Skip to main content
Your Path Towards Health
SCHEDULE A FREE 15 MINUTE CONSULT
541-770-5563

Patient Information

for your path towards health

Patient Information

NEW PATIENTS

Thank you for choosing Bear Creek Naturopathic Clinic for your health care needs. We are committed to assisting you in your path toward health by offering the highest quality of health care services. To assist you as this process begins, we would like to provide information to you about our clinic, our providers, and our policies and procedures. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call our office at 541-770- 5563. We also recommend that you use our website as a resource. We provide answers to many frequently asked questions so that you feel fully informed before, and as, we assist you in your path toward health.

New Patient Appointment

In functional medicine, a clear and detailed history is vital for diagnostic and treatment decision making. Our new patient appointments can be 1.5-2 hours in length, as our physicians take this extra care in assessing your unique case, health, lifestyle, history, and individual concerns. Please come prepared for this consult length, and bring a snack and/or water bottle for yourself if needed. If you’d like, you may bring a spouse, relative, or friend along with you to assist you with taking notes. You may also choose to record your visits, as our physicians do cover a lot of information during new patient appointments.

Patients From Out of the Area

If you are traveling here from out of the area, please discuss this with the front desk staff, or indicate through your email when you make your appointment. Depending on your case, it may be necessary for you to do in-house laboratory on the same day as your new patient visit, so you don’t have to travel again. Some of these testing can only be done on specific days.

Preparing For Your First Appointment

Please bring completed forms with you to your new patient appointment. We ask that you arrive 15 minutes early to allow for proper processing of your paperwork. Remember to bring your insurance card, even if we will not be billing your insurance. We do keep insurance cards on file for other purposes such as laboratory testing, prescriptions authorizations, etc.

New Patient Deposit

Because our new patient appointments require a large chunk of time with a physician, we require a $100 prepaid deposit to hold your appointment. This can be paid by check, cash or credit card. This deposit can be used toward your visit, toward purchases of items or co-pays, or refunded back to you if your insurance pays in full. This deposit is fully refundable if your plans change and you have cancelled your appointment with appropriate notice.

Previous Medical Records

Please bring any previous medical records that you might have from other providers, or fill out a records request to have those providers fax your records to us. This includes any pertinent chart notes, and laboratory testing results.

Cancellations and Rescheduling New Patient Appointments

If you need to reschedule your new patient appointment, please call our clinic as soon as possible, and leave a message on our machine if it is outside of our business hours. We will get your message as soon as our work day starts, and we will call you back to reschedule if needed. We do not accept cancellations over email. There is no charge for cancellations made within 48 hours of your new patient appointment.  If your new patient appointment is missed, or less than 48 hours notice is given, you will lose your $100 deposit. 

ALL PATIENTS

Return Appointments

Return patient appointments are typically 45-60 minutes. The length of the visit may vary depending on complexity of your case, or how often you been seen. Fifteen minute brief consults may be recommended when patients have complex questions via email or phone messages to their providers. Providers may recommend follow up visits in various frequencies, depending on each case. Your doctor will let you know how often you need to be seen during your treatment. If you have laboratory testing ordered either at an outside facility, or performed at our clinic, you will be scheduled for a follow up Lab Review to discuss the results with your provider.

Fees

All of the services we provide at our clinic are expected to be paid for in full on the day of service. Most of our services and procedures, aside from standard office visits, are not billable to insurance. If we are billing your insurance for a standard office visit, you will be responsible for your copay, and any additional balances after your insurance has paid.

Insurance Billing

We bill for some insurance companies, depending on the doctor you will be seeing. Some of our physicians are in network with Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield and MODA Health. Please speak with your insurance company about the doctor you would like to see, and if that doctor is in network or out of network for you. If we are billing your insurance you will be responsible for your copay. If copay is missed, or you have any additional balance after your insurance has paid, you will be billed for the remaining balance. Some of our doctors do not accept insurance, and require full payment on the day of service.

Billing Your Own Insurance For Reimbursement

Please let us know if you intend to bill your own insurance for reimbursement. We are happy to provide you with a superbill, and all the necessary codes you will need to submit to your insurance company. Many of our services are not billable to insurance, and do not have insurance codes.

Laboratory and Fees

We offer a wide variety of specialty labs and testing from companies across the United States and Europe. Some of these labs are paid for through our clinic either by cash, check, or credit card and must be paid on the day of service. Some of these labs can be billed to your insurance if you so choose. Please contact your insurance company to find out the terms of your policy regarding laboratory testing. Many laboratories require a separate check made out to that specific lab, or require your credit card information to be filled out on their test order form. We assess a processing and handling fee for all blood draws performed at our office that is not billable to insurance.

Phone and Email Fees

You are welcome to email or call us with questions regarding your treatment and we will be happy to assist you. One to two simple questions directly relating to your current treatment will be answered at no charge. Messages will be taken down by our front desk, and sent over to your doctor or medical assistant for review. You may be charged a fee for communications that require more than a simple answer from your provider. Phone and/or email fees are not billable to insurance.

Communications and Questions About Your Care

Communication outside of your regular patient appointments, such as emails, phone calls and messages, require a lot of attention and time from providers and clinic staff. If you have 1-2 simple questions related to your current treatment plan, you may address these by email or phone at no charge. If your communication requires more than a simple answer, you may be asked to schedule a brief 15 minute appointment so that the doctor can address your needs with more detail and consideration.

Cancellations and Rescheduling

If you need to reschedule your appointment, please call our clinic as soon as possible, and leave a message on our machine if it is outside of our business hours. We will get your message as soon as our work day starts, and we will call you back to reschedule if needed. We do not accept cancellations over email. There is no charge for cancellations made within 24 hours of your return appointment. Missed appointments, or cancellations with less than 24 hours will incur a $75 late notice fee. As a reminder, new patient appointments require a 48 hour notice for cancellations.

Medical Records

If you are needing a copy of your medical records, you must sign a records release form. Records sent to other healthcare providers can be faxed from our office at no charge. Records released directly to patients (to self) will incur a nominal processing fee if over 10 pages.

Prescriptions and Refills

For refills, please call your pharmacist and ask them to fax us the refill request at 833-728-0367. 

 

forest path

What is
an ND?

Are you feeling fatigued, sick or just under the weather?

An immune cocktail can make you feel better immediately!!!

READ MORE

in-house laboratory

Visit Our
In-House Lab

BEAR CREEK NEWS

What a Pain in the Neck! Alternative Options to Treat Nagging Aches

Pain is a difficult sensation to define, but for the purposes of this article, I will describe pain as any unpleasant sensory experience associated with inflammation or tissue damage.

Lab Assessment in Chronic Ilness: A Functional Medicine Approach

This topic is one I hold in high regard as medicine commonly grapples with an inability to provide an actionable diagnosis for the rising number of chronically ill people in the US.

Seasonal Blues Got You Down?

Cold weather, gray skies and less hours of sunlight is a familiar shift in reality for those of us living in more northerly climates of the world.