Office Policies
Effective January 1, 2025
We are a boutique concierge practice with a small staff, but we pride ourselves on being able to get back to our patients in a timely manner. Your care is our top priority, so to ensure the highest quality of care our practice provides to all of our patients, we have established the following policy regarding fees for specific administrative services that fall outside of a scheduled in-office appointment.
General Policies:
Credit Card on File: Our practice requires a valid credit card on file in order to schedule any appointment. We will confirm this information periodically and require updates should a card become invalid for any reason. For payment of services or purchase of retail products, patients can choose to pay with the card on file or select another method of payment. We accept cash, Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express, and Apple Pay. Certain medical services may be eligible for payment with HSA or FSA funds. Care Credit may be available for certain services.
New Patient Consultations: We take pride in our consultations being educational rather than “salesy,” and our staff dedicates a full 60 minutes to understand a patient’s goals when meeting them for the first time.
Aesthetic Consultations
We require a $50 reservation deposit for all new aesthetic consultations, paid via the credit card on file, before an appointment can be scheduled. Should your plans change, the deposit is fully refundable 24 hours prior to the time of the scheduled appointment. This deposit can be applied toward any service or retail product.
Austin Love Doctor® Consultations
All Austin Love Doctor® consultations for new patients are scheduled for 60 minutes with Dr. Porter. They include an extensive review of medical history, family history, social history, screening questionnaires, lab review (if relevant), and physical examination as well as a review of treatment options to meet a patient’s goals. Due to the nature of the appointment and the fact that the time is scheduled especially for you, all new patient Austin Love Doctor® consultations require prepayment of the appointment prior to scheduling. We found that this virtually eliminates last minute cancellations and no shows, allowing us to keep the waiting list for new consultations shorter. These appointments are otherwise subject to the same terms and conditions as any other appointment in our office.
Late Cancellations and No Shows: Unless you opt out of appointment reminders, you will receive at least two reminders of upcoming appointments–by text and phone call. We kindly request 24 hours advance notice for cancellations so that we can pull patients from our extensive wait list and provide care to more people. Cancellations with less than 24 hours notice will incur a $50 fee and no shows will incur a $75 fee. We reserve the right to terminate the therapeutic relationship for patients with recurrent late cancellations or no shows.
Payment of Fees: All fees for prior authorizations, sending lab results, and sending prescriptions outside of a visit are due at the time the service is rendered.
Non-Payment: Failure to pay the required fees may result in a delay in processing the requested service.
Insurance Coverage: We do not bill insurance in this practice, and if submitted by a patient it is not typically reimbursed by insurance plans. Patients are responsible for these costs and should check with their insurance provider regarding coverage questions.
Additional Fees:
Medical Records Request
Our practice may charge a fee for the time and resources required to process a medical records request. All patients are required to complete a Medical Records Request form indicating the specific records needed and where they should be sent. Charges for processing these requests
are listed below in accordance with the Texas Medical Board and is applicable even if records are transmitted electronically.
- Charges:
- Initial processing of request: $25 (includes processing and up to 20 pages)
- Additional fee for medium files: $0.50 per page (for pages 21-50)
- Additional fee for large files: $0.25 per page (for pages 51+)
Medical Records Fee: Charges are a total of the fees for the processing and the appropriate per page charges
Letter of Medical Necessity
Our practice may charge a fee for the time and resources required to prepare a Letter of Medical Necessity for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement of certain procedures, medications, or treatments. This fee is necessary to cover administrative costs and includes, but is not limited to, preparation and collection of the LOMN, Corresponding Appointment List, Invoices, and Visit Notes. Please note that a LOMN with valid ICD 10 codes does not in any way guarantee coverage by your insurance provider. Insurance reimbursement for hormone replacement is generally denied.
Letter of Medical Necessity Fee: $25
Prior Authorization Fees
Our practice may charge a fee for the time and resources required to obtain prior authorizations from insurance or pharmaceutical companies for certain procedures, medications, or treatments. This fee is necessary to cover administrative costs. We recommended patients try a service such as GoodRx for prescriptions that are denied by their insurance.
Prior Authorization Fee: $50 per request per year
Sending Lab Results
Dr. Porter reviews all medical labs personally, makes notes in the medical record and considers a plan of care. It is her preference to discuss non-emergent labs in person to ensure proper review with the patient and understanding. Any urgent actionable results will result in a phone call to the patient.
Should you request your labs be discussed outside of a normally scheduled visit, you will be added to the schedule for a Lab Review which requires a 15-minute telemedicine or in-person visit.
Lab Review Fee: $150
There is a fee associated with processing and sending lab results outside of a scheduled visit to either the patient or another medical facility. This includes the administrative effort to coordinate the proper documents and communication/coordination with the receiving facility. It is recommended that you request a paper copy during the visit to avoid this fee.
Lab Results Fee: $20
Sending Prescriptions Outside of a Visit
If a prescription needs to be sent or renewed outside of a scheduled visit, a fee will be charged to cover the administrative time and physician time required to handle this request. Note that we do not renew prescriptions initially prescribed by other physicians without an office visit,
If you are in need of a prescription refill that was issued by Dr. Porter, and you HAVE NOT been seen in the last 365 days, you will be issued a 30 day supply (1 month refill) and be required to schedule an office visit with us during that time. Failure to complete that visit will result in no further renewals until you are seen.
If you are requesting a new prescription, this requires a visit for evaluation and prescribing. Normal visit fees apply.
If you are requesting a prescription be sent to a new pharmacy, the Prescription Fee will apply.
This fee does not apply to prescriptions that go through our preferred compounding pharmacies (Farmakeio, Empower and Hallandale).
Prescription Fee: $50
Toxin & Filler Follow-Up Visits
Occasionally, patients require an adjustment to their dosing of neurotoxin 2-4 weeks after their treatment. Additional neurotoxin units required will be billed at the rate the patient paid during their previous full-treatment. We suggest a follow-up for all filler treatments, especially lip filler, 2-3 weeks after the treatment. If additional filler is needed at that time for facial balancing, it will be charged pro rata with a minimum charge of $150.
Correction of Neurotoxin and Filler Treatments Done By Outside Facilities
If a patient receives a neurotoxin or filler treatment at an outside facility and desires a consultation and/or corrective treatment by Dr. Porter, they will incur a $150 consultation charge plus a charge for the product (if any) used for the correction. This includes dissolving filler with hyaluronidase.
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