Policies

In order for everyone to have a welcoming, safe and comfortable experience with our practice, we maintain the following Practice Policies:

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Insurances Accepted

We are In-Network and accepting new patients with the following plans: Aetna & Aetna PPO/HMO, Beach Street PPO, BCBS Blue Choice PPO/POS/HMO, Cigna PPO/HMO, Coventry PPO/HMO, First Health, Group Resources, Humana PPO/POS/HMO*, Medicare**, MultiPlan PPO, PHCS PPO, Tricare & United HealthCare.

*We are not in-network with the Humana HMOx Exchange product.


Please bring your current insurance card with you to every visit.


Self-Pay Program

We also welcome self-pay patients. Fees vary depending on complexity of the visit.  We generate a bill equal to what we would bill any insurance company and discount that by 30% for patients who pay on the day of service.  Please note: the 30% discount applies only to day of service payments.  It does not apply to patient responsibilities after that day that arise from insurance billing problems, deductibles, etc. 

For more complete information about Self-Pay patients, please visit our Self-Pay page.


Office Policies

After Hours Policy

Please make every effort to contact us during regular clinic hours with questions. For non-urgent issues, please use your patient portal access to send messages to our team. We usually respond to portal messages within 72 hours. Important: Do not leave messages with urgent symptoms in the portal expecting an immediate response. The portal is for non-urgent communications.

For established patients with urgent issues that cannot wait until we reopen, our phone message system includes an option to be transferred to the “Provider on Call”. You will likely be asked to leave a message so that the provider can hear the issue, access your records and therefore be ready to help you when they return the call. Calls should be returned within an hour.

We do not prescribe controlled substances (e.g. narcotics, stimulants, sedatives) as the result of an after-hours call. These prescriptions require a visit with one of our providers. We also typically do not prescribe antibiotics without office visits, especially for respiratory symptoms as an exam is needed to determine the severity of such an infection.

**For medical emergencies patients should dial 911. **

No-Show & Late Policy

We work hard to run on time and do not double-book appointments so we take our no-show and late arrival policy seriously. Missed appointments and late arrivals cause time when a provider could not see another patient. It is also highly likely that another patient was previously told that they could not be seen at that time. Therefore, out of respect for all of our patients and the value of our time, we ask patients to agree to the following:

  • Missed appointments will be assessed a $50 no-show fee.
  • Arrival more than 10 minutes after the time of your appointment will be treated as a no-show and assessed the $50 fee unless circumstances allow us to work a patient back into the schedule that day.
  • Repeated missed appointments or late arrivals will cause us to ask a patient to establish care at another practice.
  • We understand that mistakes happen and circumstances beyond a patient’s control occur. Therefore, established patients who do not have a history of missing appointments or arriving late will generally benefit from a one-time waiving of the $50 no-show fee.
  • We remind all of our patients that they signed an acknowledgement of these policies when they established care with us.

Controlled Substance Policy

The following is now Ponce Primary Care’s policy for the following categories of medications:

  1. Opioid prescriptions for pain: Ponce Primary Care recognizes the value of these pain medications for the treatment of short-term pain from a specific cause (e.g. a broken bone or surgical wound). When appropriate, our providers will prescribe a limited supply of opioids for such treatment. However, we will no longer prescribe opioids for regular use for chronic (long-term) pain. There are medical situations in which this use is appropriate, but this should be managed by a pain specialist so we will when appropriate refer for specialist evaluation.
  2. Stimulants for ADD/ADHD treatment: We will continue to prescribe appropriately dosed stimulants for the treatment of diagnosed ADD/ADHD. Patients receiving these medications will need to have an appointment with one of our providers every 3 months. We now offer virtual (i.e. telemedicine) visits which are can be appropriate for these visits. However, one in-office visit each year is required in order to assess for unintended effects of chronic stimulant use (e.g. hypertension). Patients who have not previously been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD will require a specialist consultation to establish the diagnosis prior to starting a stimulant medication.
  3. Benzodiazepines (e.g. Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin etc.): While this class of anti-anxiety medications is appropriate for infrequent treatment of acute anxiety, the risk of chronic use is significant and outweighs the benefits in the vast majority of situations. Therefore, Ponce Primary Care will not prescribe benzodiazepines for daily or frequent use. Prescriptions for limited numbers of benzodiazepines may be provided at the discretion of your provider, but patients should assume that if they are needing this class of medication more than 1-2 times per week, a discussion will be initiated regarding better ways to treat/manage anxiety. Many patients also use benzodiazepines as a sleep aid. Ponce Primary Care providers will not prescribe this class of medication as a sleep aid except in unusual circumstances for short-term use.
  4. Sedative hypnotics for sleep (e.g. Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata). The medical evidence supports the use of these medications in appropriate circumstances for short-term sleep disturbance. In most cases, long-term regular use is not supported by the evidence and risks of adverse outcomes is significant. We will continue to emphasize non-medication approaches to improved sleep and limit the use of these prescriptions.

Please understand that these policies have been established to ensure the safety of our patients and are supported by current medical evidence. If you have questions regarding your current medication regimen and how it is affected by these policies, please make an appointment to discuss with your medical provider.

Patient Behavior & Communication Expectation

Patients should expect to be treated with respect by our team. In return, we expect patients to treat us respectfully. Threats to health certainly raise anxiety and occasionally angry emotions, but we cannot tolerate behavior that is in any way threatening or abusive. If a patient has a concern, we ask them to ask our staff to communicate the concern with either Dr. Kristina Lemene or Dr. Chad Costley and allow a 24 hour “cooling off” period before expecting to discuss the issue. Obviously, if the issue involves an immediate threat to one’s health, we will engage on it immediately, but in our experience waiting 24 hours makes respectful interaction and problem resolution more likely.

Form Completion

Short forms can be completed without an additional fee at the time of a visit in our office. Completion of forms at other times can be completed but require a standard fee of $25. We may ask for an additional fee in certain circumstances (e.g. Peace Corps, Foreign Service and Adoption forms which can be quite time-consuming). We also charge a $35 fee for printed copies of medical records. There is no charge for sending electronic copies of medical records to another practice.

Privacy Policy

At Ponce Primary Care, your privacy is our priority. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect your contact information when you visit our website or interact with our services.

Information We Collect

When you provide your contact information through our website (e.g., name, email address, phone number, etc.), we use it solely for the purposes of:

  • Responding to your inquiries.

  • Providing requested information or services.

  • Sending updates or communications, if explicitly requested.

No Sharing of Your Information:

We respect your privacy. Under no circumstances will we sell, rent, or share your contact information with third parties for marketing or any other purpose except where required by law. SMS opt-in or phone numbers for the purpose of SMS are not shared with any third parties or affiliate companies for marketing purposes

Data Security:

We implement industry-standard measures to protect your contact information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Request access to the contact information we have collected.

  • Request corrections or updates to your information.

  • Request that we delete your contact information from our systems

Terms and Conditions for SMS

1. Introduction
Welcome to Ponce Primary Care. By accessing or using our services, including receiving SMS communications, you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not engage with our services.
2. Consent for SMS Communication
By providing your consent to receive SMS communications, you acknowledge and agree to receive text messages from Ponce Primary Care at the phone number you provide. Information obtained as part of the SMS consent process will not be shared with third parties.
3. Types of SMS Communications
If you have consented to receive text messages, you may receive SMS communications related to the following:

  • Customers and Guests: Updates regarding your orders, deliveries, or other relevant information.

  • Job Applicants: Information about your application status, onboarding materials, or other employment-related updates.

4. Standard Messaging Disclosures

  • Message and data rates may apply. Standard messaging rates will be charged by your mobile service provider.

  • You can opt-out of receiving SMS messages at any time by texting "STOP" to the number from which you received the message.

  • Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service can be found at https://www.ponceprimarycare.com/policies.

  • The messaging frequency may vary.

  • Text “HELP” for assistance.

5. Privacy
We respect your privacy and will only use the information you provide to communicate with you via SMS as outlined above. Your personal data will not be shared with third parties unless required by law or as necessary to deliver the requested service.
6. Modifications
We reserve the right to update or modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. By continuing to engage with our services, you agree to be bound by any changes to these terms.


Portal Usage

As a patient at Ponce Primary Care, we ask that you utilize our Patient Portal.  When used appropriately, the Portal is a great tool for:

  • Communicating with our clinical staff about non-urgent issues

  • Reviewing test results

  • Paying outstanding balances

  • Reviewing problem lists, allergies etc.

  • Updating insurance information

  • Sending questions re: billing, appointment scheduling, prior authorizations or other non-urgent administrative issues.

For optimal medical care and overall practice experience between provider, patient, and administrative staff, we ask patients to review and understand and adhere to our Portal Usage Policies.


Urgent Issues

We attempt to maintain daily calendar openings for unanticipated sick care needs, such as acute illnesses that require timely attention. However, if you are experiencing any life threatening symptoms, or if it is outside of our operating hours and you are in need of immediate medical attention, you should visit the appropriate emergency room.

In the event of an emergency, please dial 911.