Dear Patient:

To provide better care and service to you and all other patients, we are improving some processes at the clinic: Your health care is collaboration between you and your Physician, Nurse Practitioner, and other caregivers, and we are also asking for help from you.

The improved workflows include the following:

Scheduling: We want to get you the right appointment type and the right length of appointment for your needs. This may require you to answer more detailed questions when you call for your appointment.

Arrival of patients: To stay on time throughout the day, we are asking that you arrive 10 minutes prior to your appointment. This ensures adequate time to get you registered, checked in and make any account updates at the front desk. it also allows for the medical assistant to get you roomed prior to your appointment time.

Clinic flow/appointment agenda: The schedulers will make an appointment length based on what your needs are when you make the appointment or what the doctor has suggested for a follow—up appointment

• If you have additional needs that come up after you have made an appointment, please call to update the scheduler to see if times needs to be or can be added, or to make a separate appointment. Please do NOT save new needs for a planned 3-, 6-, or 12 month routine follow up appointment. We want to take care of problems as they arise to avoid those becoming major problems or taking more time than planned for your visit.
• Bring a list of concerns you want to cover at your visit. Prioritize the list. Share the list with the medical assistant. If something takes longer than expected, then your Physician or Provider may ask you to schedule an additional appointment to cover other items or concerns.

Prescription Refills: The pharmacy is the bridge between you and your provider that makes the process easier and more efficient for everyone. Please call your pharmacist for refills. They will send a request directly to your provider’s care team. They can also make special notes, such as if you are concerned about your dosage. Phone calls to our clinic to request refills will be taken on a case-by-case basis as we encourage our patients to follow the outlined process listed above. If it is time for your Yearly Medication renewal, please call to schedule an appointment.

We are committed to improving your experience at the clinic and we appreciate your willingness to partner with us as we make every effort to schedule the appropriate amount of time with you and stay on schedule every day.

Sincerely,
Rawhide Rural Health Clinic
Dr. Joleen Falkenburg and Karen Alexander, D-FNP
Dana Gilleland— CEO
Making the communities we serve healthier!