Welcome Letter

Welcome

It is a pleasure to welcome you to Better Health and Healing. We strive to create the most open,

nourishing and effective healing relationship possible with our clients, while bringing you the best in conventional and traditional medicine. While getting healthier does take commitment and sometimes big changes, our goal is to make this joyful and as smooth as possible for you.

While we can’t guarantee every result of your dreams, we can guarantee you an honest partnership and guidance. We have seen many amazing things happen for our clients.

We recognize you are making a commitment as well. Making changes can be daunting and

sometimes even more so if you’ve “tried everything”. We look forward to supporting you.

Please read this letter completely, it covers everything you need to know about working with us.

Thank you for taking the time to read the important details.

Practice basics

We are located at 611 Wilson Avenue Suite 2 , Pocatello Idaho 83201. Our electronic medical 

record is called Athena. You can review your plan after each visit in the portal within 48 hours of

your appointment, view your labs, and securely communicate with us. Your participation and

utilization of the portal fully is for your benefit and ours.

Set up your portal on your computer ASAP. This is the easiest way to sign off on all forms. Your

phone will not work for this task. Once these forms are signed, you may use your phone or

computer to message us through the portal. We ask that you upload a photo of yourself that will link with your chart. Once you are signed in, look on the left side of the screen. Click on My

Health, then forms and documents. There are 7 forms you need to complete; Welcome Letter,

HIPAA, Consent to Use Email, Release of Billing Information, Consent for Sale of Nutritional

Supplements, Informed Consent HRT and Cancellation Policy. If you have any questions, please let us know.  All medical questions are to go through the portal so that they are safely stored in your medical record. 

Practice Policies

We strive to make all communications and polices as clear as possible in order to be able to focus our attention together on your healing and our relationship. We ask that you read all the enclosed information carefully and complete all requested intake forms as soon as possible.

In the event that a review of your medical records suggest your medical situation may not be

appropriate for Better Health and Healing's practice model, then we will speak with

you about other recommended providers.

Appointments

You can anticipate your first visit to last 45-60 minutes to discuss your symptoms, health concerns, medical, family and personal history, your nutrition, sleep and exercise as well as information that will help me understand the factors contributing to your health concerns.  You may also have a focused physical exam as necessary.

At the end of the visit, we will recommend any further lab test, answer questions and suggest an initial health plan to begin to move forward in your health plan. Your second appointment is

based on what concerns we are working with as well as having adequate time to make changes

and to see lab results as well as physical symptom improvement. This appointment is typically

in 3 to 4 months. These visits are typically 30-45 minutes.

Fees

We can bill insurance for you, or you can self pay. Wellness visits are once per year and are

typically covered completely by insurance. All other visits are applied to your deductible. If you

think you will meet your deductible then billing your insurance is probably your better choice. If

you don’t typically meet your deductible, your cost out of pocket is typically half of what it would be if we bill your insurance. 

This is the same for labs. When bills go through your insurance other than your routine annual

labs they typically bill out at 4-6 times the amount of cash pay. Once it goes through your

insurance, there isn’t a way to change the cost to self-pay. Insurance only covers one set

of wellness labs a year. Anything other than a CBC, CMP, lipid panel and TSH all are billed

through your deductible.

We work with Evexia for self pay pricing. With typical larger lab panels ran through the the insurance, the price is often several hundred dollars more when billed through insurance than if you self pay. There is no guarantee what your insurance will cover. Once

insurance has been billed we can’t change your bill to self pay to get the discounted price.

You can pay for your self-pay lab orders with a credit card, HSA or FSA card, cash or check. Receipts are available for payments made by credit card or HSA/FSA payments. Please note that we do not provide itemized invoices or detailed breakdowns for submission to HSA or FSA plans. This policy allows us to maintain our discounted laboratory pricing. 

Appointment Cancellation/Rescheduling

We are a small independent private practice dedicated to your health. This makes it possible for us all to work together to focus on your wellness. We don’t double book clients. Your spot is reserved for you. If you need to reschedule your appointment, we would appreciate you letting us know as soon as possible so we can potentially see another client during this time. If you cancel your appointment with less than 48 hours notice, you will receive a bill for $100. No-show fees are $195 for new patients and $165 for follow-up appointments. 

Late Arrivals

We are committed to being on time with your appointment. If you arrive late, the office visit for your appointment will still end at the scheduled time. 

Payment options

We take cash, check or credit cards. You can also use your HSA or FSA to pay for visits.

Insurance 

We take most insurances. You will want to check with your insurance to see if we are in your network. Insurance covers one annual wellness.  All other visits are applied to your deductible. 

Phone and messages

THIS OFFICE DOES NOT TAKE MEDICAL EMERGENCY CALLS

If you have a medical emergency, call 911 or go directly to the emergency room. We may not

always get through all of the patient portal requests by the end of the day and therefore cannot

guarantee immediate prescription refills or urgent answers.

Please be sure that all messages are to go through the patient portal and not to our email,

messenger or personal text. We really do love to help but we can fail to keep up with all the

messages we receive in these areas. The patient portal keeps your needs present till we have taken care of them. We want to do a great job helping you in your health. 

If you need to call the office, The Better Health phone number is (208) 261-4233. Please leave a

message with the following information:

● Your full name, spell your last name and date of birth.

● Reason for call.

● Best times to call you back and whether I may leave a message for you.

If you have questions that require a longer discussion, then consider making an appointment

instead.

We do not have an answering service. While we attempt to respond to calls regularly, please give us up to 72 business hours to respond.

Prescription Refill request

It may take up to 10 days to get your prescription refilled . You will need to plan ahead to

avoid any interruption to your medications.

Supplements

Clients are able to purchase most recommended supplements through Fullscripts.com. There is a 10% or more discount on retail price for any supplement purchased. There is no obligation to purchase supplements through the practice. We do our best to assist you in sourcing supplements that are recommended but not carried by Fullscript. You don’t have to

use supplements. When available, we try to source food or other sources.

Emergencies and after-hours care

Please note we do not act as an urgent care provider. If you incur a serious health problem that requires immediate attention, call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room.

If you notice an adverse effect from one of the components of your health plan, you should

discontinue and then contact us through the portal.

Recording Appointments

Electronic recording of appointments and/or conversations with us is prohibited. We  understand at times this is helpful for remembering what was discussed. If this is necessary for you, we can discuss the matter and we will give you approval in writing. It is illegal and unethical to record a medical appointment without the knowledge of the medical provider.

Differently-abled Access

While our office is wheelchair accessible, we do not have a table that can accommodate someone who needs more accessibility. Upwards of 80% of all medical diagnoses can accurately be done without a physical exam. If you require a physical exam and need a handicap table, then it would be recommended to have an additional provider who can provide those services.

We look forward to working with you.

To your best health,

Better Health and Healing team