FAQs

Bring your whole family from babies to grandparents! Family Medicine Physicians coordinate all aspects of your family’s health care – physical, emotional, and mental. They listen to your questions, assess symptoms, recommend treatment approaches, prescribe medication, and refer you to proper specialists when needed.

Family physicians can care for a wide variety of chronic and acute conditions for all ages. It is important to discuss new concerns with your primary care provider before seeking a referral. If you feel there is a concern that requires a referral to a specialist, please make an appointment to discuss the concern with your primary care provider.

Many health insurance plans require referrals be sent by your primary care office. Please note, if your primary care provider does not agree that a self-referred specialty appointment is necessary, a referral will not be sent. In that case, you will be responsible for the payment of the specialist should your insurance not cover the visit.

There are infrequent exceptions in which an office visit may not be required. An example would be a broken bone treated at the emergency room. In this case, a referral can be approved without a visit as long as a copy of the emergency room visit is available.

Going to the doctor’s office for your medication can feel like an inconvenience, especially if you just need a prescription for a minor illness or condition. You may be wondering if you can get a prescription without consulting with a provider. The answer is no – you must see a provider to get a prescription. Your provider needs counsel you about the potential side effects of a medication and oftentimes determine if this is the best medication for you. This doesn’t always mean that you have to make a trip to the office. If you are an established patient at our office, and depending on your condition, you may be able to get your prescription using a Telemedicine. With telemedicine, you can get a prescription without having to leave home! You can talk to a provider and receive a diagnosis using technology. If you require medication for your condition, the provider will send the prescription to the pharmacy of your choice.

If you have refills left on your prescription, please call your pharmacy. If you are out of refills at the pharmacy, but our office has previously prescribed a medication, please call your pharmacy and they will send us a refill request. Our providers always try to refill medications at routine visits. For this reason, if you are out of refills, it is likely because you are due for a routine visit and will be asked to schedule to ensure proper medication management. Please allow 48-72 hours for a refill request to be processed.

Yes, parental and/or guardian consent and presence is required for all visits. This is true for young children and teenagers.

We do not allow emotional support animals at our office.

Please see our policy below:

Boise Health Haus complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding service animals. We welcome service animals who have been trained to do work or perform tasks for any visitor with a disability. Please note that we do not allow pets or emotional support animals in our facility. We have implemented this Service Animal Policy to provide guidance on what you can expect when you bring your service animal to our facility.

What is a service animal?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is defined as a dog (and in some circumstances a miniature horse) that has been specifically trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.

Can I bring my emotional support animal or my pet?

No. Emotional support animals are not considered service animals under the ADA. An emotional support animal is an animal that comforts a person with their presence but has not been specifically trained to perform a task related to a person’s disability. Please note that in most states it is against the law to fraudulently represent an animal as a service animal.

What can I expect when I bring my service animal with me?

When you enter our facility, we encourage you to let our staff know that you have a service animal with you if you feel comfortable doing so. Staff may ask you if your animal is a service animal, and what work the service animal is trained to perform. They may also ask to see if the service animal is vaccinated in accordance with local laws, in order to ensure the health and safety of all our patients and staff. Please be ready to show vaccination paperwork for your service animal if asked.

What are my responsibilities when I bring my service animal with me?

Service animals must be under your control at all times and kept on a leash, harness or tether. You are responsible for ensuring that they are well-behaved and that they are cleaned up after for the duration of your visit. If you are unable or unwilling to control or clean up your service animal, you may be asked to remove them from the facility.

Do I need to bring anything for my service animal, or will you provide it?

We welcome service animals, but you are responsible for their care. Please bring any required food, water or medicine for your service animal, along with plastic bags or other necessary items for cleaning up waste.

Can my service animal accompany me everywhere in the facility?

Generally, yes. While we work to make every accommodation, there may be some places in our facility that your service animal cannot accompany you, because they pose a risk to other patients or themselves. In these instances, our staff will work with you to make appropriate accommodations.

Can someone take care of my animal during my treatment?

Boise Health Haus cannot assume responsibility for the care of your service animal during your treatment. If you are undergoing treatment and are not able to care for your service animal during that time, please make the necessary arrangements with a friend or family member for their care. We encourage you to speak with staff about those arrangements so that they know what to expect. We may ask for a source of payment if you are not able to make arrangements and we need to pay for care or housing of your service animal during your treatment.

Where can my service animal go to the bathroom?

Please ask a staff member to show you the area outside designated for service animal restroom breaks.

I have a question that wasn’t answered in this policy. What do I do?

We encourage you to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. You can contact us by calling 208-579-5767 or by sending an email to contact@boisehealthhaus.com and placing “Service Animal Question” in the subject line. If you feel that there was an issue with a past visit, please ask to speak with Annie at Boise Health Haus.

Thank you for your cooperation with our Service Animal Policy.

A routine preventative visit is an annual exam done yearly to detect potential health issues early on, when treatment can be most effective. It is focused on preventative care measures, rather than existing health concerns. It may include the following routine checks:

• Past medical, surgical, social, and family history
• Physical examination with appropriate screenings as indicated (i.e. pap/HPV, breast exam, pelvic exam)
• Review of appropriate screenings and immunizations (i.e. colonoscopy, bone density, mammogram, flu vaccine, shingles vaccine, etc.).
• Counseling regarding risk factor reduction interventions (i.e. lowering cholesterol, tobacco cessation, healthy diet, and exercise).
• Common labs that are covered under most preventative screening benefits. These can be plan specific, and may include
  • Complete blood count
  • Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
  • Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
  • Lipid Profile
  • Hemoglobin A1C
  • Urinalysis (UA)

Even within the same insurance provider, there are numerous insurance benefit plans, each with its own coverage details. Your healthcare provider and their team are focused on meeting your health needs and may not be familiar with the specifics of your insurance plan. It’s your responsibility to be aware of which services your plan covers.

To make sure your routine preventative exam is billed as such, consider taking the following steps:

• When you schedule your appointment, let the front desk know that you are calling to schedule an annual wellness or an annual preventative exam.
• When you are with the provider, let them know that you are only here for your routine preventative visit. Your provider will inquire about any additional health issues you might have because they aim to address all your health concerns. However, please be aware that if these concerns are beyond the scope of a standard preventative exam, there might be charges for problem-focused exams or testing. These charges will be submitted to your insurance and will depend on your plan’s coverage rules.

Here are some common health concerns that are not part of routine preventative exam:

• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Significant weight gain/loss
• Pelvic or abdominal pain/discomfort
• Difficult or painful urination
• Menopause symptoms (i.e. hot flashes, mood changes, etc.)
• Low libido
• Vaginal irritation/dryness
• Infertility
• Chronic condition management (i.e. hypertension, asthma, diabetes, obesity, etc.)
• Establishing care as a new patient

Sometimes, during your preventative exam, if specific issues are identified or if you discuss additional concerns, supplementary tests or exams might be needed. These are not always covered under the preventative wellness benefits of many insurance plans because they are considered beyond standard preventative care. Your healthcare provider might perform these extra services to thoroughly address any problems identified. Coverage for these services depends on your insurance plan’s terms. Our office adheres to regulatory standards by coding and charging your insurance for the actual services provided as documented by your healthcare provider. We bill strictly for the services provided; we do not make the determination of how insurance processes the claim.

If you talk to insurance customer service, they might say that if the provider codes the service as preventative, then it will be covered. When they do this, they refer to your plan’s rules for coverage without considering what was addressed at the visit. It’s important to understand that we are required to adhere to strict regulatory guidelines that distinguish between “screening” and “diagnostic” services, and we must code them accurately. For instance, tests for conditions like thyroid disorders or high cholesterol become diagnostic, not screening, once you’re diagnosed because they are part of managing an existing condition. Likewise, hormone level tests might be initiated due to specific concerns or symptoms, which classifies them as diagnostic, not preventative screening. This distinction is crucial in how services are coded and, consequently, how your insurance determines coverage.

Medications like birth control are deemed “preventative” when used for contraception (as opposed to managing periods, for instance). Medications for conditions like cholesterol, depression, and blood pressure might be refilled during your preventative exam if your condition has been stable without the need for extra tests beyond the usual yearly screenings. However, medications for diabetes, hormone replacement, thyroid, and similar conditions often require specific tests to monitor therapeutic levels and adjust dosages accordingly.

If additional testing and clinical decision-making are necessary, then the visit shifts from a preventative wellness check to treating a specific issue, which falls outside the preventative care scope. Our providers aim to manage these needs efficiently, ideally within a single visit to save you time, rather than asking you to return for another appointment.

Refilling a prescription involves a licensed medical provider, as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), who decides which medications necessitate a prescription. This process is far from simple. It requires the provider to affirm that they have evaluated you, considered your medical history, other medications, and any pertinent tests or examinations, and concluded that the prescribed medication and its dosage are suitable for you. According to general medical practices, patients should undergo an evaluation at least once a year to have their medications refilled. Certain medications might require more frequent check-ups or testing, based on the prescribing provider’s judgment, for you to receive ongoing refills.