For the following departments:

 

MEDICAL:
  Q When I go to the Emergency Room after the clinic is closed what do I need to do after I receive treatment?
  A

Upon being seen at the Emergency Room it would be in the best interest for you the patient to call the clinic the following day and set up an appointment time to be seen if that is the instructions that were provided to you.  Any time that you have received care elsewhere it would benefit you more if the records were already sent to the clinic, this means that you the patient must sign a release of information in order to have the E.R. visit faxed or mailed to the clinic.
 
  Q How do I receive my Medical Records?
  A

A release of information must be signed and witnessed by a member of the Medical Records Dept.  All information must be completed prior to the form being submitted.  All records that have been received from other clinics must be requested from that particular facility due to HIPPA regulations.  The response time for records to be received is 10 business days from the time that the consent has been signed.
 
  Q What if I am having chest pain?
  A

If you the patient is experiencing chest pain which spreads to the neck, jaw or arm areas, shortness of breath, clammy skin, nausea, vomiting, restlessness it would be3 in the best interest for you the patient to report immediately to the nearest emergency room.  You have 72 hours to call the local Contract Health Office and report to them the purpose of the visit and the reason you you reported to Emergency Room.  The telephone number for the Oklahoma City area Contract Health Office is (405) 951-3836 or (405) 951-3824.  Time is precious when you are actually having a Heart Attack.  The sooner that you get to the Emergency Room the better the chances are in saving your life.  What ever you do please do not attempt to drive yourself to the emergency room or to the clinic.  If in fact your are experiencing these symptoms be sure that you let someone know what you are feeling.  If you are seen at the Emergency room and they do any lab or any test please be sure to have all the records faxed to the clinic and always be sure to call the clinic as soon as possible to schedule a follow-up appointment.  It is always better to be safe than sorry.
 
  Q I have never been to the clinic how can I become a registered patient?
  A Please contact the registration desk upon arrival to the clinic and they can provide the information that is necessary in order to establish a chart here at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic.
 
 

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PHARMACY:
  Q I called in my refill & my medicine is already ready, why do I have to wait?
  A Every time you come to the pharmacy to pick up medication, there is always someone waiting ahead of you who have medication ready as well. The purpose of “signing in” is to avoid making patients stand in a single line such as at a bank. This allows patients to sit down and relax while they wait to be called to the pharmacy window. By signing in, you reserve your place in “line” with those who have been waiting ahead of you. In addition, there are new confidentiality laws, which prohibit multiple patients standing at the pharmacy window at one time. 
 
  Q Why do they call me by my chart number…I have a name?!
  A There is a new law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. HIPAA was created to protect health information for the electronic age and went into affect this year. The act deals with many issues including patient privacy. Health care providers and health plans must protect patient information, and may not use or disclose an individual patient’s health information except for treatment, payment, or regular health care operations. As a result, we must page patients by chart number instead of by name. This is also why only one patient can be at the pharmacy window at a time. This is for the protection of your privacy. Please respect the privacy of others by signing in and taking a seat in the lobby until your chart number is called. The pharmacy has two consultation rooms available at all times if you prefer a more private location to speak to pharmacy staff and/or obtain additional counseling from the pharmacist.
 
  Q How long does it take to put some pills in a bottle?
  A It doesn’t take that long IF you are filling a prescription for only one patient. The fact is the clinic has over 18,000 registered patients. Each day there are as many as 10 providers writing prescriptions for patients throughout the day and we receive an average of 60 refill request calls each morning. The pharmacy fills an average of 400-500 prescriptions per day (over 7600 prescriptions per month). When you turn in your prescription order, we are already working on prescriptions for the patients who have turned in their orders ahead of you. Each patient has an average of 5 prescriptions (many have more than 5), which also takes additional time. In fairness to all of our patients, we fill prescriptions in the order that they are received. Once you drop off your prescription in the pharmacy it is placed in line to be run through the computer. At this point your prescriptions are checked for drug interactions and possible drug allergies. On occasion, your order may need clarification with the doctor who may be seeing another patient at that time. Once your order has been entered into the computer it is placed in line to be filled. Special attention to detail must be done to avoid mistakes. There are several labels for each prescription that have to be attached to the bottle, back of the prescription, bag, etc. Suggested donation amounts are calculated and then your order is placed in line for the final check. The pharmacist must check the order very carefully to insure that everything is correct before it can be dispensed. Finally, the order is placed in line for you to be called to the pharmacy consultation room (or window).
 
  Q I have a question for the pharmacy, should I wait at the window?
  A We are happy to answer any questions that you may have. Please complete a sign-in form, drop it in the slot and take a seat in the lobby. Often we find that “quick” questions lead to lengthy answers. This is why it is important to sign in and reserve your place “in line” so that we can maintain a fair pattern of business to those waiting ahead of you. If you were unavailable when you heard your chart number called, please sign in to let us know you are back in the lobby.
 
  Q I am out of my medication; now what am I supposed to do?
  A To insure that you do not run out of medication it is necessary for you to request your refills 7 days before you run out. The refill policy is included in the information packet that is given to all new patients during the registration process. All patients receive a packet once a year when their information is updated at the front desk. It is the patient’s responsibility to avoid running out of medication. The pharmacy cannot be held responsible for a patient’s failure to comply with the refill policy but we can make allowances when we feel it is in the best interest of the patient. Please read the policy carefully. It was implemented to insure fairness to all patients with respect to the pharmacy workload, especially during cold & flu season.
 
  Q How do I request a refill?
  A The pharmacy has an automated refill line that allows several calls to be received at one time. Refill calls are accepted on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between the hours of 8:30am and Noon. Because of such high patient volume, refill requests take 4 working days to process. You are required to provide your Name, Chart Number, Date of Birth, Daytime Phone Number, and the Names of each Medication you would like refilled. Once you have provided the necessary information, simply hang up and your order is accepted. You may access the Refill Line by calling 948-4900 extension 258.
 
  Q Why can’t I call in refills anytime?
  A The pharmacy receives an extremely high volume of refill calls each day. Usually, within the first hour alone, there are approximately 50 calls on the voice mail system waiting to be heard. There is one technician assigned to handle refill requests and one technician assigned to fill new prescriptions each day. The refill technician is responsible for taking calls off of the voice mail system during the morning hours. The afternoon is reserved for filling refill requests. If the phone line were left open all day this would create a backlog of requests in the voice mail system. These systems are not equipped to store that many unheard messages. We would have to have one person constantly taking messages off of the voice mail system and it would leave no one to actually fill those requests. A very large portion of refill requests must be forwarded to the physicians for refill authorizations. These request involve the medical records department pulling the chart and routing them to the physicians. The medical records department also has staffing and time restrictions. As a result, all requests for charts that must be routed to the physician must be presented to Medical Records by 12:30pm. It is then up to the physicians to review all of the charts and once again, time becomes an issue.
 
  Q My bottle says “No Refills” but I need this medication… what do I do?
  A If there are no refills indicated on your prescription bottle, you may call the refill line and request the medication. Your chart will be pulled and the request will be forwarded to the doctor for review. It may take an extra day to process the refill request. It is important to keep your follow-up appointments as requested by the provider (usually every 3 months).
 
  Q I called my refills in two weeks ago, why don’t you still have them?
  A The pharmacy fills 400-500 prescriptions each day and we do not have the space to store medications more than 10 business days. Please make arrangements to pick up your medication within the 10 days. A lot of time is wasted restocking medications that were not picked up.
 
  Q Why do you ask for donations? I thought you were federally funded.
  A The clinic is funded by the federal government but the demand for patient services exceeds our federal budget. We must also rely on insurance collections, grants, and donations in order to continue to provide quality health care to our patients. The high cost of medication in today’s society is staggering. There is a high incidence of diabetes within the Indian population and unfortunately the drugs used to treat diabetes are among the most expensive. Diabetes leads to several health conditions such as heart disease, which also require expensive medications to treat. The pharmacy requests a $2.00 donation for each month’s supply of medication. For instance, if you have a prescription for a 90 days supply, the suggested donation would be $6.00. Many prescriptions cost in excess of $70.00 each if you were forced to buy them at a local pharmacy.
 
  Q Can you fill my outside prescriptions?
  A The clinic pharmacy is an in-house pharmacy only. Our funding is for filling prescriptions that were written by our clinic providers and not to be used when a patient is seeing an outside physician. On occasion, patients must be referred through Contract Health to see an outside specialist. In those instances, we are permitted to fill any resulting prescriptions as long as the medication is on our clinic formulary. We also make allowances if one of our patients has to go to the emergency room because the clinic was closed or because of an emergency situation beyond our scope of care. In those instances, the patient must be a current patient at the clinic. That means a clinic provider must have seen you within the last year. If you have been to an emergency room and are in need of prescriptions, you must present your prescription along with your hospital discharge papers within 48 hours. We are limited to filling prescriptions for medications that are on our formulary and there are also restrictions regarding controlled substances.
 
  Q I am tired of waiting, how much longer?
  A We realize that you are tired after an often-lengthy day at the clinic. Unfortunately we are usually your last stop that is keeping you from being on your way. Although it may not always seem like it, we are working diligently to fill your prescriptions promptly. The pharmacy is often bombarded with new orders throughout the day. We try very hard to keep your wait time to a minimum (usually 30 minutes). Please remember that there is a lot more to filling a prescription than putting pills in a bottle. We must pay close attention to insure that you do not have any drug allergies or possible interactions with other medications that you are taking.
 
 

We are proud to serve you and we sincerely appreciate your patience. We hope these explanations offer some insight into our daily operations. The pharmacists are always available for any questions that you may have concerning your medications. Please feel free to call and speak to a pharmacist or come in for a private consultation.

By: Robin Parker, CPhT
Certified Pharmacy Technician
 

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DENTAL:
  Q How do I get an appointment for an examination and cleaning?
  A Unfortunately, at this time we are not accepting new patients for examinations and cleanings.  We will resume these services as soon as we work through our current waiting list.  Please feel free to contact us for availability. 
 
  Q Why does it take so long to get an appointment?
  A We have a user population of approximately 17,000 people and we have approximately 3300-3800 visits available per year. We do as much as we can, but there are limitations.
 
  Q My child needs braces, what do you suggest we do?
  A The University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry has an orthodontic department that provides quality treatment at a reduced fee.
 
  Q What if my needs are greater than what you provide?
  A We have limited funds available for referrals. We use that money to provide treatment for complex extractions, difficult children, and biopsies. If there is additional money available we will use it to provide things such as dentures, but the previous treatment takes priority.
 
  Q Do you do dentures?
  A From time to time we receive additional funding for dentures, but as a general rule we do not provide dentures. Feel free to check in with us to see if funding is available.
 
  Q Why is it so hard to get someone on the phone?
  A We receive a large volume of calls and our front desk personnel are often dealing with patients directly. We will retrieve your message and call you back as soon as possible. Please listen closely to the message on the voice mail as we often provide crucial updates to our policies and that might answer your questions.
 
  Q Do I need to stay with my children while they are receiving dental treatment?
  A Yes.  It is extremely important for a parent or guardian to remain with a child at all times.  It is impossible to predict if a child will have an adverse reaction to local anesthetic or if a child will have a behavioral problem during an appointment.
 
  Q If I have to stay with my child where should I wait?
  A The dental staff request parents remain in the dental lobby.  It is important for your child to trust and bond with the staff.  This is the best way for a child to gain confidence in the dental provider.
 
  Q Why do diabetics need to see a dentist?
  A People with diabetes have an increased risk of periodontal disease and root caries. Since both diseases are preventable we recommend a more rigorous prevention program.
 

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   HIPAA Statement

 

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