Welcome to the office of Marina McBrearty.  Please find enclosed the Office Procedures and Privacy Policy.  Please take a moment to read and if you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask for clarification.

Scheduling:

I do not over book or over schedule patients, this insures that I see patients at there scheduled time, and patients can rest assure, that they will be see without delay.  This does require that all patients are on time for their treatments, and even a few minutes early.  If for some reason you are running late, you can be seen up until 10 minutes after your scheduled time, if later that this, you will have to reschedule.

Payment and Billing:

I accept Check or Cash, payable at time of service.  I do not directly bill insurance.  If you would like a Super bill (which is an official receipt for your insurance company) and you submit it directly to them for reimbursement.  Please ask me to complete one for you.  These are completed at the end of each month, and I will either hand them to you or I can mail them to you.

Cancellation policy:

There is a 24 hour cancellation policy in place.  I would greatly appreciated if this could be adhered to as, I am completely booked on a weekly basis, and I have to run a waiting list.  Canceling with 24 hours notice allows other patients to avail of the opened slot.

Cell phone use:

It would be great if cell phones could be turned off when entering the building.  If  one has to use a cell phone; if it could be done quietly it would be greatly appreciated.

Parking:

Appointments last 1 hr.  Street parking is readily available.  If you have to leave before your time is up, please tell me at the beginning of the treatment, so that I can accommodate you.

For Treatment:

Please make sure to eat before your treatment.  Do not do acupuncture on an empty stomach.  

  • Were loose fitting clothes to the treatment.
  • Plan to not exercise vigorously after treatment for at least 3-4 hrs
  • Just as a precaution do not shower for an hour after treatment, as some of the acupuncture points may remain slightly open after treatment, and fear of shower gel or soap may irritate the hole.
  • Expect to be very relaxed after the treatment, even a little spacey, this is normal.  Some people notice that they are very tired.  The analogy that I use for this is, like a computer shutting down and starting to reboot. This is what your body is doing, rebooting to rebalance.  If you can enjoy and stay in this state as long as it lasts, 3-4 hrs, it will be very beneficial to your treatment.

Contacting Me:

Please contact me if you have any questions, regarding your treatment or herbs even on the weekend.  I will return your call.

Please ring the office number 415-235-5107 and it will come to my cell phone.

If I do not pick up, leave a detailed message and I will return it as soon as I can.

Privacy Policies:

Our office is dedicated to providing service with respect to human dignity.  Protecting your privacy and your healthcare information is fundamental in the course of our relationship. This notice will remain in effect until it is replaced or amended by changes in the law. This notice provides an explanation as t how we may collect information about you and what we will do with the “Protected Information” (personal information, financial information and health information). This protected information is received from you, your healthcare provider or any other source in the normal course of health care operations. We are concerned about protecting the privacy of our patients and will use our best efforts to safeguard you protected information.

We gather personal information and health information in several ways:

  • Information we receive from you.
  • Information we receive from other healthcare providers.
  • Information we receive from third party payors.

This information is used for treatment, payment and other healthcare operations. You should be aware that during the course of our relationship with you we will likely use and disclose health information about you for the treatment, payment and healthcare operations. You may specifically authorize us to use protected health information for any purpose or to disclose your health information by submitting the authorization in writing. Such disclosure will be made to any personal representation you choose to have your protected health information.

Marketing - This office WILL NOT use your health information for marketing communication without your writing authorization. However, this office may send birthday cards, newsletters and appointment reminders, by telephone calls, or mail.

Disclosure - This office may use or disclose your Protected Health Information when required to by law.

Patient Rights -

  • Upon written request you have the right to access, review or receive copies of your healthcare records. There is a copy fee of $15 and allow 10 working days to process it. 
  • Upon written request you have the right to receive a list of items this office disclosed of your Protected Information.
  • You have the right to request that this to receive place additional restrictions on the disclosure of your Protected Health Information.
  • You have the right to request that we amend your Protected Health Information; the request must be in writing.
  • You have a right to receive all notices in writing.