Welcome Letter & Practice Guide
We are thrilled to have you be a part of Altucare and partner with Dr. Agricola for your health and wellbeing journey!
Being proactive about your treatments and communication
is the best way to get the most out of your membership and to achieve better health.
How You Can Help
Please keep us informed of your progress. We want to help you and can only do so if we know how you are doing.
Talk to us when things first happen. Avoid waiting to reach out until a problem becomes more severe and urgent.
Please keep your payment information current. See payment section below.
Follow the communication guide outlined below.
Communication
For your convenience, we offer several ways to stay connected. This includes a patient portal (Elation Passport), instant messaging (Spruce), email, text, and phone.
All methods of communication can be used to stay connected but we rely mostly on messaging. Access to a computer or smartphone is necessary. Please know that some methods of communication are used for specific purposes (eg. test results and orders are communicated only using the patient portal).
Please carefully review the guide below.
Elation Passport - Patient Portal
Elation Passport is connected to your electronic medical record
Dr. Agricola will use it for clinical communication such as test results and lab/imaging orders.
Results and orders can be downloaded and printed.
Messages will be responded to within 1 business day, usually sooner.
Use it for non-urgent messages/issues.
Use it for requesting appointments, refills, and to ask questions regarding medications, treatments, etc.
Use to book telemedicine appointments
You may attach files and pictures to new messages (cannot attach to existing message threads).
Download Elation Passport app onto iPhone or log in via computer (hopefully an Android app will be available someday)
Do not use for emergencies including chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, slurring speech. If you experience any of these things, or believe you are having an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Spruce - Secure Messaging
Spruce is a convenient bonus way to communicate that offers a text message-like feel.
Elation Passport remains the main platform for clinical communication such as test results and lab/imaging orders..
Use for non-urgent communication with the office and doctor.
Good to use for quick messages and updates.
Messages will be responded to within 1 business day, usually sooner.
You can attach files, pictures, and videos to messages.
Download Spruce app onto iPhone, Android or computer. Initial setup must be done on a mobile device
Do not use for emergencies.
Email
Patient emails may be sent to healthy@altucare.sprucecare.com
General office inquiries may be sent to info@altucare.com
Phone
Our office number is 845-510-1070
Calls will go directly to voicemail. Messages are checked routinely during the business day.
For Urgent Matters, please call and leave a voicemail as this is a way to alert the office of a more urgent or time sensitive need.
Text
We accept SMS text messages to the office phone number (845–510-1870), but please know this method of communication is not secure and is used at your own risk.
Fax
Our fax number is 845-510-1872
Newsletters
Periodic Member Newsletters are sent out that will highlight important practice information and updates.
Newsletters are sent via email using the MailChimp platform and will appear to come from the email address healthy@altucare.com. Save this email address to avoid having the newsletters go to your spam folder.
(Note, patient emails to Dr. Agricola should still be sent to healthy@altucare.sprucecare.com as noted above)
Refill Requests
Please plan accordingly. Submit regular refill requests at least 2 business days in advance. For controlled medications, submit a request at least 5 business days in advance.
Preferred communication for refills is the Patient Portal.
Not all refill requests will be approved without adequate follow up.
Appointments
We offer a hybrid of Telemedicine and In-Person visits.
Telemedicine may be Video or Phone
You may self-schedule telemedicine visits on the Booking Site or through Elation Passport.
Booking Site: https://app.elationemr.com/book/altucare
Dr. Agricola’s telemedicine virtual waiting room link: https://doxy.me/dragricola
In-Person appointment are scheduled directly with the office/Dr. Agricola.
Requests can be made using Elation Passport, Spruce, email (healthy@altucare.sprucecare.com), text, or voicemail.
All appointments must be scheduled in advance. We do not accept walk-ins.
Same or next day consultations are often available for acute issues.
Routine physicals and follow-up appointments are typically scheduled several weeks in advance. Please plan accordingly.
Appointment Cancellations
Please message us at least 24 hours in advance to cancel your appointment.
Our automated system sends a few rounds of reminders before your appointment. You may cancel your appointment in response to these reminders.
If you would like to opt-out of appointment reminders, please let us know.
There is a $50 fee for No-Show appointments.
Missed Appointments
Your health is very important to us, so we encourage you to keep all scheduled appointments. We understand that unexpected things come up. If you cannot make an appointment we expect you to notify us as soon as possible.
Patients who miss multiple appointments may be considered for termination from the practice.
There is a $50 fee for No-Show appointments..
Arrive on time to your appointment
Your time is respected. We will do our best to see you at the time we promise and give you the time you need to address your concerns. In order to do this for all of our clients, we request that you arrive a little early for your appointment. If there is a possibility you may be late, inform us as soon as possible
Emergency Room and Urgent Care
Emergencies - CALL 911 - Then call us as soon as you reasonably can. We will work collaboratively with the ER and hospital.
Urgent medical issues - 845-510-1870 - Call and leave a voicemail for urgent matters especially during non-office hours.
Elation Passport and Spruce messages at night will not be addressed until the next business day.
Office Hours
General accessibility is Monday through Friday 9 AM - 5 PM for messages and calls.
In-Person and Telemedicine visits are by appointment only.
Appointment availability will vary based on Dr. Agricola’s schedule. Generally there are three days of In-Person appointments and two days of Telemedicine Care. Dr. Agricola will work with you directly to ensure you receive appropriate personalized clinical care to meet your needs..
Dr. Agricola is out of the office on Thursdays but remains available for telemedicine communication.
Occasionally, Dr. Agricola will be out of town for personal matters or vacation. Virtual care will remain available during these times with Dr. Agricola or an on-call doctor colleague.
Locations
The primary office location and mailing address is:
347 Fullerton Ave.
Suite 1
Newburgh, NY 12550
Our satellite office location is:
2821 US Route 209
Kingston, NY 12401
*Parking and entrance to office is in REAR of building*
Payments
No fees are charged until you establish care with Dr. Agricola.
The first fee is an enrollment fee charged after the first visit.
The next fee occurs one month after the enrollment fee. It represents the first monthly membership fee.
Membership is billed in arrears, meaning the charge is for the one month of membership service preceding the charge.
Most membership plans have different membership fees for different age tiers. Your monthly fee will be adjusted automatically once your age enters a different tier.
Please keep your payment information current.
Your monthly invoice is sent by email. It includes a link to update your payment source directly into the system as needed.
If you have questions about updating your information, please contact us.
Non-Payment
Non-payment of membership may lead to dismissal from the practice. Warning notices are sent out prior to canceling a membership for non-payment.
Health Insurance
We do not accept payment from insurance companies. Our office operates through direct payments from patients.
We are out of network with all insurance companies including Medicare and Medicaid.
We do recommend that patients participate in a health insurance, healthshare, or other plan to assist with unexpected high-cost healthcare expenses (eg. hospitalization, surgery, etc).
Your health insurance can typically be used to help pay for labs, medications, imaging tests, and specialist consults.
Most insurance plans par well with a DPC membership.
The notable exception is an HMO plan. HMO plans require an in-network doctor for referrals, authorizations, and some other healthcare services.
If you have an HMO plan, we recommend that you change to a non-HMO plan if at all possible.
If it is not possible, please discuss directly with Dr. Agricola.
We cannot provide superbills for visits.
If needed, we can provide a confirmation of your primary care membership as a medical service. At this time, we do not charge a fee for processing such documentation requests.
Prior Authorizations
Some medications and imaging tests may require prior authorization be obtained from your insurance company.
It is your responsibility to inform us if prior authorization is required by your insurance company.
Sometimes, the pharmacy or imaging facility will inform you or us that authorization is needed.
Our office can process most prior authorization requests.
Each request may take up to a week, occasionally longer.
At this time, we do not charge a fee for processing insurance prior authorization requests.
Membership Cancellation
You may send a message to request cancellation at any time. There is no penalty to cancel your membership.
Your cancellation will be processed within 1-2 business days after receiving the request and you will receive an email confirmation once processed.
Depending on the timing of the cancellation request and your monthly payment, there may be one monthly fee charged after cancellation request since membership is billed in arrears as noted above under Payments.
After a cancellation is processed:
Future appointments will be canceled.
Refills beyond 30 days will be canceled.
We will not order tests or make referrals.
If you would like to enroll again in the future, you will be subject to the current practice Re-enrollment Fee at that time (approximately $400+). Re-enrollment will be subject to availability and the doctor’s discretion.
Membership Termination
The doctor reserves the right to terminate a patient’s membership if there are breaches of practice expectations, concerns for practice safety or abuse, or breakdown of the therapeutic relationship.