Primary Care

After-hours details

If you wish to use us as your primary care physician, here is what you can expect.

• On evenings, nights and weekends, telephone Doctor Rienstra at home (385-0151) if you have an urgent need. Leave a message on the telephone. If he does not return your call promptly, he is not available, and you need to take other action as appropriate. If he is available, he will see you at the office, ask you to go to the emergency department, give advice over the telephone, or make a housecall.
• If you want 24/7 service 100% of the time, we suggest that you have a "back up physician" who's available 24 hours a day. Otherwise, you will need to be prepared to use the emergency room as required.
• We can help you with referrals, special needs, and most medical problems.
• We can help with home care or do housecalls.
• If you are insured by Medicare, you may wish to have a Medicare physician who can help with some of your routine care, lab and x-ray testing. In many cases this can save you money. Sometimes, due to Medicare deductibles and co-pays, it may not.

In summary

• We do not guarantee 24 hour, 7 day a week availability. Instead, expect us to be available about 90% of the time.
• We do not provide service without immediate payment, except for home and weekend services, for which we require payment within three days.
• We do not provide hospital service except in a consulting capacity. We provide home care, nursing home care, and special services only by prior agreement.

1/24/05