SBC Office Policies

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ARRIVAL AND VISIT TIME

All patients are required to access and complete, update your patient portal prior to your appointment time for each visit. This gets easier with each visit – as all you’ll need to do is verify that your information has not changed via this portal. If you did not complete this ahead of time please plan to check-in 30 minutes prior to your appointment.

New Patients – Please complete use the emailed link to access your patient portal and complete your patient information. On the date of your appointment please arrive 30 minutes prior to your check-in time to complete the initial check-in process. Please plan to be in our office for approximately 90 minutes for your initial visit.

Existing patients - Please complete use the emailed link to access your patient portal and complete your patient information. On the date of your appointment please arrive 15 minutes prior to your check-in time (if you did not complete your patient portal please arrive 30 minutes prior) to complete the check-in process. If you have an extensive medical or medication history, or require extra time to use our iPads for check-in please arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled visit time. Please plan to be in our office for approximately 60 minutes for each visit. Surgeries and cosmetic visits may take longer.

NEW PATIENT REGISTRATION

New patients will be sent an email with a patient portal link to complete initial intake forms, update your medical history, medication lists and general demographics prior to arriving for your appointment. Please be advised that failure to complete your patient portal in advance of your appointment can cause an extended wait time of up to an additional hour at check in.

EMAIL COMMUNICATION

You will receive separate emails containing appointment reminders, important information about your scheduled appointment and registration/access information to our patient portal. Please contact our office to confirm that we have the correct email and phone number on file if you are not receiving these emails.

PATIENT PORTAL

SBC provides a Patient Portal which allows patients to access partial health records, complete patient intake + update forms and securely communicate with our office. An invitation to SBC’s portal will be emailed to patients with a time-sensitive activation link. Please follow the prompts to set up your portal account. If you so not see an invitation in your general inbox, please check your spam folder or contact our office for assistance.

VISIT PREPARATION AND CLOTHING

Please make sure you bring your insurance card, a valid ID, valid form of payment, credit card to place on file for our auto-pay system and a copy of your insurance's required authorization to every visit. Allow enough time for parking and check-in so that you are on time for your scheduled appointment.

We ask that you wear comfortable clothing if you are coming for a skin check, mole check or full body exam. Please do not wear makeup or remove your makeup prior to your visit if we are going to examine your facial skin.

*Insurance authorizations/referrals applicable to carriers that require pre-approval for visits and treatments

CANCELLATION, NO SHOW, MISSED APPOINTMENT AND RESCHEDULING POLICY

We ask that you provide a minimum of 24-hour’s notice for any changes to the location, provider, time or date of your appointment. A $50 cancellation fee will be charged for any missed, cancelled or rescheduled appointments less than 24-hours from the original appointment date/time.

PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION ORDERS AND REFILL REQUESTS

To receive a timely refill for medication prescribed by our office, please first contact to request via your dispensing pharmacy. The pharmacy’s phone number can be found on the prescription label. Your refill request will be denied if you fail to attend your provider’s recommended follow up visit, as some medications require regular visits for monitoring. Please request refills prior to running out.

Medication refills are not considered emergencies. Requests made after hours will be processed the following business day. Please note that refill requests may take up to 7 days to complete, for various reasons, including your insurance’s prescription coverage specifications. Please plan accordingly with the quantity of your remaining supply.

Some pharmacies will not dispense particular medications prescribed by our providers. We may attempt to reroute your prescription to an alternate pharmacy for processing. These specialty pharmacies will contact you to discuss your prescription plan coverage and arrange to ship your medication to you directly.

INSURANCE COVERAGE AND PAYMENT POLICY

SBC Providers and staff cannot guarantee any insurance coverage for your plan or policy. It is your responsibility to verify your active coverage and parameters of coverage for services provided. Please contact the membership services number listed on your insurance card or insurance company website if you have questions about coverage, access or restrictions for your particular plan.

Patients are required to pay their share cost, determined by your insurance, at the time of service. This includes co-payments, co-insurances and unmet deductibles. All patients of our practice will be asked to place a valid credit card on file using our secure encrypted system. If you have supplied your complete insurance information we will submit your claim to your insurance carrier, then bill your credit card on file in the amount determined by your insurance to be patient responsibility. If no additional balance is due your card will not be charged. We will send you an email notification prior to any charge to your card. Your insurance company will send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB). The EOB explains, in detail, how your claim was processed. We welcome you to call your insurance or our billing department for help reading your EOB or to discuss a payment plan for upcoming services.

SBC charges a fee for new and established patient consultations. This fee is collected at the time of check-in and is specifically for the consultation with your provider to discuss your dermatological concerns, it does not cover any additional procedures or services. Please call our office for details at (818) 842-8000 or request a callback using our contact form.

COMMUNICATION POLICY

Our offices use telephone, text, portal, USPS mail and email communications to connect with you for appointment and recall reminders, lab and pathology results, scheduling advanced procedures, billing matters, provider and office announcements. Please provide your most up-to-date information for communication purposes.

PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS AND REFERRALS

If you are a new patient and your insurance requires a written referral for office visits, treatments and procedures, you must bring a copy of this authorization with you to your appointments. Failure to do so may significantly delay your check-in process and overall visit time while we attempt to retrieve a copy of your authorization for your visit/treatment.

If you have a referral-based insurance plan and require a follow up visit with our office, it is your responsibility to call your insurance and/or our office to confirm the authorization has been approved and received 48 hours prior to your visit. You will be responsible for payment in full at the time services are rendered if the authorization is not obtained/pre-approved.

Many insurances only allow us to see you for what is detailed on the authorization. You may be responsible for payment for any additional items addressed during the visit if they are not written on your referral. Please check directly with your insurance carrier about their rules and policies.

You will need to follow up with your referring Primary Care Provider ("PCP") if your authorization has expired to request a new referral.

SKIN AND BEAUTY CENTER (SBC DERMATOLOGY)

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