Telehealth
All about Telehealth
Thank you for using our online patient portal, which provides a convenient way to manage your health and stay in touch with your care team, such as refilling prescriptions, requesting appointments and giving your care team updates on your health.
Over the past few years, our patient portal has also become another way to seek medical advice, rather than coming in for an appointment. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of messages we receive. To account for the medical advice and expertise provided through our portal, we will begin billing for some of these medical advice responses that provide care or consultation that otherwise would have been done through a clinic or telemedicine appointment. Just like getting care in-person or on video, portal consultation via messages may result in cost sharing with your insurance. Messages that our staff can address without Dr Young’s input will be addressed without a portal consultation. If your concern can be addressed via a portal consultation, Dr. Young will do so within 3-5 business days. Of course, depending on the complexity and urgency of your concerns, you may prefer or decide to have your needs met in-person or by video visit, after consulting Dr Young. These options will continue to be available, as always.
This implementation is in accordance with the current practice at other institutes including UW Medicine and Virginia Mason Medical Center.
Starting September 1st, 2023, you will see a notification that medical advice messages may be billed to you and/or your insurance. If a patient portal message is billable, we will first bill your insurance provider, as we do for all other medical services.
Messages that will not be billed — You and/or your insurance will not be billed for the following types of online patient portal messages:
- Scheduling an appointment
- Requesting a referral
- Requesting a prescription refill
- Questions that lead to an appointment
- Questions related to a visit you had in the last seven days
- Questions about billing
- Messages that take less than five minutes of your provider’s time to answer
Messages initiated by your healthcare team. Messages that may be billed — While most patient portal messages will not be charged, replies that require medical expertise and more than five minutes of your provider’s time may be billed, as we do for other medical services. Types of messages that may be billed include:
- Requests for new medications
- Questions about new symptoms or problems
- Questions about news, journal articles and online publications
- Questions about treatment plan and medications prescribed by another physician or another
- health provider
- Changes to a chronic condition
- Requests to fill out medical forms
Medicare and most private insurance providers cover online patient portal messages after standard copays and deductibles are met. If you are not insured, self-pay rates may apply. (Please see below frequently asked billing questions and answers.)
We are honored and pleased to continue to provide new ways to access care and appreciate that our online patient portal has become a valued and convenient source of medical care for you, our patients.
Thank you for the privilege of being your health partner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What online patient portal messages will be billed
While most patient portal messages will remain free, replies that require medical expertise and more than five minutes of your provider’s time may be billed, as we do for other medical services. If a patient portal message is billable, we will first bill your insurance provider, as we do for all other medical services.
Messages that WILL NOT be billed
You will not be billed for the following types of online patient portal messages:
- Scheduling an appointment
- Request for new referrals
- Requesting a prescription refill
- Questions that lead to an appointment
- Questions related to a visit you had in the last seven days
- Questions about billing
- Messages that take less than five minutes of your clinician’s time to answer
- Messages initiated by your healthcare team
Messages that MAY be billed
Examples of types of messages that may be billed include:
- Requests for new medications
- Questions about new symptoms or problems
- Questions about news, journal articles and online publications
- Questions about treatment plan and medications prescribed by another physician or provider
- Changes to a chronic condition
- Requests to fill out medical forms
How online patient portal messages are billed
If a patient portal message is billable, we will first bill your insurance provider, as we do for other medical services. These messages can be viewed as a kind of virtual consultation, similar to an in-person appointment. If a patient portal message incurs a charge, it will be billed as we do for other medical services.
Cost of billed patient portal messages
Anticipated costs vary based on insurance coverage and are subject to change periodically:
- Medicare: $14-$52
- Medicaid: $7-$28
- Private Insurance: Most private insurance carriers cover this at little to no cost to patients. If covered, copays, co-insurance, and/or deductibles may apply.
- No Insurance or Not Covered by Insurance: $27-$98
Depending on your insurer, the costs may be covered at 100% or you may receive a bill which may represent a copay, coinsurance and/or deductible. Contact your insurer to learn your out-of-pocket cost for a medical advice message. If the insurer asks for a “CPT code”, the codes typically used are 99421, 99422 and 99423. If you do not have insurance or the service is not covered by insurance, you will receive a bill based on our self-pay rates.
Why are there different costs for online patient portal messages?
As with any in-person appointment or medical service, costs can vary depending on the amount and level of expertise required to ensure the best possible treatment and patient outcome, as well as each patient’s insurance coverage.
Will I be billed if Dr Young or her team sends me a patient message on a new topic (not a response to a message I sent)?
No, our patients will only be billed for medical advice messages that they initiate. If we send you a message asking for information or giving you an update on a topic you didn’t start, you won’t be billed.
Will I be billed for referral requests for expert consultants or surgeons that are related to an existing treatment plan?
Requests for referrals to expert consultants (e.g. Mohs surgeon, Plastic surgeon, Allergist etc.) that are related to an existing treatment plan, such as skin cancer treatment, are not considered “new” referral requests, and generally take less than 5 minutes and would not billed.
