Village Family Clinic & Wellness Center
Kristina Garrido, ARNP
Practice Policies
Business Hours: The clinic is open for medical appointments on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9am to 5pm. The clinic is open for supplement sales on Wednesday and Saturday from 12 to 4pm, and Kristina Garrido is not usually at the clinic on those days.
Acute appointment scheduling: Approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of daily appointments are reserved for patients with acute symptoms that need to be seen as soon as possible. These appointments are available online 48 hours before the date and time. If all online appointments are filled, please email Kristina Garrido through the “Contact Us” section of the website and we will find an appointment for you. Please let us know if you are very ill and we will fit you into the schedule. If your needs are not as urgent, your appointment will be scheduled in the following 48 hours after you request is received.
Copay Policy: In order to expedite reimbursement from insurance companies, all patients must present their copay payment at the time of service. Village Family Clinic accepts cash, check, debit card or Visa/Mastercard payment. Checks should be made out to “Village Family Clinic.” Inability to provide the copay at the time of service will incur a $10 service charge.
Third Party Billing: As a courtesy to the patient, Village Family Clinic will bill your insurance for the remainder of the balance from your visit. You are responsible for knowing your insurance benefits and if certain services are covered by your insurance.
Insufficient Funds Policy: If a check does not clear due to insufficient funds, a charge of $25 will be added to the outstanding balance.
Late Policy: Clinic appointments are scheduled for optimum time management and we rarely run late. The clinic schedule has some flexibility, but if you are late more than 10 minutes for your appointment, you may be asked to reschedule.
No Shows/ Cancellations: Three unexplained no-shows will result in dismissal from the practice. Physical exam and 30 minute appointments that are cancelled with less than 24 hours notice will incur a $20 service charge.
Form Completion Policy: All paper forms, (school physicals, etc) need to be submitted for completion during an appointment. Any form submitted at a time other than the office visit should be given three business days for completion. Forms that are required with less than three business days to process will incur a $20 expedited form completion fee.
Supplement Sales: Village Family Clinic & Wellness Center has high-quality, standardized supplements for sale to patients primarily for convenience. It is important to have the right product at the right dose when treating disease and these products can be difficult and expensive to find over-the-counter. Kristina Garrido is required to sell these products at the respective companies’ MSRP, but can have a policy about patient discounts. All patient purchases will receive a 10% discount. First time purchases, or “trial” purchases, over $20 receive a 20% discount. If Kristina Garrido prescribes the herbal supplement for you, sales tax will not be charged, as it is considered prescription medication.
Medications: Kristina Garrido does not prescribe medications over the telephone. It is just not good medicine and requires a physical exam and appropriate diagnosis. Routine refills and medications called in after an appointment are the exceptions.
Narcotics and controlled substances: Patients requiring narcotic pain medication, benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, etc.) and/or other controlled substance medications for longer than a one month period for acute medical issues will be required to sign a contract stating they will receive their controlled substance prescriptions only from Kristina Garrido and from a single pharmacy agreed upon by the patient and provider. Patients that require chronic management of the above medications will be required to have appointments every 3 months and occasional random drug screening tests. Kristina Garrido does not test for or diagnose Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults or children. This condition requires psychological and/or psychiatric evaluation and management.
Pharmaceutical Samples: Kristina Garrido does not accept or provide pharmaceutical samples, or allow advertisements for pharmaceutical companies in the office setting.
After Hours/Emergency Access: If you require assistance after regular business hours, call the clinic phone number, 425-996-3396. Your call will then be transferred to Kristina’s cell phone. If you leave a message, she will be paged and return your call. We request that all non-urgent issues be addressed via email or the office voice mail during regular business hours.
Outsourcing of Clinical Services: Clinical services are available at the Medical Center of Issaquah. Dynacare/Labcorp is the laboratory used for bloodwork and other specimens. Radiology is done primarily through Washington Imaging and Overlake Hospital.
Routine Well Care: Kristina Garrido offers routine physical and well-child exams. Please verify that your insurance will reimburse for wellness exams before your visit. Physical exams for males will exclude genital and rectal exams unless the patient provides a chaperone for the visit. If you are a man over the age of 50, routine prostate exams are recommended yearly, and can be done with a urologist.
Vaccinations: Village Family Clinic currently provides most childhood vaccinations, as they are provided free of charge by the state. Adult vaccines, including yearly flu shots, are not provided by the clinic and are available through most pharmacies. Parents that choose not to fully vaccinate their children will be asked to sign a waiver form.
Inpatient Hospital Coverage: In the event of a patient’s admission to the hospital, Kristina Garrido will coordinate patient care with the hospital’s staff physicians, but she does not admit patients directly to the hospital. Newborn care is managed by the on-call hospital pediatrician where you deliver the baby.
Village Family Clinic Email policy
E-mail is fast, convenient, and efficient. E-mail works well for many non-urgent questions, requests or messages you may have for your health care provider. The most important thing you should know is that the confidentiality of e-mail exchanges cannot be guaranteed. While the security of e-mail is comparable to other types of communication (such as phone calls), there are some special issues with e-mail:
• If your e-mail address is through your employer, your employer may own all e-mails sent to that address.
• If your e-mail address is a family address, other family members may see your messages.
• If you use an internet service provider, there is a small risk that messages may be intercepted by others (“hackers”).
What types of communication are appropriate for standard e-mail?
• Prescription refill requests
• Appointment scheduling concerns or questions
• Non-urgent medical advice or follow-up (including some types of test results)
• Billing/insurance questions
The following subjects are never appropriate for standard e-mail:
• Any urgent medical problem or emergency
• Mental health issues
• Drug and alcohol problems
• HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
Village Family Clinic does not control the security of incoming email messages from patients. Patients e-mail personal health information at their own risk. If you have some personal and/or private issue, your best course of action is making an appointment.