Cost Of Services

At RCFH our goal is to provide affordable, quality care to clients with no insurance or high deductibles. We have priced our services to be as low as possible. One way we accomplish this is by providing labwork as well as exams, right in our clinic. This allows us to offer labwork at very low cost to patients as well.

HOW WE DO IT
We keep prices low by providing fee-for-service care, as well as billing all major insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid.

STREAMLINED CARE
We provide a clean, comfortable friendly experience at RCFH, but we cut costs by "doing more with less." We do not employ extra people to 1) take you to the exam room 2) take your history 3) take your vital signs 4) bill your insurance company 5) check you out. You will not spend 20+ minutes in the exam room waiting for your provider to appear. Instead, your provider (Deni) will greet you in the waiting room, escort you to the exam room, and do all of the above with you, on the spot. You won't have to tell your story twice.

WE RESPECT YOUR TIME
At RCFH, we think your time is as important as our time. That's why we make it a priority to run ON TIME. We all know that the unexpected sometimes comes up. This will be the exception. In order to be seen at your scheduled appointment time, you will need to:

1. Fill out your patient information form and history at home -- this is available online to be printed out and filled out, and arrive five to ten minutes early. This allows the receptionist a few minutes to enter your information into the record. (We are working toward the ability to enter your information online, but we have yet to put that into place. Soon, we hope!)
2. If you are unable to print out the forms to enter your info at home, there will be a kiosk with a computer and keyboard in the waiting room for you to use. In this case, plan to arrive fifteen to twenty minutes early. Use that time to enter the information and print it out. Then hand it to the receptionist.
3. If you are unable to type for any reason, or choose not to, you can have the receptionist enter your information "the old fashioned way" -- by answering the questions as they are asked! We are more than happy to do this! Not everyone likes computers. In this case, plan to arrive 30 minutes early.

The average physician spends 7 minutes with their patient. Our appointments are scheduled for 27 minutes, on the hour and on the half hour. (This leaves three minutes for Deni to clean and tidy the room for the next patient.) In order to see the next patient on time, we must address your important questions and discuss our options in a timely manner. If specialty appointments must be made, this may need to be done at the end of business hours or by the receptionist after your visit (as you check out and pay your bill).

Prescriptions for medications will be given to you during your visit, or called to the pharmacy of your choice during your visit. Expect Deni to keep half an eye on the clock! This is not because she wishes to rush you, or because she has other things on her mind. (When you are being seen, you are the most important person on the planet.) On the contrary, it is because she wants to be sure we have addressed your most important concerns. If you feel that your problems will take longer than 1/2 hour, you may schedule an hour long appointment.

Don't be late! Because running on time is such an important part of our mission, if you arrive late you will unfortunately miss part of your appointment time. Running on time is a novel idea for health care. We will all have to work together in order to make this great idea a reality!

Annual Exams The annual physical is a time for looking at your health as a whole, and re-visiting problems that have been addressed in the past. If we identify three new problems, expect that you will need at least one more visit to adequately address those issues. (If we identify a new problem that is fairly easily addressed, we may be able to adequately meet your needs during the annual exam.) Every person is unique, as are their needs.

ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD (EMR)
We use an EMR at RCFH. EMR's are clearly the wave of the future, and paper charts are not just wasteful, they are sometimes hard to find. Your medical information is secure and encrypted. We abide by all HIPAA standards. Any paper documents that are faxed to or otherwise received by RCFH are scanned into your EMR and then shredded. During your visit, as we collect information together, Deni will enter it into your record. There is a large 22 inch monitor on which your record is clearly visible to you as information is entered. We will formulate a plan together, documenting it as we go, and when you leave, Deni will enter the service that has been provided into the EMR. Thus the receptionist will know (via our EMR) what your charges are. The EMR allows RCFH to "go green" as much as possible.

COST OF SERVICES at RCFH for cash at time of service
Annual Physical Exam 80.00
Hour-long appointment 160.00
Office Visit for Treatment of Chronic Condition 80.00
Office Visit for Bio-identical Hormone Replacement 80.00
Acute Care Visit for Minor Illness (same day appointments available) 50.00
Follow-up Visits for Evaluation of Treatment (how a new medication is working, for example) 50.00
Sports Physical 30.00
Department of Transportation Exam 60.00

*Fees are higher for those with insurance, as credentialing, filing claims, and billing adds substantially to our cost.

Labwork costs vary according to test. Because the prices sometimes change the pricing fluctuates occasionally. (For current pricing, see related section "Labwork Prices".) Some testing is done in our office, for example rapid strep screens for sore throats, or pregnancy tests. Others are sent to the PAML (Pathology Associates Medical Laboratory). Results are usually available the next day. Some results, notably cultures which take three to four days to grow, or labwork that must be sent out of state, take longer.

PRICES
Pathology prices: PAP tests, and biopsied tissue collected at RCFH is sent out and examined by expert pathologists. These services are always billed by the pathologists' office. *You will receive a separate bill from them for these services.

Imaging Prices: X-ray, Ultrasound, Mammogram, Bone density scans, MRI, CT scans, etc. These services are always billed by the hospital or clinic providing the service. *You will receive a separate bill from them for these services. In addition, you will receive a bill from radiologist who reads the x-ray or scan. For some services (mammogram for example) these bills are rolled into one. Be sure to ask before you have the procedure done so you won't be surprised. It is impossible for RCFH to keep up with all the prices of services offered at other facilities, so it is best to check with those facilities themselves.

Specialists' fees: Any fees or costs incurred by seeing providers outside of RCFH are billed by those offices. This would include the cost of a colonoscopy, for example. This would be billed by the specialist; in addition you might be billed a facility fee from the hospital where the procedure is done.