After hour or on-call services are available. Please be respectful of personal and professional boundaries. Providers and staff do not work 24/7. They need personal time with their families and the opportunity to rest or recharge between workdays to better serve our community.

Appropriate communication methods (main phone line or fax line) during normal office hours are a must.

The on-call line, 828-772-6888, is for urgent matters only that occur outside of normal hours of operation. Voicemails to be screened require that patients leave a detailed message with your name and callback number. Vague or inaudible messages to the on-call line will not be returned. Text messages to this number are also permitted so long as the messages contain adequate information for the on-call team member to process.

DO NOT CONTACT THE PROVIDERS OR STAFF AT HOME OR ON THEIR PERSONAL MOBILE DEVICE OR VIA SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ISSUES THAT PERTAIN TO A HEALTH OR MEDICAL CONCERN.

The on-call service is not to be utilized as a refill request line, appointment line, or to discuss lab results or visit experiences. When calling the on-call line, caller ID that appears as "PRIVATE" may go unanswered and vague messages, such as "call me," will not be returned. On-call voicemail or text messages are screened prior to responding.

The on-call line is for URGENT MATTERS THAT ARISE OUTSIDE OF NORMAL OFFICE HOURS ONLY: For emergencies, please report to your local emergency department or call 9-1-1.

Depending on the context of the communication, provider time, resource utilization or nature of the concern warranting utilization of the on-call service, AFH may generate a billable encounter, possibly resulting in fees with the patient/patient's insurance being filed accordingly. Any expenses generated and not covered by the patient's insurance are the financial responsibility of the patient.

Calls received on the on-call line during normal office hours will be deleted automatically.