Policies & Procedures

1. All patients are expected to pay in full at the time of service. It is the patient’s responsibility to contact

   their insurance company for any and all authorizations and reimbursement determinations.

2. Dr. Wuttke is a fee-for-service, out of network physician, and it is understood that the patient/responsible party is liable for the full cost of treatment. A receipt for services rendered may be requested and used to file a claim with your insurance company.

3. Medicare Opt-Out: Dr. Wuttke has formally opted out of Medicare. Therefore, claims for services with Dr. Wuttke cannot be filed with Medicare by the client. A Medicare Opt-Out Private Contract will be signed and maintained.

4. Appointment reminders are a courtesy provided by our office. All scheduled appointments are the patient’s responsibility. Please provide or confirm preferred email and cell phone number for reminder messages when setting up your OnPatient account and when checking in online for appointments. The link for your telehealth visit will be sent with these reminder messages.

5. Missed appointments or cancellations within 24 hours of scheduled appointment time will be subject to a full charge, at the discretion of Dr. Wuttke.

   Please Note: Requests for cancellations must be done by calling our office during our business hours, M-F, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm, or via the OnPatient portal. Messages left on voicemail will be returned, but patients should check their OnPatient account to ensure desired schedule changes have been made to avoid penalty. Phone messages left after business hours or on weekends will not be checked or returned until the next business day.

6. Non-Sufficient Funds Check Policy: An NSF fee of $35 will be charged for all returned checks, in addition to any and all bank fees that apply.

7. Balances: Patients are required to leave a card on file to charge in full on the day of your first appointment. Thereafter, follow-up visits may be paid at the time of service with cash, check, or major credit card. By default, the card on file will be charged on the day, or the day after a late afternoon appointment. Patients are encouraged to call the office if there are any questions about charges or fees. Outstanding balances will be charged to the card on file.

8. Prescription Refill Requests: At each scheduled appointment, Dr. Wuttke will ensure and/or prescribe enough medication and refills to last until the next clinically appropriate follow up appointment. This may vary from less than a month, when active medication adjustments and close monitoring is required, to most typically every three to four months, once a stable regimen is secured. Schedule II drugs (stimulants) and most other controlled substances require quarterly monitoring, even when stable.

   Refill requests between appointments should therefore be infrequent and unusual. If a situation does arise where medication will run out before an available appointment, patients should make requests by filling out the Prescription Refill Request form or by sending a message to Dr. Wuttke via the OnPatient portal.

9. When requesting a refill, please provide: Name, Date of Birth, Medication Name, Strength in milligrams, Quantity taken per day, and Pharmacy name and telephone number.

   Patients should “opt-out” of pharmacy auto-fax/auto-refill, as these are often inaccurate and will not be honored unless accompanied by direct patient communication.

   Patients should not wait until their last pill to make a request, and requests that arrive on weekends and holidays, or after 4 PM may need to wait until the next business day to be approved, particularly if controlled substances. Only patients deemed current can receive refills outside of an appointment time (generally not longer than six months since last clinical contact).

   9. After Hours and Emergency: For semi-urgent questions after business hours, or on weekends and holidays, please send Dr. Wuttke a message via the OnPatient portal. These messages are checked at least twice daily.

   For emergencies (such as concerns of harming self or others, or accidental medication overdose) call 911 or go immediately to the nearest emergency room for evaluation. In these situations, messages left on Dr. Wuttke’s cell phone 504-914-6674, will be returned promptly at his first available opportunity.

   Frequent after hour contacts involving crisis intervention or treatment modifications will incur a $50 charge per call when applicable.

   10. Termination Policy: Patients are under no obligation to continue services should they decide to terminate at any time. However, you are strongly urged to notify Dr. Wuttke regarding this decision so that it can be discussed openly.

   11. Grounds for Patient Termination:

   ●  If Dr. Wuttke or office staff feel threatened by your statements or behavior

   ●  If you do not show for several appointments (even if you pay for missed appointments)

   ●  If you do not pay your bill at time of service unless discussed and allowed by Dr. Wuttke

   ●  If you lie during your treatment

   ●  If you are rude or disrespectful to your provider or office staff

   ●  If you are misusing prescriptions, consistently reporting lost or stolen medication

   12. Questions: You are encouraged to call the office if there are any questions about this information. If, at any time during your course of treatment, problems with these policies arise, please speak with Dr. Wuttke.