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| Frequently
Asked Questions | back
to main topics Office/hospital protocol and procedures |
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| • Can Dr. Hooper be my primary doctor? • If I require hospitalization, will Dr. Hooper be my doctor? • Is there an on-call doctor for “after hours”? • If I need an urgent appointment will there be someone available to see me? • What if I want to speak to Dr. Hooper or Bonnie? How do I reach them? • Do I need my primary MD to refer me to see either Dr. Hooper or Bonnie Hooper? • How can I get my prescriptions refilled? • Can I email Dr. Hooper or Bonnie for questions on their email address shown on their webpage? • If I have a question can I leave it on the office phone line and expect a return call response left on my machine? • If I am receiving considerable time from Dr. Hooper or Bonnie via phone, fax, email, etc. will their be a charge to me? |
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| Can Dr. Hooper be my primary doctor? | No, you must either have a primary care physician or be prepared to utilize other options, such as an Urgent Care facility. |
| If I require hospitalization, would Dr. Hooper be involved? | Dr. Hooper would be involved by discussing your case with the attending physicians. At Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas they may include a pulmonary intensive care specialist, hospitalists, family doctors, other consultants or surgeons. Dr. Hooper would not be acting as your admitting physician. His primary focus is the consultative care of out patients. |
| Is there
an on-call doctor for “after hours”? |
Rancho Sierra Medical Group does not provide 24 hour care, 7 days a week. There is no “on call” provision for after hours. The office hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. After hours, on weekends, or during vacation breaks, the office will be closed. Messages may be left with the answering service or on voice-mail. However, messages will not be returned until the next business day. For any emergency, please contact 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or contact your primary care provider. If you have your own primary, this would also be your main resource. |
| If I need an urgent
appointment will there be someone available to see me? |
First, attempt to contact your primary care provider. If we have an available appointment slot on our schedule, we will strive to see you. However, your first approach should always be to see your primary care physician. |
| What if I want to speak to Dr. Hooper or Bonnie? How do I reach them? | The answering service will reach me during regular business hours, but your call may not be returned until the next day. For any questions needing a more urgent reply, please contact your primary care physician. We do not respond to e-mails. Our cell phones are not provided to patients. Faxes may not be responded to until the next business day when and if the Providers are available. During vacations, this may be several days. Again, utilize your primary care provider for such services. |
| Do I need my primary MD to refer me to see either Dr. Hooper or Bonnie Hooper? | Not necessarily. Many times patients are able to make appointments directly on their own. This depends upon your insurance policy and you are encouraged to check with your provider before making an appointment. |
| How can I get my prescriptions refilled? | Your first attempt should be through your primary care provider. You can have your pharmacist fax a request to 760.753.3425 (Encinitas) or 760.934.3425 (Mammoth Lakes). We do not check faxes during afterhours, on weekends, or during vacations. Thus, during the latter, you may not be able to have prescriptions refilled during this time period. We will strive to return fax prescription refills within 48 hours when we are not away on vacation. However, more urgent requests should be met by your primary care physicians. If you have not been seen within 6 months, your prescription refills may be denied until you have an office visit. Patients on Accutane™ will be required to have monthly office visits and a face-to-face encounter with Bonnie Hooper, ANP. If you are on Accutane ™ and not located near our office, you will be required to have a local dermatologist follow you at your distant location. |
| Can I email Dr. Hooper or Bonnie for questions on their email address shown on their webpage? | Yes, however, please understand due to privacy laws (HIPPA) responses may have to be made via telephone or direct communication with a face to face communicatioin. |
| If I have a question can I leave it on the office phone line and expect a return call response left on my machine? | No. Due to HIPPA laws we are required to not leave a message when it contains personal health information. This is not our choice but it does mean that you may be asked to come in for a direct conversation with the provider. |
| If I am receiving considerable time from Dr. Hooper or Bonnie via telephone, faxing, email, etc. will their be a charge to me? | Possibly. If the problem and time is extensive you may receive an additional charge for the time, or your next office visit may be charged at a higher level with documention available for your insurance provider, if questioned. Please review the document, Financial Policies, carefully. It can be found on our webpage at http://rsmghealth.com/forms.html. In addition, we provide other means at having phone consultations but required a signed agreement between RSMG and the patient. Insurance companies and Medicare do not recognize these services. They require face-to-face encounters for compensation and do not reimburse for telephone time. We do provide this service and this can be provided with Medicare patients but requires they form be signed recognizing Medicare not reimbursing the patients for this service. Non-Medicare patients may have the same service but require a different form to be completed. Go to our Home Page and click on “download visitor info packet”. The forms are available at this site for downloading. Please read those documents, sign them and either fax to or bring them into the office. |
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