Office Policies

Appointments

In order to maximize our ability to meet the needs of all of our patients, CORE Orthopaedic Medical Center has implemented the following policies. Please read each of the following:

Please provide us with a minimum of a 24-hour notice if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. An adequate amount of notice gives us the opportunity to fill your appointment time by scheduling another patient. For your convenience, our phones have voicemail service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There will be a $50 charge for appointments that are not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance.
If you have not called to cancel before your appointment, it will be considered a “no show”. There will be a $50 charge for a no-show appointment.
If you cancel or no show for multiple appointments it is at CORE Orthopaedic Medical Center’s discretion to schedule you for any future appointments.
Co-pays are due at the time of service.
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to fill out any necessary paperwork. If you arrive 15 minutes late to your appointment you will need to be rescheduled to the provider’s next available appointment.
Minors most be accompanied by an adult for all appointments.
Please turn off your cell phone before entering the clinic area. Phone calls can be distracting when the staff/providers are trying to assist you with your care and treatment.
You will be asked on a yearly basis to update paperwork required by CORE. This helps our staff keep your records up to date.
There is a $25-35 charge for completing supplemental insurance forms, travel waivers, employer work forms, etc. (EDD forms are exempt).
We require a minimal of 72 hours for medical records requests to be completed.
There is a 48-hour turn around for prescription refill requests.
If you have an extenuating circumstance for cancelling your appointment with less than 24 hours notice or you wish special consideration for an exception to the above policies, please ask to speak with Tina Krische, Supervisor, or Katie Conrad, Revenue Cycle Manager.

Prescription Renewals

All prescription refill request will be completed within 24-48 hours. Please call your pharmacy for prescription refills originally written by CORE. If you’re requesting a new prescription please call the office at 760 943-6700 and we will assist you.

Insurance

We are preferred providers for many insurance plans. However, we suggest that you contact the Customer Service Department of your insurance plan to determine if CORE is in your network of contracted providers and our services are covered.

We participate in the following plans:

Aetna
Blue Cross
Blue Shield
Cigna
Healthnet
Medicare
San Diego Physician Partners
Scripps Coastal
Tricare
Ximed
United Healthcare

Payments

Co-payments, deductibles, and charges for non-covered services are due and payable at the time of service. We accept cash, checks and major credit cards. There is a $25 charge for returned checks. We offer a cash discount on non-covered services when paid at the time of service.

Form Fees

Form completion is a non-medically necessary additional service requested by the patient and is not billable to insurance. Payment is required upon completion of the form. Please contact our billing office for further information.

Durable Medical Equipment (DME)

Coverage for DME is determined by your insurance carrier and plan. If your insurance does not cover an item, we will require a signed Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN). By signing the ABN you are accepting financial responsibility for non-covered items including DME (durable medical equipment) we are providing. Once a DME item is distributed, you can not return it or get a refund.

Collection Policy

If no payment is received on an account balance that is patient responsibility, your account will be automatically transferred to an outside collection agency. To avoid this, we recommend open communication with our billing department. Please contact our billing office for further information.