Scheduling policy.

Please bring the following items with you to each appointment:

• Driver’s License / Photo ID

• Health Insurance Card(s) (for pathology & lab services if needed)

• Method of Payment (credit card, HSA/FSA)

• Medication & Allergy List

Please inform the front desk of any demographic change including: phone number, address, insurance information, etc. Failure to notify us of changes in demographic information, financial status, and/or insurance coverage, may result in you being responsible for any ancillary services not covered by your insurance carrier.

Please arrive 15 minutes early for your appointment if you are a new patient.

Appointments can be made by phone or in-person.

New vs. established. You are considered a “new” patient if it has been more than 3 years since your last medical visit at our practice.

Extending your appointment. If your appointment needs are beyond the scheduled appointment type, we will happily extend your appointment if time allows and you will be charged appropriately for the visit type per our fee schedule. We will, however, never cut into another patient’s appointment and will always strive to run on time in the interest of valuing all patient’s time.

Financial policy.

Direct Care Practice Model. Conde Dermatology is a hybrid direct care practice, meaning we do not participate with most private or government healthcare agencies. Conde Dermatology does not participate and is considered out of network with most private health insurances. Patients pay Conde Dermatology directly for the care they receive at the time of service.  Fee schedules for medical and surgical services can be found here.

Insurance Reimbursement. For privately insured patients, upon request, we can provide a superbill so that you may file a claim with your insurance company. However, we cannot guarantee that your insurance company will reimburse you. All questions regarding your insurance coverage and reimbursement should be directed toward your insurance company or benefits manager. Medicare and Medicaid patients are not eligible to submit their claims.

Other fees. Occasionally, there may be an additional fee for staff time, administrative work, or other extra tasks that are done on your behalf. We will inform you BEFOREHAND if extra fees are involved.  Fees are subject to change at any time without notice.

Medicare/Medicaid Private Contract. All patients seen at Conde Dermatology must engage in a private contract before services can be rendered. This contract states that Conde Dermatology does not make any representations that any fees paid to Conde Dermatology are covered by your health insurance or other third party payment plans that apply to you. Dr. Conde has opted out of Medicare and does not participate with Medicaid, and as a result, these agencies cannot be billed for any services performed for you by Dr. Conde at Conde Dermatology. You agree not to bill or attempt reimbursement from Medicare or Medicaid for any such services. Medicare and Medicaid will cover any pathology fees, labs, or medications prescribed by Dr. Conde as per your policy.

Payment. Payment in full is required at the time services are rendered. Cash and credit cards are accepted forms of payment. A credit card on file is required to book some appointments, but is not charged unless there is a violation of our cancellation policy. In some instances, a deposit must be collected to reserve your appointment. You will be notified beforehand if this is the case.  We do not accept Care Credit.

HSA/FSA. Health spending (HSA) and flex spending (FSA) accounts are accepted for all medically necessary services.

Square Credit Card Processing. We use Square and EZDerm for all payments, analytics, and other business services. Square collects identifying information about the devices that connect to its services. Square uses this information to operate and improve the services it provides to us, including for fraud detection. You can learn more about Square and read their privacy policy at https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/3796-privacy-and-security. You can learn more about EZDerm and read their privacy policy at https://www.ezderm.com/privacy.

General Dermatology Fee Schedule. A fee schedule is posted on our website here and available at the office upon request. Fees are subject to change at any time without notice.

Cosmetic/Aesthetic/Elective Procedures. Cosmetic services are billed under a separate fee schedule. As always, payment is due at the time of service. Some procedures may require a deposit before services are rendered. We will not charge your card without first discussing your charges with you. 

Lab and Pathology Fees. Pricing excludes these potential fees. We have negotiated discounted fees for pathology of $65 per specimen, or you may choose to get pathology billed through your insurance. Any service(s) provided by a lab is a contract between you and that lab and should be handled with that lab. It is not the responsibility of our practice. It is your responsibility to know which procedures your insurance will and will not cover at these facilities and to request an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance carrier.

No-show and Cancellation Fee. In the interest of valuing everyone’s time, we require a 24- hour notice for cancellation. Kindly call us to cancel/reschedule as necessary. Missed medical office visits will result in a charge of $50 if 24-hour notice was not given. Surgical appointments will result in a $100 charge without appropriate notice. At the time of scheduling some select appointments, we will require a credit card to be on file via Square. You will be notified at the time of booking if your appointment requires a credit card on file. The credit card required for booking will NOT be charged unless there is a no-show or cancellation in less than 24 hours. Your office visit fee will be collected at time of visit at Conde Dermatology. Exceptions to the cancellation policy are made for emergencies and decided on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of Conde Dermatology.

Privacy policy.

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION

The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) is a Federal program that requests that all medical records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed by us in any form, whether electronically, on paper, or orally are kept properly confidential. This Act gives you, the patient, the right to understand and control how your protected health information (“PHI”) is used. HIPAA provides penalties for covered entities that misuse personal health information.

As required by HIPAA, we prepared this explanation of how we are to maintain the privacy of your health information and how we may disclose your personal information.

We may use and disclose your medical records only for each of the following purposes: treatment, payment and health care operation.

• Treatment means providing, coordinating, or managing health care and related services by one or more healthcare providers. An example of this is a primary care doctor referring you to a specialist doctor.

• Payment means such activities as obtaining reimbursement for services, confirming coverage, billing or collections activities, and utilization review. An example of this would include sending your insurance company a bill for your visit and/or verifying coverage prior to a surgery.

• Health Care Operations include business aspects of running our practice, such as conducting quality assessments and improving activities, auditing functions, cost management analysis, and customer service. An example of this would be new patient survey cards.

• The practice may also be required or permitted to disclose your PHI for law enforcement and other legitimate reasons. In all situations, we shall do our best to assure its continued confidentiality to the extent possible.

We may also create and distribute de-identified health information by removing all reference to individually identifiable information.

We may contact you, by phone or via email, to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services, in addition to other fundraising communications, that may be of interest to you. You do have the right to “opt out” with respect to receiving fundraising communications from us.

The following use and disclosures of PHI will only be made pursuant to us receiving a written authorization from you:

• Uses and disclosure of your PHI for marketing purposes, including subsidized treatment and health care operations;

• Disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI under HIPAA; and

• Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice.

You may revoke such authorization in writing and we are required to honor and abide by that written request, except to the extent that we have already taken actions relying on your prior authorization.

You may have the following rights with respect to your PHI:

• The right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of PHI, including those related to disclosures of family members, other relatives, close personal friends, or any other person identified by you. We are, however, not required to honor a request restriction except in limited circumstances which we shall explain if you ask. If we do agree to the restriction, we must abide by it unless you agree in writing to remove it.

• The right to reasonable requests to receive confidential communications of Protected Health Information by alternative means or at alternative locations.

• The right to inspect and copy your PHI.

• The right to amend your PHI.

• The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your PHI.

• The right to obtain a paper copy of this notice from us upon request.

• The right to be advised if your unprotected PHI is intentionally or unintentionally disclosed.

If you have paid for services “out of pocket”, in full and in advance, and you request that we not disclose PHI related solely to those services to a health plan, we will accommodate your request, except where we are required by law to make a disclosure.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI and to provide you the notice of our legal duties and our privacy practice with respect to PHI.

This notice if effective as of October 1, 2019 and it is our intention to abide by the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices and HIPAA Regulations currently in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practice and to make the new notice provision effective for all PHI that we maintain. We will post a copy and you may request a written copy of the revised Notice of Privacy Practice from our office.

You have recourse if you feel that your protections have been violated by our office. You have the right to file a formal, written complaint with the practice and with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Feel free to contact the Practice Compliance Officer, Jonathan Conde, at 813-530-6511 for more information, in person or in writing.