Office Policies & FAQs
Office Policies
- C.I.M. strives for professionalism, adaptability, and affordability in the experiences we create. However a part of that includes minimal staff.
- At this time there is no front office staff and it will be an exception for a phone call to be answered. Please plan to leave a detailed voicemail and every effort will be made to return your call within 24-48 hours.
- C.I.M. attempts to be as paperless as possible.
- Our fully integrated EMR is one of our efforts in that regard, thus we strive facilitate your unencumbered use of this, including online filing of New Patient paperwork.
- Additionally, you will be required to enter credit or debit card information into the secure and HIPAA-compliant EMR software.
- This is a requirement of C.I.M. and you will not be scheduled without this.
- You will never be charged without prior notice.
- You may remove or change your credit card information at any time, however a new card will be needed to schedule again in the future.
- C.I.M. does not have front staff to greet you. Please make yourself respectably at home in the lobby and Dr. McClanahan will come to get you.
- Please show up for appointments ~5 minutes early (30-45 minutes if filling out forms).Dr. McClanahan will not see you until the New Patient Paperwork is completed.
- You will be charged half price for the minutes used while waiting for paperwork.
- Please bring the following to your first appointment:
- Completed New Patient Paperwork (if not done online)
- As many prior health records as possible including:
- Lab Results
- Imaging Study Reports (only bring CD’s if no report is available)
- Consultant Reports/Opinions
- A FULL list of meds, dosages, reason for taking them, & who is prescribing them.
- A FULL list of supplements, dosages, and reason for taking them.
- These are of no use to anyone. However accidents and emergencies happen and at C.I.M. we are reasonable human beings. Please communicate with us in some way if you are going to be late, miss the appointment, need to reschedule, etc, and we can often work something out.
- That said, if a New Patient Consult is missed or cancelled < 24hrs, there will be a non-negotiable $150 charge billed directly to the credit card on file to allow for further chances to book. Some of this charge, however, may be considered a “deposit” for future appointments. The second time is $250. If still desiring a third opportunity, C.I.M. requires prepayment of the full cost of a 75 minute slot to allow for further chances.
- Cancellations:
- Everyone gets one chance to miss a follow-up appointment – we understand, life happens. Thereafter, half-price for the time allotted will be charged if less than 2 day’s notice is given for a cancelled appt.
- After the second cancellation of less than 48 hours, full charge for the time allotted will be charged to the credit card on file and future appointments will need to be prepaid.
- No-Shows:
- Again, everyone can miss one follow-up without consequence. However, a subsequent no-show, no-call situation is treated differently and is billed at the full cost of the time allotted.
- This may continue as long as you are still interested in following-up at C.I.M., however at Dr. McClanahan’s discretion termination may be warranted.
- Charges for the above are based on the length of the scheduled appointment, since all charges for clinical visits at C.I.M. are based on time – see Financials page for more details.
- While the bulk of Dr. McClanahan’s work does not rely on further testing, occasionally this will be warranted.
- Dr. McClanahan will attempt to send you to an in-network lab, but this should be researched ahead of time. LabCorp and Quest accept most major insurances, as to the outpatient labs of local hospitals.
- Lab and Imaging Results ordered by Dr. McClanahan will be reviewed in-person at a scheduled follow-up (unless emergent contact is warranted based on the result).
- Dr. McClanahan makes NO refills of medications he has not written.
- At C.I.M, the aim is to reduce dependence on or need for prescriptions. However, in the event that he prescribes something, Dr. McClanahan will require follow-up to assess efficacy, side-effects, etc. Refills of these meds will be made at the time of the follow-up and not before or without a scheduled appointment.
- C.I.M. is not equipped for electronic prescribing. You will have a hand-written Rx, if indicated.
- Please be aware of your refill status and plan for this accordingly.
- Dr. McClanahan’s practice is not designed for primary care, urgent/emergency care, or inpatient management.
- It is STRONGLY recommended the you have a primary care provider PRIOR to coming to C.I.M.
- Please contact your PCP or dial 911 if your situation warrants acute attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can ask your payer to provide you with answers to the following questions:
- What is my out-of-network deductible?
- Is my out-of-network deductible separate from my in-network deductible?
- What is my coinsurance?
- What is the maximum amount of out-of-pocket expenses I will be required to pay annually?
As described above, all clinical charges at C.I.M. are based on time, rounded to the nearest 5 minutes, so the short answer is that if you went over 45 minutes, this would have been rounded up to the 50 minute charge.
The long answer is more involved. It is actually rare for a scheduled face-to-face time of an appointment to take exactly the time allotted. When the visit begins, a timer is started, and when the visit ends, it is stopped – and whether it is longer or shorter than anticipated, the charge will reflect that. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that both parties feel they have the space necessary to achieve the best efficacy – especially if the doctor determines the case deserves more time (part of Dr. McClanahan’s leaving the system in the first place). At C.I.M. we have no intention to irritate you or quibble over a few seconds or minutes here and there – we are happy to have a discussion.
If you are unable to submit your paperwork online, please contact us at 423-352-7489 at least one week before your scheduled appointment. We can either email you a printable file or mail you a packet to bring in.
Dr. McClanahan spent a good deal of time researching the rates of the regional payers, including Medicare allowable charges, and came up with rates that are below what local clinics typically charge. For example, if the various codes payed by a major local insurer were averaged between all the various visit codes, the rate would be ~$390/hour. Remarkably, that nagging cough you saw the doctor for, which you were told was a virus and took 15 minutes or less, was billed at a rate of $540/hr. Dr. McClanahan’s tiered approach is added complexity for him, but hopefully greater affordability for you.
In the long run, a more affordable solution for many will be the Classes and Workshops that are mentioned, each of which will recycle a number of times throughout the year.
Not at this time. However there are a few groups who will help with this and not charge the laughable rates of a credit card. Please look at this website for more information:
I 100% agree and was shocked to learn the myriad ways I can be fined or go to jail simply for giving someone what they are asking and paying for. This, however, is where medicine is different than some other trade, as such it’s been legislated that a physician must declare if he/she is going to participate in Medicare or not – a decision which transcends all practice settings (e.g. C.I.M. vs urgent care) and is a binding decision for 2 full years. Anyway, I am now boring myself into a stupor, so if you are not asleep, feel free to read more here.
I hope one day to remedy this situation, but there are numerous x-factors and unknowns, so for now I would like to keep my medical license and thus, am not able to see medicare patients. Please join me in a class if this applies to you!
It depends on your benefits, however this is considered a legitimate medical procedure by nearly all major payers. Thus, if you have out-of-network benefits that help with C.I.M. at all, there is a good chance this will be a covered service.
No – prolotherapy is basically never covered by any insurance. It is, however, eligible for applying HSA and FSA funds.
No. We are not equipped to meet the stringent requirements to prescribe opioids or related controlled substances. Our aim is to address pain or other symptoms so thoroughly that medications like these are no longer needed. In the short term, however, they often are, which is why Dr. McClanahan requires an active relationship with a prescribing physician (PCP, Pain Mgmt, etc) be in place. Buprenorphine is a remarkable medication, and if you have opioid dependence and an interest in reducing or stopping opioids, this may be highly effective, if managed appropriately. Let Dr. McClanahan know this and he will direct you accordingly.
No. This is currently not legal in any way in the state of Tennessee, or anywhere on a federal level. Cannabidiol (CBD) is legal and widely accessible now – perhaps you should research it and give it a try. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychotropic substance in marijuana – this is not legal. I have opinions on this matter at large that I am happy to share in person, but I have no “connections”, access to, dispensing capacity (CBD or THC), or professional interest in prescribing this at this time and am plenty effective at treating chronic pain otherwise.