A Season of Change

Tracy McDaniel • Aug 02, 2022

Hello from your OSFM team on a hot summer evening.  We hope you're all well-hydrated, cool enough and have been enjoying our beautiful northwest home this year.  As we move into this late summer, we wanted to share some information and clinic updates with you.


  • Back to school forms and physicals
  • COVID 19- we now have Novavax for adults and Pfizer for kids 6 months and older
  • How we'll be providing estimates of cash visits when we're out of network with your insurance
  • Electronic health records and the Cures Act- sharing data with apps, privacy and lab reporting
  • Important staff updates


GEARING UP FOR BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON


Now is a great time to schedule Well Child Visits, Sports Physicals and vaccine visits.  Make sure to bring any forms you need with you to your visit, and please pre-fill the portions you can. 


If your child is up to date on their physical (within the last year) and you need a vaccine or sports form completed, please fill it out as much as possible and upoad it to the portal if you are on the monthly NCS plan.  We'll be happy to fill out those forms by portal.  If you are not on the NCS monthly plan, then please schedule a visit and we'll do it then.


If you simply need a Certificate of Immunization Status, you can access it through the state website which you can find on our website at https://www.oneskyfamilymedicine.com/immunization-records.  Their help line is quite good, so give them a call if you have trouble accessing your records. 


COVID-19 NEWS AND UPDATES   


Do you need rapid home COVID tests?  Try asking at the counter of your local pharmacy.  Your insurance will cover 8 tests per family per month.   For more information, visit https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid-19/testing-covid-19.  You can also order free tests from COVIDtests.gov​​​​


OSFM now has Novavax, a non-mRNA based COVID-19 vaccine.  If you are 18 years or older, have never had a COVID vaccine or are allergic to the mRNA vaccine components, we'll be happy to schedule you for this 2 shot series.  Please call the clinic to schedule, as we are only giving them at specific times until we have more supply- if you schedule online, we may not have vaccine for you when you arrive. 


We also now have COVID vaccine for all children 6 months and older.  We currently carry the Pfizer COVID vaccine for children and Moderna and Pfizer for adults.  You can schedule this online by selecting the COVID vaccine visit type.


Please remember that masks are still required when you visit the clinic in person.  And please make sure to let us know if you are ill before your visit, we often start with a short phone call before bringing people into the clinic so that we know what precautions are necessary. 


INSURANCE, BILLING AND REGULATIONS UPDATE


The Non-Covered Services program has been going well, allowing us to continue to provide administrative and support services that are not billable to insurance.   Some of you who have chosen the per-visit option have come to find that you do in fact need more frequent support between visits.  If you're finding yourself holding back from asking for support, we suggest you reconsider the monthly option. 


We were able to work out our credentialing issues with Cigna (American Specialty Health), at least for the time being.   For those of you who have Cigna insurance, you may want to begin a conversation with us about other options moving forward as we're not sure how much longer we'll be contracted with them. 


There's a lot going on in the regulations pertaining to medical care.  One change is the No Surprise Billing Act, which helps protect folks from unexpectedly high medical bills when they didn't know their provider was out of network.  We've been directed to send folks an estimate of their visit when we are not in-network with their insurance, so if that is the case for you, you'll be asked to sign an estimate form each time you come for a visit stating that you know that you can see an in-network doctor at a lower cost.   We'll send these forms electronically, and you can sign right from your phone or computer.  We've also spruced up our website so that findng cash prices is easy!    We can't list everything, but have done a thorough job of listing our most common visit types, labs and procedures. 


Another big change being rolled out is under the 21st Century Cures Act.   A main goal is helping people have access to their own medical records, interfacing with apps like apple health and other patient facing tools.  You'll begin to notice that your visit notes show up in their entirety rather than just as a summary.  That means that you'll see more medical terminology and shorthand which can often be confusing to people who aren't in the medical field.  In addition, you will likely begin receiving your own lab results before we've even reviewed them.  This will be great in some ways, and potentially problematic in others.  For example, many people find it stressful to see abnormal lab results without an explanation.   Normal labs may be closed out before we see them, so if your labs were done as a part of a workup of a problem, make sure to schedule your follow up visit so we can continue to explore the cause of your issue.  Please know that this change is coming from Congress, and is well intended.  If you have questions when you see your results, please schedule a visit and we'll be happy to go over them in detail with you.   Lastly, be on the lookout for apps asking you for access to your health data.  With your permission, they may pull data from your electronic medical record for use in your chosen applications.


OSFM STAFF UPDATES


Dr. Kate Short will be out of the office indefinitely to care for a family member who is undergoing medical treatment. We’ve assured her that we will take excellent care of those of you who have been under her care at One Sky Family Medicine. When you call the clinic to schedule your next visit, please call well in advance so that we can discuss your healthcare needs, check insurance compatibility have a bit extra time to help get you on the schedule at a time that works for you. You are also welcome to text Noel using the SpruceHealth app https://spruce.care/oneskyfamilymedicine or send us a message on the patient portal.  We understand that this change is sudden, and that many of you have been with Dr. Short for many years.  Please know that we’ll do our best to help you land with the right doctor for you and/or your family. 


Our dear Dr. Lauren Whitaker is having a baby, and will be taking parental leave this fall and early next year.  If you'd like to see her before her leave begins we suggest you schedule in August or September.  As always, we'll be here to care for you while she's out of the office and will make sure she's up to speed on your health when she returns.


Dr. Mary Barret is about to finish her 2 year residency with OSFM and will be moving to Texas, starting her own practice and getting married!  We're so lucky that she has agreed to provide telemedicine services for our patients here in WA during her transition out of state.    We have a new resident joining the practice as well, stay tuned for an introduction in the fall.  We are so excited that Dr. Alexandra Owen will be staying for a second year of residency.


This is a lot of staffing change, we wanted to let you know that we'll be doing our best to keep our scheduling running smoothly.  It might take a bit longer to get an appointment this fall, and we ask for your patience as we navigate being short staffed.  OSFM is conducting a search for another full time naturopathic physician and a medical assistant.  Let us know if you know of anyone who would be a great fit!

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