Attendance Policy

1) 24 hours notice is required to cancel or reschedule any appointment. The exception is emergencies, which will be decided on a case-by case basis using provider discretion.

2) If an appointment is canceled with less than 24 hours notice or is a no-show, you are responsible for paying a $70 fee. This includes insurance patients except WA Medicaid/ Apple Health patients, who cannot be charged a no show or late fee. Insurance companies outside of WA Medicaid/ Apple Health do not pay for no-shows or late cancellations, but allow us to charge for them. If you are unsure if this policy applies to you, you can ask us and we are happy to tell you.

3) If you are more than 10 minutes late to an appointment, you may be charged the $70 fee and/or lose the appointment for all patients except WA Medicaid/ Apple Health. The final decision will be up to the discretion of your provider.

4) Repeated late cancellations, no-shows, and/or tardiness means other patients are missing out on the opportunity to be seen because of how many patients there are relative to how many providers there are. For this reason, we reserve the right to terminate patients from our practice that repeatedly violate our attendance policies.

If our attendance policy is violated by a patient 3 (three) times in a year, the patient will be terminated from our practice. Patients may be terminated for more or fewer violations, up to the discretion of their provider and/or the practice.

We have 60 minute new patient appointments and 30 minute follow up appointments for primary care. These time frames include 15 minutes in a new patient appointment and 10 minutes in a follow up appointment for the primary care provider to do things like send prescriptions, create referrals, create orders, and finish their documentation. 

Please expect the maximum amount of face-to-face time with a primary care provider to be 45 minutes in a new patient appointment and 20 minutes in a follow up appointment. 

Why do we have these policies?

Dear Lavender Spectrum Health community,

At Lavender Spectrum Health, our mission is to provide care that is thoughtful, inclusive, and deeply human. We believe that health care should allow enough time for meaningful connection, thoughtful listening, and whole-person support — not rushed five-minute visits.

To make this possible, we’ve designed our model around longer appointments — typically 60 minutes for new patients and 30 minutes for follow-ups — while continuing to accept insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid.

This balance is rare in healthcare today. Most clinics rely on very short visits or concierge fees to stay viable. We’ve chosen a different path — but in order to sustain it, we must follow a few essential office and financial policies. These help us protect the time and financial stability that make this model possible.

Why our policies matter

1. Late cancellations and no-shows

Each visit time is reserved entirely for you. Because our visits are longer, a single cancellation without notice represents a much larger portion of a provider’s day than it would in a traditional clinic. If we don’t have enough time to offer that slot to another patient, we lose the resources that keep our model viable.
Our late-cancellation policy helps offset that loss just enough to allow us to continue offering the kind of unrushed care our patients value — and gives us a chance to fill openings so someone else waiting for care can be seen sooner.

2. Start times and the 10-minute cutoff

When a visit begins late, it shortens the time available for assessment, decision-making, and documentation. For complex, relationship-based care, that can mean not having adequate time to provide safe and comprehensive treatment — and it delays everyone else for the rest of the day.
Our start-time policy allows us to honor every patient’s time, maintain safety, and keep the day running smoothly for all.

3. Financial and communication policies

Clear and timely payment policies allow us to stay independent, to accept public insurance plans, and to pay staff equitably while offering longer visits and integrated support. Similarly, structured communication policies (such as portal messaging and appointment-based requests) help ensure that provider time is used effectively for clinical care.

We know that life happens — emergencies, illness, and unexpected challenges occur. When they do, we approach each situation with compassion and flexibility. These policies simply give us a fair, transparent framework to keep our care sustainable for everyone.

Thank you for partnering with us in building a healthcare model that prioritizes access, dignity, and sustainability. With your understanding and support, we can continue offering care that honors your time, your story, and your health.

With warmth and gratitude,
The Lavender Spectrum Health Team