Why am I being billed for a MyChart Medical Advice Message?
What counts as Medical Advice Messaging?
If your doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant needs to make a clinical assessment or medical decision, order a test or medication, or review your medical history in order to respond to your MyChart message – or if it takes more than a few minutes to respond – the provider may bill the message exchange to your insurance.
Examples of messages that may be billed to insurance:
- A new issue or symptom requiring medical assessment or referral
- Adjusting medications
- Chronic disease check-in
- Flare-up or change in chronic condition
- Request to complete a form
What doesn’t count as Medical Advice Messaging?
If your MyChart message does not require clinical evaluation or medical advice from a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant – or if it can be answered quickly and easily – it won’t cost you anything.
Examples of messages that won’t be billed to insurance:
- Request for a prescription refill
- Request to schedule an appointment
- Message that leads your provider to recommend a visit
- Follow-up care related to a recent surgery (within the past 90 days) – with exceptions for some surgeries
- Update for your doctor when no response is needed
- Message that take only a few minutes to answer