We are committed to protecting your health information in compliance with the law. Please take a look further into our Notice of Privacy Practices here. To schedule a visit with a medical provider, please call Central Appointments at 251-690-8889.
Primary Care
Care Team
As your Medical Home we offer you a care team dedicated to your health. Your team may include your provider (doctor, nurse practitioner, dentist, etc.), nurse, nutritionist, counselor and case manager. Everyone that can help provide you great health care is a team member, including you.
Expanded Hours
Your health care team wants to be available when you need us. Our Family Health Center in downtown Mobile is open Monday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. To make an appointment at any of our Family Health clinics, please call 251.690.8889.
After Hours and Weekends
A nurse is always on call to answer your questions. Please call 251.690.8158 if you need to speak with a nurse after hours.
Online Patient Portal
Ask a health-related question, request prescription refills and appointments online via our patient portal. Just register at the front desk for your password and click here to login. There’s a tutorial in the upper right hand corner of the page after you sign in that will show you how to use the portal. This is not an emergency service; so always call 911 if you have a true emergency.
Patient Responsibilities
To get the most out of every visit, don’t forget to provide us a complete health history and update it when you have changes. Bring a list of your current medications to each visit, or bring your medications with you.
Self-Management
Work with the care team on your goals for health self-management activities. After all, this is your team and we want to help you succeed!
Choosing Your Provider
Each clinic or the appointment line can also help you select a clinician. We will always respect your right to choose your own provider within your medical home, change to another provider within the medical home, seek a second opinion or seek specialty care.
Referral Process
In the event you need a referral to another provider, we’ll set an appointment up for you with one of our care partners, or work with your own selected clinician of choice. Referrals are tracked using our electronic health record.
*When a patient has any concerns about his/her care, confidentiality, or safety at Family Health, he or she is encouraged to contact our management at 251.690.8104. If the concerns in question cannot be resolved at this level, the patient is encouraged to contact The Joint Commission at 800.994.6610.
Patients wanting an appointment at any Family Health site should call the Central Appointments line at 251.690.8889 to request an appointment. Friendly staff will be ready to make you an appointment at any of our sites in Mobile County.
Medical Records Department:
All medical record requests must be accompanied by a completed and signed Patient Authorization and sent to the attention of the MEDICAL RECORDS DEPARTMENT by mail or fax.
All incoming medical records from other providers must be directed to the MEDICAL RECORDS DEPARTMENT by mail or fax.
By fax:
By mail:
Attn: Medical Records Department
Mobile County Health Department
251 North Bayou Street
P.O. Box 2867
Mobile, Alabama 36652-2867
HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ASSISTANCE?
Please call the Medical Records Department at 251.690.8160.
Understanding Your Health Record and Health Information
Each time you visit a Family Health Center, a record of your care is made in an electronic medical record. This visit documentation usually includes your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment and a plan for future care or treatment. This documentation is referred to as your health or medical record. Your medical record serves many roles related to your overall health care. It is a legal document detailing the care you have received. It is a way for your health care team to communicate with one another on your behalf. It is a way to plan your care and treatment. It also serves as a record where you, or an insurance provider, can verify that billed services were actually provided. It can also be a tool for educating health professionals, medical research, public health officials responsible for protecting and improving community health. Finally, it can be a tool used by the health center to continually assess the customer experience so improvements can be made to care delivery that enhance the overall patient experience.
As an active partner in your healthcare, you have a right to view your medical records.
Patient Portal
Ask a health-related question, request prescription refills and appointments online via our patient portal. Just register at the front desk for your password and login and click here. This Web-based Patient Portal gives patients secure and convenient access to their health information. Patients can use the Patient Portal to view, download, and transmit their health information, and send secure messages to their provider. This is not an emergency service; so always call 911 if you have a true emergency.
Patient Rights and Responsibilities
As a patient of Family Health you have the responsibility to:
- Become involved in specific health care decisions.
- Work collaboratively with health care providers in developing and carrying out agreed-upon treatment plans.
- Follow the provider’s plan of care and to notify your provider of any changes in your medical condition.
- Disclose relevant information and clearly communicate wants and needs.
- Present on time for a scheduled appointment and notify the clinic 24 hours in advance to cancel an appointment.
- Provide accurate and updated information regarding eligibility for services including current home address, social security number, phone number, income verification and insurance coverage.
- Use Family Health’s internal complaint process to address concerns that may arise.
- Avoid knowingly the spread of disease.
- Recognize the reality of risks and limits of the science of medical care and the human fallibility of the health care professional.
- Be aware of a health care provider’s obligation to be reasonably efficient and equitable in providing care to other patients and the community.
- Show respect for other patients and health care workers.
- Abide by administrative and operational procedures of health plans, health care providers and government health benefit programs.
- Report wrongdoing and fraud to appropriate resources or legal authorities.
- Respect the financial constraints placed on Family Health by state, federal and local laws, grants and budgets.
As a patient of Family Health you have the right to:
- Receive information concerning health care plans affiliated with Family Health including provider networks, benefits and location of services and the right to choose a provider based on this information.
- Receive services with consideration of human dignity, unrestricted by consideration of age, sex, race, creed, social or economic status, handicap, personal attributes or the nature of the illness.
- Receive considerate and respectful care from providers who are experienced and trained to meet client’s medical needs.
- Know the professional experience and certification of the health care providers, accreditation status and other measures of quality.
- Participate in decisions about treatment and to accept or refuse treatment based on understanding of health care consequences.
- Receive appropriate, clinically approved methods to assess and manage pain when those methods are available, necessary and meet health needs.
- Be informed of any research that could affect care.
- Receive services with utmost consideration of privacy and have health information maintained in the strictest confidence.
- Access to affordable health care and information about Family Health operations.
- Influence the operation of Family Health by participating in patient surveys and through established consumer groups who represent communities served by the agency.
- Request and receive an explanation of the billing charges.
- Be seen within a reasonable time of your scheduled appointment and receive an explanation for an unreasonable delay in being seen as scheduled.
- Receive extended hours of medical coverage for emergency care from a network of experienced, on-call physicians providing services for each medical specialty offered at Family Health sites.
- Be informed and to consent in writing to health care procedures performed by Family Health provider staff.
- Be informed of advance directives, receive assistance with their formulation and have them documented and followed properly at Family Health.
- The patient (under HIPAA) has the right to request access to their record, request a copy of their medical record, request an amendment to incorrect information and request a restriction on use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI). The patient also has a right to be informed of the organization’s privacy practices.
- A fair and efficient process for resolving differences with Family Health and to be informed of the comment, concern, compliment procedures used by Family Health.
- A guardian, next of kin or legally authorized responsible person may exercise rights for the patient if the patient is unable to participate.
Immunization
Alabama’s School Immunization Law Section 16-30-4 states each student enrolled in daycare, Head Start and public or private schools have a valid Certificate of Immunization (COI) — previously known as “blue cards” — or a Religious Exemption Form on file at the facility they attend.
School Rules Chapter 420-6-1 (1) states the COI will be on a form approved by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), which is the one printed by ImmPRINT. All required vaccines must be recorded before the COI can be submitted to the schools.
All required or recommended vaccinations are free or low-cost based on eligibility.
What parents MUST bring when coming in for immunizations and/or to get a Certificate of Immunization (COI):
- Parent photo id
- Child’s Social Security number
- Child’s immunization/shot history
- Insurance card
Immunizations by appointment are available at various Family Health locations by calling 251.690.8889.
ADPH toll-free Immunization line: 800.469.4599
Patients who receive their vaccinations through Family Health will receive the up-to-date COI at no charge.
All non-Family Health patients will be charged an administration fee of $10 per patient to receive an up-to-date COI. If vaccines are not up-to-date, parents or guardians should follow-up with their primary care provider or schedule an appointment at one of the Family Health’s clinics by calling 251.690.8889.
Religious Exemptions
Religious Exemptions from vaccinations are required by the state for kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Those services moved to the Keeler Memorial Building (251 North Bayou Street, Room 226, in Mobile) on October 2, 2023.
Religious Exemptions will be available on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Call 251-690-8868 for additional information.
A Religious Exemption certificate can only be issued by a county health department. The parent or legal guardian must submit a written objection and receive education on the consequences of not immunizing their child. Parents and legal guardians interested in requesting a Religious Exemption must do so in person. They will be charged an administrative document fee of $30 per child to receive the Certificate of Religious Exemption.
For information on childhood vaccines, please visit https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/immunization or https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/why-vaccinate/vaccine-decision.html.
A Certificate of Medical Exemption from school-required immunizations must be obtained from a licensed physician.
