek care here when you are sick, the clinic also wants to address your preventive and disease management care as well. That’s why the clinic encourages you to be seen periodically so that we may work in partnership with you to attain your health goals.

Listed below are some of our policies and procedures that are important for you to know.

1. Hours. The clinic is open 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

2. After hours. When the clinic is closed, call (907) 455-4567 to reach our after-hours service and our on-call provider.

3. Services. The clinic provides outpatient family medicine services ranging from prenatal to senior care. As we’re an outpatient practice, we coordinate our care with other physicians in the community to address your comprehensive inpatient and specialty care needs. We also provide dental, integrated behavioral health within primary care (including counseling) and health insurance linkage services. For patients of our satellite location in Healy, some of these services are provided through integration with the Fairbanks site.

4. Payment. The clinic is here to provide quality health care to all people regardless of ability to pay. Services are not free; those who have the ability to pay are expected to pay at the time of service. A schedule of discounts based on household size and income is available to those who qualify to address financial concerns, including a low nominal fee of $30.00 in medical, $45.00 in dental for preventive services and $75.00 in dental for procedures and some diagnostics. Dentures and other dental lab services are provided at cost when applicable. We collect a pre-payment toward each visit when you check in. Any remaining balance will be collected when you check out or be billed to you. Regular monthly payments are required on past due balances. The clinic will also file your services with your health insurance. If you have questions about charges, please contact our billing department prior to receiving services.

   The clinic will not deny services to anyone based upon their inability to pay. Inability to pay is based upon eligibility for our schedule of discounts program. Should an individual or household not qualify for the schedule of discounts program, he/she may meet with one of our staff who will assess on a case-by-case basis their inability to pay. In some cases, the clinic may be able to cover the cost of services using its donated Patient Care Funds.

5. Appointment Scheduling. The clinic has same day access scheduling, either in person or virtually (e.g. telehealth) for its medical services. This means we try to make medical and integrated behavioral health within primary care appointments available to you on the day you call. Please call us early on the day you want to be seen and we will do our best to get you in that day. Dental services may also be available on the same day. Phone lines open at 7:30 a.m.

6. No-show Policy. Not showing up for a scheduled appointment prevents others from getting timely care. Please notify us as soon as possible if you are unable to make your scheduled appointment so that we may offer the appointment to another patient. You may have someone else call on your behalf to cancel or reschedule your appointment and you may call after the clinic is closed and leave a message. Please be aware, if you do not confirm your appointment or are late checking in, your appointment may be cancelled and entered as a no-show.

   To cancel an appointment, please call at least three hours before your scheduled check-in time or you will be considered a no-show. For dental services, please call at least one business day before your scheduled appointment or you will be considered a no-show. Upon the third no-show for medical or behavioral health appointments, you will be put on same-day call-in/walk-in services for 3 months. Upon the second no-show for dental, you will be temporarily discharged from dental services for 6 months.

7. Medication Refills. The clinic’s procedure for medication refills is for you to call your pharmacy. Your pharmacy will then request the refill from us. Please allow three business days for processing your refill requests. If your refill request is denied, please schedule an appointment to be reassessed.

8. Phone Follow-up. Except for medically urgent calls, our procedure is for patients to leave a voice mail message with their provider’s assistant. The provider’s assistant monitors messages throughout the day and will respond as soon as possible. Medically urgent calls will be returned the same day; other calls may take up to three business days to return your call.

9. Portal. If you are a medical and behavioral health patient, we offer a patient portal. If you’d like to receive information electronically, please provide us with your email address.

We’re here to serve as your health care home, to provide safe and effective care and to assist you with attaining your health goals. If you have a problem with any aspect of the center’s services, and you are unable to resolve it by speaking with a staff member or department supervisor, please complete or ask a staff member to complete a Patient Grievance form. Give your completed form to any staff member, who will forward it to the Risk Management Coordinator. If the Risk Management Coordinator is unable to resolve your problem, please follow our Grievance Policy and submit your complaint in writing to the Chief Executive Officer within 10 business days. The center is here to serve you. We rely on your feedback to let us know how we’re doing and to help us deliver the best care possible.

Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Patient Rights

You have the right to:

• Considerate, respectful health care.
• Your choice of healthcare provider.
• Privacy and confidential health care.
• An interpreter.
• Have your cultural and personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected.
• Access, review, receive a copy of, and request changes to your health records.*
• Receive an explanation of your bill and the charges you are responsible for.
• File a grievance, and receive a fair and efficient review of your grievance.
• Be told, and to refuse, if your provider wants to participate in medical research related to your care.
• Know about your health care and treatment, including potential hazards and
  risks and other types of health care and treatment.
• Participate in decisions about your care, and have freedom to choose the type
  of care and treatment you want.

*Consistent with clinic policy, and state & federal law.

Refuse healthcare and treatment, and be informed about what might happen as a result.		If you refuse the recommended care, you are responsible for your decisions and actions.
Coordinated care across providers at ICHC and other off-site settings.		If you initiate your off-site care without the involvement of your ICHC provider, ICHC may choose not to participate in that care.

Patient Responsibilities

You are responsible for:

• Treating your health care provider and staff with courtesy and respect.
• Respecting other patients’ rights, including privacy.
• Respecting ICHC property.
• Giving accurate and complete information about your health by telling your
  provider about all of your signs and symptoms specific to your appointment reason.
• Answering all questions honestly and accurately.
• Asking questions so that you understand what is happening and why.
• Following the treatment plan you and your care providers have developed.
• Telling us about any changes in your condition.
• Providing accurate and complete information about your family’s health insurance or other arrangements to pay your bills.
• Paying your bills in a timely manner. Ask about our schedule of discounts (sliding fee) program and our Patient Care Fund if you need financial assistance. You can reach our Registration or Billing staff to learn more at (907) 455-4567.
• Abiding by our tobacco and marijuana-free (e.g., no-smoking) policy. ICHC maintains a smoke-, drug- and alcohol-free campus, including the building and parking lot. Do not arrive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Keeping your appointments and following ICHC policies for notifying the clinic
  when you are unable to do so.
• Being thoughtful and considerate of other patients, families and staff, and following ICHC rules about patient conduct.
• If you are here with a minor (under 18 years of age), being an active member in their healthcare decisions and staying in the clinic or exam room with them until their visit has ended.

ICHC complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, or military status. 

No Show Policy

Appointment Cancellation and No-Show Policy

Interior Community Health Center‘s (ICHC’s) goal is to provide quality primary care accessible to all patients. To accomplish this, ICHC makes dedicated appointment times available to patients. To maintain these dedicated times, ICHC has implemented an appointment cancellation, appointment arrival and no-show policy. The no show policy enables ICHC to better utilize appointments and serve patients who are in need of care.

Cancellation and /or Arrival of an Appointment

If a patient is unable to come to their scheduled appointment, they must call the clinic promptly, at least three hours before their medical and behavioral health (BH) appointment and at least one business day in advance for their dental appointment. This allows ICHC the opportunity to offer the time to another patient. ICHC asks medical and BH patients to arrive at their scheduled appointment and dental patients to arrive at least 10 minutes prior to their appointment to have time to complete any necessary paperwork and be screened. If this doesn’t happen, ICHC considers these a “no show.” A "no show” will be documented in the patient's chart.

To Cancel Your Appointment

If a patient needs to cancel or reschedule an appointment, they (or someone on their behalf) must call ICHC at (907) 455-4567 to leave a message with either an employee or on our after- hours appointment line. Please speak clearly, leaving the patient’s name, date of birth, contact phone number, appointment date and time, and the name of the provider you or the patient was going to see. If the patient would like a call back to be rescheduled, please let us know.

It is the patient’s responsibility to provide ICHC with current contact information and to know their appointment date and time. As a courtesy, ICHC employees provide a confirmation call (or text) one or two business days prior to the scheduled appointment time.

A no show occurs either when a patient misses an appointment without cancelling in advance or if they arrive after their check-in time. ICHC does not charge fees for no shows but will send a letter alerting the patient that they did not show up for their appointment, did not cancel within the required timeframe or arrived late to the appointment.

ICHC’s policy states three no shows within a six-month period will result in the patient being restricted to same day or walk-in appointments only. Being restricted to walk-in appointments means that it could take up to two hours to see a provider and the patient may not get to see their primary care provider. The patient will be on a walk-in appointment status for appointments for three months. After three months, the patient may apply for reinstatement, and if approved, will be able to schedule future appointments with their primary care provider. After reinstatement, a repeated instance of no shows may result in being placed on a six-month same day/walk-in status.

Chronic Rescheduling

A patient who reschedules or cancels an appointment more than four times within a year (even if they remain compliant with the cancellation policy) may be restricted to walk-in appointments for three months.