Appointments
You may request appointments online through the patient portal (mypatientvisit.com) by clicking on “Request Appointment” and providing any details that are pertinent. We will check availability and confirm as soon as possible. We have online scheduling through the website for select services. You may also email office@optimalselfmd.com or call to make appointments. Please leave us a message or we won't know you called!
Emails / Patient Portal
Once you are and established patient, you are encouraged to communicate via the Patient Portal (mypatientvisit.com). It is private and secure, and allows us to track conversations for reference. Our office ID is ORLRBU. We check portal messages frequently except on weekends and will usually reply the same day, and always within 2 business days. Our general email address is office@optimalselfmd.com and should be used in the event of lack of portal access.
Calling or Faxing Us
Office Phone: 864-214-5232 Fax: 864-626-0609 You may call the office during business hours for immediate questions or concerns and leave a message on the house phone, which we check throughout the day. Please leave us a message if we cannot answer. Our fax number can be used for sending your medical records.
Texting Us
We have implemented 2-way texting and may reach out for permission from you to use this for communication. You will receive a text message asking for permission, and once you agree we can communicate that way for simple issues like scheduling and appointment changes, but not involving medical issues. If you are on a membership plan that includes direct text message access to Dr. Katherine, you may use that for communication of urgent or short messages and questions during the hours between 6 am and 9 pm. Please do not text the office phone, as it is not set up for that. FYI, text messaging is not HIPAA compliant.
Emergency Contact
In case of an emergency, as long as it is not life threatening, text Dr. K, portal message us, or call the office phone. Of course you must use common sense and call 911 or proceed to the nearest emergency room for true emergencies such as allergic reactions or chest pain. Be aware Dr. Katherine is not officially on call for these things unless you are a Platinum or Gold membership patient, but definitely wants to know if you are experiencing any health problems so she can be of assistance to you. If you are one of Dr. Shawn's surgical patients, you should have his and Brandy's cell phone numbers handy.
Prescription Refills
We try to update all prescriptions at the time of your scheduled visit. Refill requests between scheduled appointments are complimentary for all patients currently enrolled in a membership plan or program. Otherwise, these will incur a $75 charge and you must have a credit card on file. For any prescription refills, you must have been seen in the office in the previous 6 months. If this is not the case, please call and make an appointment. All prescription requests need to be made through the patient portal.
Supplement Refills
We rely on the highest quality and safest supplements to achieve results. Most supplements will come from Xymogen/Wholescripts, Researched Nutritionals, Designs For Health, Pure Encapsulations, or FullScript. You will have gotten a link from us with your first recommendation. Bookmark those sites and save the login information for future use. As a membership patient, you get 20% off professional grade supplements when purchased in the office, so let us know when you are running low and we can order those for you or drop ship from the manufacturer directly to you.
Referrals
We appreciate your referrals and take it as a compliment. In fact, that's how we get most of our new patients! However, all prospective patients for Dr. Katherine must go through the application process and be interviewed just like you were to ensure readiness and a good fit. Notify Ashlee and we will take it from there!
Office Etiquette
Our office is small and we try to maintain a quiet and soothing environment. For this reason we ask that cellphone use be minimized, especially when in open areas like the IV lounge. We sometimes keep our front door locked and require that our patients “buzz in” at the time of the appointment. This is to maximize security and minimize interruptions at the office that might disrupt flow. We try to protect the office environment in order to provide our patients with a pleasant, safe and discreet experience.
Cancellation Policy
We understand that schedules change, people get sick, and unavoidable scheduling conflicts arise. Because we are a small practice with a waiting list and see fewer patients per day than a conventional office, it can be very disruptive to our business. Please make every effort to cancel your appointment at least 3 business days in advance to allow us to fill that time slot. We send out reminder texts and emails requesting appointment confirmation. You can cancel by replying to one of those, leaving us a voicemail, or sending us an email. We consider anything less than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment to be a late cancellation.
Appointments for any procedures requiring a significant amount of planning and time blocked off of our schedule require a 50% deposit. This is refundable if you reschedule or cancel more than 48 hours in advance. If it is a late cancellation or you do not show up, it serves as your cancellation fee and is non-refundable. For future procedure appointments you will be asked to pay in full in advance.
For cancellations less than 48 hours in advance of consultations or appointments with Dr. Katherine we will charge a fee of $125. No-shows for scheduled appointments will be charged the full amount of your visit. We may require pre-payment before rescheduling you. Habitual offenders will not be rescheduled.
Late cancellations or no-shows for surgical consultations will forfeit the $125 fee charged at the time of scheduling.
Late cancellations or no-shows for aesthetic appointments will be charged a $125 cancellation fee. Habitual offenders will not be rescheduled, or will be required to pay in advance.
Late Arrivals
It is very important to arrive to your appointment on time. If you arrive 15 minutes late to your appointment, it is likely you will need to reschedule. We will make every effort to accommodate your appointment if time permits and at the discretion of the service provider. If we are not able to accommodate your appointment in the schedule on the same day, the cancellation/no show fee outlined above will be assessed.
CONFIRMATION REMINDERS
As a courtesy, we will send out email and SMS messages to confirm your service appointments three days prior to your appointment date. We do understand how easy it may be to forget an appointment, therefore all our appointments are confirmed by phone 48 hours prior to the appointment as well. Please ensure that we have your current mobile number on file so that we can reach you. It remains your responsibility to remember your appointment dates and times to avoid late arrivals, missed appointments, and help us service our guests better by providing enough notice to avoid the cancellation fees.
Cancellations can be emailed to office@optimalselfmd.com, made through the portal, or called in to the office at 864.214.5232. Please leave a message or we will not know you called!
Privacy Policy
OptimalSelf MD will use the information you provide on our email subscription forms to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us. We will treat your information with respect, and will not share your contact information with anyone else.
Insurance Policy
By the time you find your way to us, you have probably realized insurance based medical care is not working for you. For that reason, we do not accept money from or directly work or negotiate with any insurance companies.
We are not a participating provider with any insurance, and Dr. Katherine is opted out of Medicare. If you have private insurance, you may request an invoice with ICD-10 and CPT codes to submit for reimbursement. However, if you have Medicare you are not allowed to submit anything for reimbursement. Medicare patients can bill standard labs to insurance if necessary. If you are a participant in a sharing plan we will fill out forms describing your care. If you need documentation of your supplement expenses for your HSA we can do that for you. Please fill in any information you can before asking us to complete our part.
We do not provide Superbills.
We will NOT negotiate with your insurance company for coverage of our fees. If medical records are requested, we will provide you with instructions on how to download them from your portal and you are responsible for submitting them. We occasionally get reimbursement checks for patients from insurance companies that we have to send back, so please make it clear that OSMD does not accept insurance reimbursement and that it needs to be delivered to you.
If you are on a membership program, you must furnish a credit card for monthly drafts. Most HSA cards will not allow this. Membership fees are NOT reimbursed by insurance.
Legal Policy
OptimalSelf MD has a strict policy of not being involved with legal matters pertaining to your health. This includes disability claims and workplace injury (i.e. mold exposure). We will communicate with you if we receive a legal subpoena and to allow you plenty of time to have us removed for the requested action. We will also request removal from the case.
All patients understand that by you or another party naming you in a legal case requiring us to provide any of your medical records will result in a $1500 Administration Fee applied to your account. In addition to the Administration fee, OSMD will bill at the rate of $500 per hour including all communication, administrative work (including email and phone communications) and travel time.