Patient Terms and Conditions

These terms apply when you request, book or receive services from Neff Functional Medicine (“the Clinic”, “we”, “us” or “our”). Please read them before booking an appointment.

By booking an appointment, confirming that you wish to proceed, or accepting these terms electronically, you agree to these terms. If another person is responsible for paying your account, both you and that person must agree to the payment provisions below.

1. Our services

Neff Functional Medicine provides medical consultations and related services in functional, integrative and lifestyle medicine, including integrative cancer care.

Our services may include reviewing medical records, consultations, clinical assessment, arranging or interpreting investigations, preparing reports or treatment plans, prescriptions, referrals and follow-up care.

Functional and integrative medicine does not replace emergency care. If you are seriously unwell or believe you may have a medical emergency, call 111 or attend the nearest emergency department.

Unless separately agreed, Neff Functional Medicine does not act as your general practice and does not provide continuous or after-hours medical care.

2. Fees

Our current fees are published on our website or otherwise advised before the relevant service is provided. Unless clearly stated otherwise, prices quoted to New Zealand patients include GST.

You are responsible for:

• consultation and follow-up fees;
• fees for agreed work undertaken outside a consultation, including the review or interpretation of results, preparation of reports and other clinical administration;
• laboratory, imaging, pharmacy, supplement and treatment costs charged by external providers; and
• any other fee that we explain to you and you agree to before the service is provided.

External providers set and charge their own fees. Unless we expressly agree otherwise, those charges are separate from our fees.

3. Payment

Payment is due by the date shown on your invoice. If no payment date is shown, payment is due within seven calendar days of the invoice date.

Please contact us promptly if you believe an invoice is incorrect or if you are unable to pay it by the due date. We would prefer to discuss a genuine difficulty early and may, at our discretion, agree to a payment arrangement. A payment arrangement is valid only when we confirm it in writing.

You must not withhold payment because you are awaiting reimbursement from an insurer or another person.

4. Overdue accounts

If an account is not paid by its due date, we may:

• send payment reminders and contact you to discuss the account;
• suspend non-urgent services, reports, prescriptions or further appointments where it is clinically and ethically appropriate to do so;
• require payment in advance for future services; and
• after giving you a final written notice, refer the overdue account to EC Credit Control (NZ) Limited or another debt-recovery or legal service.

We will not knowingly refer a genuinely disputed account for collection while we are assessing the dispute. You must tell us in writing why you dispute an account and identify the amount disputed as soon as possible.

5. Costs caused by non-payment

If your overdue account is referred for recovery, you agree to reimburse us for the reasonable costs we actually incur in recovering the overdue amount, to the extent permitted by law. These costs become part of the amount you owe us and may include:

1. Clinic debt-administration costs: up to $50 plus GST for the reasonable additional administrative work involved in preparing, documenting and referring your overdue account;
2. Debt-loading fees: the fee charged to us for loading your account with EC Credit Control, currently $50 plus GST for each debt loaded;
3. Collection commission: the commission charged to us by EC Credit Control on every dollar recovered or arranged for recovery, currently:
   • 25% plus GST on the first $10,000 recovered;
   • 15% plus GST on the next $10,000 recovered; and
   • 5% plus GST on amounts recovered over $20,000;
4. Legal and enforcement costs: reasonable legal fees, court filing fees, service fees and enforcement expenses actually incurred, subject to any amount awarded or allowed by a court or tribunal; and
5. Other recovery expenses: any other reasonable third-party expense actually and necessarily incurred in recovering the overdue account.

EC Credit Control calculates its commission on the total payment received or arranged for recovery, including recovery costs added to the account. You therefore agree that we may add an amount sufficient to reimburse the commission and GST that we will incur on the recovery of both the original overdue balance and the recoverable costs. This calculation may be adjusted to reflect the amount actually recovered and the commission actually charged.

We will not recover more from you under this section than the reasonable costs we actually incur. If an estimated recovery charge exceeds the corresponding cost ultimately charged to us, your account will be adjusted or the difference refunded. Nothing in these terms requires you to pay a fee or cost that cannot lawfully be passed on to you.

6. Payments made after referral

Once an account has been referred for collection, you must make payment as instructed by the Clinic or the appointed collection agency.

EC Credit Control may charge us commission even if you pay the Clinic directly, enter a payment arrangement, settle the account or otherwise make payment after referral. A direct payment does not therefore remove your responsibility for recovery costs already incurred under section 5.

Payments may be applied first to lawful recovery costs and then to the oldest outstanding invoice, unless the law requires otherwise or we agree differently in writing.

7. Cancellation and non-attendance

Appointments are reserved specifically for you. Any cancellation or non-attendance fee will be explained during booking or in the booking confirmation and will reflect the notice given, the time reserved and the reasonable loss caused by the cancellation.

Please contact us as early as possible if you need to change an appointment. We may waive or reduce a cancellation fee where illness, emergency or other exceptional circumstances made reasonable notice impossible.

8. Your responsibilities

You agree to:

• provide information that is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge;
• tell us about relevant changes to your health, medications, allergies and treatment;
• attend agreed appointments or give reasonable notice if you cannot attend;
• ask questions if you do not understand the proposed options, costs or plan;
• keep your contact and billing details current; and
• pay agreed fees when due.

Clinical decisions remain personal to you. You may accept or decline any recommended investigation or treatment after discussing the likely benefits, limitations, alternatives and risks.

9. Results and clinical outcomes

Medicine cannot guarantee a particular diagnosis, response or outcome. We will exercise reasonable care and skill and work with you to develop an appropriate plan, but individual responses vary.

Information on our website is general information and is not a substitute for an individual medical assessment.

10. Privacy and debt recovery

We collect and handle personal and health information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and our Privacy Policy.

You authorise us, where reasonably necessary to administer or recover your account, to disclose the minimum information required to EC Credit Control, another debt-recovery provider, our accountant, payment provider, lawyer, court or tribunal. This may include your name, contact details, date of birth, invoice and payment information, the date and general description of the service, correspondence concerning the account, and evidence that you accepted these terms.

We will not provide clinical notes, diagnoses, investigation results or other detailed health information for debt recovery unless disclosure is legally required or genuinely necessary for resolving a dispute, and is permitted by law.

The collection agency may contact you and process your personal information for debt recovery, account administration and any lawful credit-reporting activity. Any credit reporting must comply with applicable law and the agency’s own obligations.

Please read our Privacy Policy for further information about how we collect, store, use and disclose your information and how you can request access or correction.

11. Communications

You agree that we may send appointment information, invoices, statements, payment reminders and other administrative communications to the email address, telephone number or postal address you provide.

Electronic communication carries some privacy and delivery risk. You are responsible for keeping your contact details current and for telling us if you do not wish to use a particular communication method.

12. Consumer rights

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, including rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Privacy Act 2020, the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, or other applicable New Zealand law.

If any part of these terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining terms continue to apply.

13. Concerns and complaints

Please contact us promptly if you have a question about an invoice, our services or these terms. We will try to address the matter directly and fairly.

You may also have the right to approach an external complaints body, including the Health and Disability Commissioner or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, depending on the nature of the concern.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The version accepted when you book or agree to a service will apply to that service. A material change will not be imposed retrospectively on an existing debt or completed service without your agreement.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by New Zealand law. The New Zealand courts and tribunals have jurisdiction over any dispute.

16. Contact details

Neff Functional Medicine
Operated by: Foundations For Vitality Ltd
NZBN: 9429034626924
Email: stephan@nefffunctionalmedicine.com
Postal address: 5B Thompsons Track, Aongatete, 3178