Frequently Asked Questions
Office Hours:
The Fredericksburg Clinic is open Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM and Friday-8:00AM-12:00 PM. During evening and weekend hours, a clinic physician is on call to handle emergencies and may be reached through the hospital switchboard, at 830-997-4353. The hospital operator will take your phone number and have the physician on call return your call. That physician will manage your care and report to your physician , who will resume your care when the office re-opens. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, please call 911 or report to the Hill Country Memorial Hospital emergency room.
Appointments:
Your time is important to us. In order to streamline your visit, we ask that you set up an appointment as far in advance as possible, and that you arrive 5-10 minutes prior to your appointment time. This allows time to verify your address and insurance data, which must be done at least annually. Our ability to use time efficiently depends on your being on time. If you are more than 30 minutes late for your scheduled appointment time, you will be asked to reschedule your appointment. When making an appointment, please briefly describe the nature of the problem to our staff so they can schedule the appropriate amount of time for your visit. If you must cancel an appointment, please do so as far in advance as possible. If a problem arises at night for which you need an appointment the following day, you may leave a message on the Clinic answering machine or call between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. the following day.
Emergencies:
Of course you cannot anticipate urgent illnesses and injuries, which require immediate attention, and for those patients who become acutely ill, the Clinic saves openings in the schedule. We do our best to schedule these urgent appointments with your physician, but in the event that your doctor is unavailable, the Clinic physician on call for that day will be available to see. Under these circumstances, it would be best to call ahead, if possible, so that we can anticipate your arrival and minimize your waiting time.
Telephone Calls:
Please call the office and ask to speak to a nurse, if you have questions regarding your condition. In many cases the nurse or medical assistant can answer your questions and will consult with your physician when necessary. To avoid interrupting patients who have scheduled appointments, in most occurrences you will need to leave a message on the nurse's voice mail and the nurse will call you back as soon as possible. Please leave your name, phone number and a short message. We are proud to offer you a specially trained nurse, called a triage nurse, who may also consult with your physician regarding your medical treatment. If your call is concerning medication refills, you will be directed to our trained refill coordinator, who can attend your medication needs in a prompt manner. You will either talk to the nurse or will be asked to leave a message.
Payment Fees:
Charges for office services and hospital care are determined by the severity and complexity of the problem as well as the amount of time spent with you. We are happy to answer any questions you may have in this regard. Please direct those questions to our business office staff.
Payment is requested for office services at the time of your visit. This allows us to keep our charges lower by reducing paperwork and lowering postage costs. The Clinic accepts cash, checks, MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover Card. If you are unable to pay the full amount, the business office can assist you in arranging a payment plan. You will be provided an itemized statement at the time of your visit.
The Clinic also participates in several Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO's). Please call to see if we have a contract with your company. Also, be aware that, according to these contracts, you must pay your "co-pay" at the time of the office visit, and we will file those claims for you.
Medicare:
As a participating Medicare provider, the Fredericksburg Clinic accepts assignment on all Medicare claims, and files your claim for you. Patients are responsible for their deductible and for that 20% portion of the bill approved, but not paid by Medicare.
Confidentiality:
Your medical records are confidential and no information will be released with out your written consent.