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336-768-3335

FAQs

OFFICE HOURS: Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00 and Fri 8:30-2:30. The office is closed for lunch from 12-1 Monday-Thursday. The office is closed for a meeting every 2nd Tuesday of every month from 12-1:30. 

PATIENT ONLY STORE HOURS: Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:30 and Friday 8:30-3:30. The store remains open during lunch hours except for the 2nd Tuesday of every month for the RIH staff meeting.

You can schedule an appointment online by going to our Patient Portal, going to Request Appointment at the top of the page and following the steps. You can not book an appointment for Infusions, pellets or injections online. You must call the office for those appointments. 

Please do not include a note under Reason on your appointment requesting an infusion, pellet or injection. This will not book your appointment for that service.

No, we do not take phone visits. While you may have had a phone visit with us during COVID, we are no longer able to provide this form of visit.

The Integrative Care we provide hinges on a face to face visit with our patients, observation and medicine practices that are unlike traditional practices you may have become accustomed to. We can not hear a few symptoms and write a prescription for supplements or medications. We must see the whole person to give you the best care possible and treat the whole person with more than just a quick fix.
 
If you are interested in a practice like ours but feel the distance is too far to travel, please check this site for a practitioner closer to you: https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/
Unlike most Integrative Health practices, we are contracted with four major insurance companies to file claims for office visits: BCBS, Cigna, Aetna, and Medcost. However please know there are certain limited network policies within those companies that we are not in-network with and will not be able to file. There is a list below but please know the list is not necessarily exhaustive as insurance companies add and change policies often. If you have questions about where or not we can file your policy, please call us before your appointment and we will be glad to help.
 
Our providers have opted out of the Medicare system so that we can offer the best of care for our patients without the limitations of Medicare restrictions. For this reason we do not file Medicare claims for office visits or lab work. To help us comply with government requirements for the opt-out process, Medicare patients are required to sign a contract with their provider stating that they understand this policy.
 
We accept the following insurance providers: Aetna (except for Aetna CVS Health, Limited Network of Wake Health, Duke Health, and Cone Health),  Medcost (except for Limited Network of Wake Exclusive Network),  and Cigna. We can also accept BCBS policies except for: Blue Value, Blue Home, Blue Local, HealthyBlue (Medicaid), and the BCBSHPN (High Performance Network). 
 
We cannot file claims with United Health Care (UHC), TriCare, or any of the medical sharing policies (such as MediShare)   If you have one of these policies full payment will need to be made at the time of your appointment, and we will provide you with the necessary paperwork to submit for reimbursement. We cannot accept Anthem Healthkeepers.
 
A word about Medicare: Our Providers have opted out of the Medicare system and we do not file Medicare claims. If you have Medicare, part B,  you will need to pay cash in full for the services you receive at the time of your appointment. A written contract between you, as patient, and your Provider is required by Medicare and you will be asked to sign the contract at your New Patient appointment.  You will not be able to file Medicare claims yourself for reimbursement. This applies to office visits, lab work, and prescriptions (basically anything ordered by our Providers)
 

All other insurance policies (except those named as approved above) are not accepted and payment will be expected at the time of service.  

PLEASE NOTE: ULTIMATELY THE PATIENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR BILL AND IF INSURANCE HAS NOT PAID AFTER 90 DAYS, THE PATIENT WILL BE BILLED AND WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY THEIR BALANCE. 
 
If you have a very high deductible policy, you may want to consider paying cash for your labs. You should always check with your insurance company before your visit to see if labs are covered. Please discuss your situation with the lab technician before having your blood taken.  Also, please know that we use some specialty integrative labs that are never covered by insurance. The lab technician can give you a price on these specialty labs. 
 

Remember, to prevent heartache, this is YOUR insurance and YOUR responsibility, and each policy is different. Avoid being surprised.

All new patients are required to pay a monthly membership of $10 for single patients and $20 for families (or annually $100 and $200 respectively). The definition of a family is immediate family living at the same address.  Adult children over the age of 26 will need to have their own membership.

Every patient is required to keep a credit or debit card on file. Our credit card processor is nested in a banking center, so its security greatly exceeds a typical medical office. You can use your HSA, FSA, or debit card as well.
 
If you have questions about your bill or insurance, you can call the office at 336.768.3335 and choose the option for Billing. You can also send us a message through the patient portal to RIH Billing. Please allow us at least 24 business hours to research and respond to you.
 
If you choose to become a patient and do not have insurance that we accept, You will be asked to pay a cash price as follows:
 

As we continue to expand and offer more services to more patients, we are updating our cash pricing model to make the cost of visits standardized by visit rather than the per-minute model that we have previously employed.

Beginning on April 1st, our cash prices will be as follows:
 
New Patient Visit – $280
Established Patient Follow Up Visit- $180
Acute Visit for Pediatrics ONLY – $140 
 
Payment is due when checking out from your visit.
 
We offer payment links to pay your bills electronically for convenience. Statements go out once a month to your email account and portal account.
 
While we do not offer payment plans for invoices due, we do allow 90 days to pay your bill. Contact us for more information. We can setup your account to automatically pay your bill to your credit card on file if you prefer not to receive a bill.
 
Outstanding balances will be automatically charged to the card on file at 90 days.
 
Integrative care, such as ours is uncommon and most integrative practices are cash only. We are a hybrid practice, accepting insurance but also acknowledging that there are out-of-pocket expenses. We are happy to discuss expenses with you prior to treatment.
 
If you have a high deductible plan, you can utilize our cash prices for our labs run through LabCorp, otherwise, the labs will be filed through Insurance. Many different tests are not available at your PCP’s office and are not covered by Insurance. We consider them medically necessary for the optimal treatment of our patients, but Insurance often does not. These tests may qualify for coverage for HSA’s and FSA’s, however. 

At this time all providers are taking new patients except for Dr. Wiggy Saunders and Dr. Bruce Lantelme.

We are problem focused so we will not be taking over your primary care. We suggest that you maintain your PCP for routine medical care and sick visits. Due to demand, we are unable to take on every patient with interest in our practice. We take on cases that include symptoms, diseases and challenges that we feel we can most effectively treat based upon our strengths and are unable to take on new patients who are primarily seeking wellness or primary care with an integrative approach. 

 
Dr. Wiggy Saunders and Dr. Bruce Lantelme are currently not accepting new patients.

You must schedule an appointment for labs. Our schedule does not allow us to accept walk-ins. On the day you have an appointment with a provider, if they send you down for labs, that is considered part of your appointment on that day. If you choose to come back at a later time, you will need to make an appointment. Appointments can be made on the patient portal.

If you are scheduled for a lab draw in the morning, please do not take your morning medications and supplements.  If you are scheduled for an afternoon lab draw, then please take your medications and supplements in the morning as prescribed. Thyroid medication should be taken about 8 hours prior to your lab draw.

Late arrivals to appointments or NO SHOWS: 
Please arrive 15 minutes (30 minutes for new patients) prior to your appointment. 

If you arrive after the start time of the appointment, you will be rescheduled and charged a late fee. 

Established Patients will be charged $37 and New Patients $77 for the NO Show fee and late cancellations — ALL patients will be required to give us a 24 hour business notice.

New Patients:
You must fill out the intake form before arriving for your new patient appointment. If you arrive without a completed intake form you will have to reschedule the appointment and will be charged a no-show fee of $77.

Missed Appointments or NO SHOWS: 
Established Patients will be charged $37 and New Patients $77 for the NO Show fee and late cancellations — ALL patients will be required to give us a 24 hour business notice.

We appreciate your consideration in giving us prompt notice of any cancellation.  
 
Other Fees: There is a $7.50 Form Fee and a $36 Return Check Fee.
 
All new patients are required to pay a monthly membership of $10 for single patients and $20 for families (or annually $100 and $200 respectively). The definition of a family is immediate family living at the same address.  Adult children over the age of 26 will need to have their own membership.
 
Patient Portal Requirement: All patients must sign up for our Patient Portal.  This is our primary way of communicating important health information in a private, secure, and HIPAA-compliant way.  
 
Card on File: We do require patients to keep a credit or debit card on file with us. Outstanding balances will be automatically charged to the card on file at 90 days. 
 
These policies may change. If they do, we generally send a message to patients on the Patient Portal before updating the website. Please ask for any clarifications in person.

If you have a medical record request, please contact RIH Medical Records on the patient portal or call our office at 336.768.3335.

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