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FORMS AND LETTERS
NOTICE OF CHARGE FOR COMPLETION OF FORMS OR WRITING LETTERS ON YOUR BEHALF
Because of the sheer volume of requests for this type of service, we now require payment for the completion of certain forms you ask us to complete, or letters you want us to write, on your behalf. This requires extra work, time and financial resources in excess of what is normally needed to complete the medical record. Medical insurance plans do not reimburse us for this type of paper work.
We will make every effort to complete these forms within 3 business days.
Examples of letters that will generate a charge of $25:
- Letters to airlines and travel agencies explaining why you had to cancel your trip on medical grounds. We will need dates of travel.
- Letters to certify that you are in good health to obtain a travel visa to certain countries, unless done at the time of a physical examination.
- Please don't ask us to bend the truth or try to get you off jury duty or a paid vacation for reasons that are not medically legitimate. How can you trust a doctor in the future if you know that they are not honest about issues such as these?
- Please don't ask us to write letters on your behalf to the IRS saying that you need to join a health club, buy special vitamins, get weekly massages or buy special mattresses for "health reasons".
Examples of forms that will generate a charge of $25:
- Completion of immunization review and form for camp, school, college or graduate school if NOT done at the time of a regular physical examination.
- Completion of form to certify fitness for SCUBA diving or for travel and hiking in physically taxing environments if NOT done at the time of a regular physical examination.
- Completion of form for adoption if NOT done at the time of a regular physical examination.
What does "at the time" mean?
- "At the time" means that you actually have the form WITH you when I see you for a regularly scheduled physical examination and that I have your immunization record from your pediatrician or previous physician. Forms that are sent or brought in after the visit generate a charge. Please do not try to negotiate with my staff about this.
- Insurance companies do not pay for visits just to complete these type of forms especially in healthy individuals with no active medical problems.
Examples of forms or letters that we do NOT charge a fee for:
- Disability forms.
- Medical leave of absence forms.
- Applications for handicap parking plates or placards.
- Request for airport handicap assistance.
- Getting a patient into a nursing home or into an assisted living facility. A visit is usually required for these as the information is often quite detailed and an up-to-date examination is usually required.
Please remember the following:
- Payment is required prior to completion of the form(s).
- Please submit your request for completion of forms well in advance of when they are needed. We will attempt to complete the forms as quickly as possible however, in order to properly address them we need adequate time to review your records.
- Please make sure that all of your information is completed on the form before you give it to us.
- Please be certain we actually HAVE your immunization record. Your previous pediatrician or physician may still have this information.
- Do not complete the section(s) of the form that are required to be completed by our office.
Paperwork fees add up
By Kristen Gerencher : WSJ : May 31, 2011
Need a doctor to fill out a health form for your child's summer camp, school or day care? It may cost you extra.
As many primary-care doctors struggle to cover the growing costs of running their practices, some are charging patients extra for completing paperwork outside of a regular office visit. Per-item fees, where they exist, have risen in the past few years, practice-management experts say.
But some doctors argue such charges are necessary to cover the extra staff time involved in meeting increasingly complex paperwork demands.
About 64% of 149 group-practice administrators in pediatrics, family medicine, geriatrics and internal medicine said they charge extra for form completion, according to 2009 data from the Medical Group Management Association, a trade group based in Englewood, Colo.
The financial squeeze is particularly acute in health care for children and adolescents, where doctors face a multitude of forms ranging from permission slips to administer over-the-counter drugs and sunscreen to detailed asthma and allergy action plans.
Of course, many doctors still provide copies of vaccination records and certain other forms free of charge, and states limit how much they can charge patients for copies of their medical records.
But more pediatricians are talking about charging parents extra for the routine forms that eat up staff time and labor, says Lawrence Hammer, chair of the committee on practice and ambulatory medicine for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrics professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.
By Kristen Gerencher : WSJ : May 31, 2011
Need a doctor to fill out a health form for your child's summer camp, school or day care? It may cost you extra.
As many primary-care doctors struggle to cover the growing costs of running their practices, some are charging patients extra for completing paperwork outside of a regular office visit. Per-item fees, where they exist, have risen in the past few years, practice-management experts say.
But some doctors argue such charges are necessary to cover the extra staff time involved in meeting increasingly complex paperwork demands.
About 64% of 149 group-practice administrators in pediatrics, family medicine, geriatrics and internal medicine said they charge extra for form completion, according to 2009 data from the Medical Group Management Association, a trade group based in Englewood, Colo.
The financial squeeze is particularly acute in health care for children and adolescents, where doctors face a multitude of forms ranging from permission slips to administer over-the-counter drugs and sunscreen to detailed asthma and allergy action plans.
Of course, many doctors still provide copies of vaccination records and certain other forms free of charge, and states limit how much they can charge patients for copies of their medical records.
But more pediatricians are talking about charging parents extra for the routine forms that eat up staff time and labor, says Lawrence Hammer, chair of the committee on practice and ambulatory medicine for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrics professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.