Kern Family Health Care | Family Health | Fall 2021

We post current health care news and tips to help you and your family stay healthy. You can also get important member updates and see what Kern Family Health Care is doing in your community. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/_KFHC Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/KernFamilyHealthCare Watch the Kern Family Health Care channel on YouTube HEALTH FAMILY HEALTH is published as a community service for the members, friends and patrons of Kern Family Health Care, 2900 Buck Owens Blvd., Bakersfield, CA 93308, telephone 800-391-2000. Information in FAMILY HEALTH comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider. Models may be used in photos and illustrations. Editorial Board Chief Executive Officer Douglas A. Hayward Chief Medical Officer Martha Tasinga, MD Chief Operating Officer Alan Avery Chief Health Services Officer Deborah Murr, RN Director of Marketing and Public Relations Louis Iturriria Director of Health Education, Cultural & Linguistic Services Isabel S i lva 2021 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Type of medical appointment Appointment wait times Routine doctor and follow-ups 10 business days* Specialists 15 business days* Mental health 10 business days* Urgent appointments for services that do not require prior authorization Within 48 hours* Urgent appointments for services that require prior authorization Within 96 hours* Ancillary services such as x-rays, lab tests and physical therapy 15 business days* Telephone wait times during normal business hours 10 minutes Triage: 24/7 services No more than 30 minutes Initial prenatal care 10 business days *Doctors can be flexible in making appointments if a longer waiting time is not harmful to the member’s health. It must be noted in the member’s record that a longer waiting time will not be harmful to the member. KFHC has standards so that you receive timely access to care. The amounts of time you should have to wait when scheduling your appointments with your doctor, specialists and other health professionals are listed below. If you have to wait longer than these appropriate wait times when scheduling an appointment, please give us a call at 661-632-1590 (Bakersfield) or 800- 391-2000 (outside of Bakersfield) and we will help you schedule a more timely appointment. Timely access to care We speak your language! We have language services you may use at no cost. You can request: 1. Interpreting for American Sign Language (ASL), Spanish and many more languages. 2. Translation services from English to your language. 3. Other formats like large print, braille and more. It’s best to use a professional interpreter for all your health visits. You should not use friends and family or children to be interpreters for you. GIVE US A CALL at 800-391-2000 (TTY: 711 ). You have the right to no-cost interpreting services. You can request these services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.