PRACTICE POLICIES

OFFICE VISIT CANCELLATION

Please contact the office at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled office visit to avoid being billed a possible “NO SHOW” fee. The telephone number is 661-664-2200.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS / “NO SHOW”

If you find that you have missed your appointment please call the office to reschedule. You may be given the “next available” appointment, which may be several weeks to months in the future. The telephone number is 661-664-2200.

Please note that a “NO SHOW” fee of $50 (Fifty Dollars) may be charged to your account. We understand that from time to time extenuating circumstances arise that are beyond your control. If you find that this is the case please contact the office manager to discuss your situation. Accounts that are not brought up to date with a zero balance will periodically be reviewed and may be forwarded to a collections agency. This may have a negative effect on your current and future credit.

CELL PHONES

Please turn off or silence ALL cell phones while in the office. This includes the phones of those who accompany you to the office even though they are not a patient. Your cooperation is appreciated.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG / NARCOTIC MEDICATIONS

1- Prescriptions for narcotic and non-narcotic pain medications will be written for patients who undergo an operative procedure. This prescription will be provided at the completion of the operation.

2- Prescriptions for narcotic and non-narcotic pain medications will be written for patients who have a medical condition within the scope of Hand Surgery AND are deemed to not need surgery, but will require surgical follow-up. This includes patients with fractures who are placed into a cast. This prescription will be provided at the completion of the office visit.

3- Prescriptions for narcotic and non-narcotic pain medications will only be written for a period of 90 (ninety) days. If, after that time, pain is still an issue and medication is requested, patients will be referred back to their primary care physician or to a Pain Management Specialist. Prescriptions WILL NOT be provided.

4- Requests for medication refills will be accepted Monday through Thursday between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM. Please allow 48 hours to process the request.

5- Prescriptions for pain medications WILL NOT be provided by the “ON CALL” physician, after 4pm Monday through Thursday, or ANYTIME Friday through Sunday. Please be sure to plan ahead prior to running out of pain medication.

6- Review of Narcotic Pain Medication prescriptions will be checked against the California Department of Justice narcotic tracking database (CURES). If a patient is found to be obtaining prescriptions from multiple sources they WILL be reported to the proper Local, State, and / or Federal authorities.

HOSTILE / THREATENING / INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

This office and its staff is in place to provide you, the patient, with a clean, safe, comfortable, and professional environment in which to receive world-class care. The same safety, comfort, and professional work environment must also be afforded to the staff.

If, as a patient, you feel you have been treated in an inappropriate manner, it is requested that you immediately ask to speak with the office manager. If unavailable or you find that your concern was not handled to your satisfaction, then please ask to speak with Dr.Wong directly. If immediately available, he will gladly speak with you to help find a suitable resolution. If he is unavailable, please leave your name and a reliable telephone number so that he may contact you. Please note that Dr.Wong performs operations that can last several hours and he may finish well into the evening or early morning. If this is the case he will likely call you at a reasonable hour the following day.

If, as a patient, you exhibit hostile, threatening, or inappropriate behavior to ANY staff, your case will be immediately reviewed by Dr.Wong. If there is validity to the accusations then Dr.Wong will speak with you directly. You may be discharged from the clinic and will be notified as such in writing. If you are still undergoing surgical treatment, Dr.Wong will help you to find another treating physician and will be available to see you on an “emergency only” basis until you have a new physician. If you have not begun or have completed treatment, and are medically / surgically stable, then you will be discharged from care effective immediately. Again, any type of hostile, threatening, or inappropriate behavior cannot and will not be tolerated. If appropriate, local law enforcement will be contacted.