Prescription Refill Policy

Our first concern is your safety. Prescription refills by telephone can only be granted during regular office hours. This allows us to review your chart and ensure you receive the proper medication. Many prescriptions can be refilled without a reevaluation in the office. Some medications do require a periodic examination in the office and/or blood work to monitor the effectiveness and safety of your medicine. All medication refills require an evaluation in the office within the last 12 months.

Processing a request for a prescription refill involves many steps and the involvement of several members of our staff. First, an operator takes the necessary information required to process the refill request. The request is then given to our medical records department in order for your chart to be accessed and made available to your provider. We then review the prescription refill request and evaluate your medical information. If appropriate, the request will be approved and the prescription refill will be called to your pharmacy. If further evaluation is required prior to your prescription being refilled we will contact you to arrange an appointment. However, we will not contact you if we have called the prescription in to your pharmacy. Please remember each of these steps must be completed as we continue to provide attention to our scheduled patients.

We have established the following guidelines to assist with the refill process.

1.  Prescription refills will only be granted during office hours.

2.  Narcotics shall only be prescribed at an office visit.

3.  Antibiotics can only be prescribed after an evaluation in the office.

4.  Routine prescription refill requests received by our office prior to 4 p.m. will be processed and completed by 5 p.m. the next business day. Routine refill requests called in on Friday will be called in by 5 p.m. the following Monday. We recommend you call your pharmacy prior to going to pick up the prescription to ensure the refill request has been processed. In the event that a prescription refill cannot be renewed, we will contact you and let you know a follow up appointment or other evaluation is necessary. Routine refill requests are processed without charge.

5.  Urgent prescription refills are those refills requested by you to be filled on the same business day. A processing fee of $10.00 will be charged to your credit card at the time of the request. This fee cannot be billed either to you or to your insurance company. After your credit card payment has been processed, a provider will immediately evaluate your medical history. If appropriate the refill will be authorized or you will be contacted to arrange an appointment for further evaluation in the office. If you would prefer to come by our office and pick up your prescription the fee will be reduced to $5.00. You still must call ahead and request your refill to be processed so we will have your prescription ready prior to your arrival.

6.  Requests to have prescriptions mailed. Prescriptions can only be mailed after a processing fee of $5.00 has been received. This fee may be paid by credit card over the telephone or by personal check mailed to the office. This fee cannot be billed to you or your insurance company. Once the fee has been received for your request to mail prescriptions, evaluation of this request will be initiated and appropriate action taken.

7.  When prescribing medications either by written prescription or by telephone we are bound by and comply with, the laws of the state of Tennessee and the Federal Drug Administration. Mail order pharmacies operating outside of Tennessee may be governed by a different set of laws and regulations. We shall always strive to do our best to comply with any regulation or law under which we are licensed. We are not able to neither discern nor respond to the requests of mail order pharmacy companies that desire us to operate under their state’s set of unique regulations or laws. Should we need to make a long distance telephone call with regards to filling a prescription there will be a $10.00 fee that is not billable to the patient or insurance company. The fee must be paid at the time of the request by credit card, cash or check.

All prescription refill requests require the following information for your safety:

1.  Full name, as appears on your insurance card.

2.  Your birth date.

3.  A telephone number where you can be reached.

4.  The complete name of the medication.

5.  The dosage of the medication.

6.  The frequency with which the medication is taken.

7.  The name and telephone number of your pharmacy.

8.  Any medication allergies.

9.  A list of all other medications both prescribed and non-prescribed that you are taking.