FAQS

Frequently Asked Questions

We are pleased that you have chosen our office for your healthcare needs.  We provide all Primary Care services, including annual physicals, Pap smears, pre-op exams, adult immunizations and maintenance of chronic medical problems (to name a few...hypertension, heart, lung, brain, liver and kidney diseases, diabetes, thyroid disease, and skin disorders).  As an Internal Medicine physician, Dr. Mai cares for patients over the age of 18 years.  If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to express them to us.  

Here are our policies (please familiarize yourself with them as it will save a lot of time and frustration should one or more of these situations arise).  Our membership patients (Direct Primary Care and Full Concierge Patients) enjoy our practice without any fees or time limitations – refer to our home page or click here to see how you can join! [ More info ]

Office hours:  8am to 5pm, Monday through Thursday.  On Fridays 8am to 4:30 pm.  Our office is open throughout the lunch hour for appointments but the phones are rolled over to an answering service.  Physician hours may vary.

Messages to the physician:  We attempt to answer all calls by the end of the day.  Please let us know if your call is urgent and needs immediate attention.  You may reach the doctor directly for non-urgent issues via e-mail by registering at www.patientfusion.com  Do not e-mail and call in your message at the same time.  This causes confusion and will further delay our response time.

Telephone treatment:  For our patients who are too busy to come in, it is possible in some circumstances to prescribe over the phone.  There is a $20 administrative charge for this service as it involves the doctor taking time out of her schedule to address this immediately and staff time to coordinate treatment with the patient.  To avoid this charge, you may come in for an appointment in this office.  

Medication refills:  Please contact your pharmacy to fax your request to (949) 262-0700.  Refills take approximately 48-72 hours to process.  There is a $20 charge for rush / urgent prescription refills.  You are responsible to know when you run low on pills and we do not keep track of this.  You are welcome to come in for an appointment to refill medications.  Do not request refills at the pharmacy and www.patientfusion.com at the same time; this will result in further delays.

Test results:  Please allow TWO weeks after you have completed the test(s) to receive the results via US mail.  If you are registered at www.patientfusion.com, results will be posted in about ONE week.  Do not call the office for results unless you have waited the TWO weeks.  We will call you if there are concerning results.  If you would like to discuss test results with the doctor directly, please make an appointment.  The staff is not permitted to give out test results over the phone.

Appointment Policy:  There is a $35 charge for all missed appointments.  We make every effort to accommodate you for a same-day appointment if your problem is urgent.  You will be seen by the doctor, but there may be extra waiting time.  Please note that these appointments are not for add-on non-urgent problems.  We cannot accommodate every patient who says. "By the way..." or "While I have your attention..." or "Can you also look at this and do that?"  One day you could be that patient waiting on the other end!  Our cancellation policy is 24 hours.

Referrals:  For our HMO patients, referrals not processed at the time of the visit will be mailed to you by your insurance plan within TWO weeks.  Please call our office if you do not receive the paperwork.  For our PPO patients, it is your responsibility to know your benefits and when pre-authorization is needed for tests/procedures/referrals.  We do not process retro-authorizations.

Forms:  An administrative fee of $35.00 will be assessed for every form that requires the doctor's signature, exclusive of prescriptions and State of California disability forms.  We will not release the form(s) until the fee is received.  Forms include and are NOT limited to: prescription prior authorization forms, work/school/camp/sports/insurance physical forms, work/school time off notes, disability extension notes/forms, DMV forms, life/health/disability insurance forms, private/work disability forms, prescription assistance program forms, and any certificates of current medical status.

Lost paperwork:  An administrative fee of $20.00 will be assessed to replace all paperwork (test orders, letters, forms…) that you have misplaced.

After hours:  A physician is ALWAYS on-call after hours and on weekends for URGENT MEDICAL ISSUES.  You may page the doctor by calling our office at (949) 262-9700.  Please contact our office prior to seeking care elsewhere whenever possible.  HMO patients must have authorization PRIOR to going to urgent care or the emergency room. HMO patients may only use Hoag Hospital and certain designated urgent care centers; using other facilities will result in unexpected medical bills.  Again, this policy applies 24 hrs/day, 365 days / year. See www.GNPweb.com for a list of approved urgent care centers for HMO patients.

Billing policy:  It is customary to pay all deductibles, co-insurance, and/or co-payments at the time of service.  It is illegal for us to waive these charges.  If your insurance cannot be verified at the time of service, you may reschedule your appointment or make full payment and a refund will be issued after the claim is billed and paid.  It is your responsibility to know your benefits and bring proper valid documentation.  We are unable to verify benefits due to time constraints; our billing company is off-site. Please review the FINANCIAL LIABILITY WAIVER for details.

For life-threatening emergencies, call 9-1-1!