Confidentiality & Privacy Policy

The law protects the relationship between a patient and a psychiatrist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission.

Exceptions include:

• Suspected child abuse or dependant adult or elder abuse, for which I am required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, I must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
• If a client intends to harm himself or herself, I will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, I will take further measures without their permission that are provided to me by law in order to ensure their safety.

Billing and Health Insurance

• Payment is due at the time of service by cash, check, or credit card.  Fees include brief phone calls and routine paperwork.
• We are providers for many insurance panels.  If we are a contracted provider under your insurance plan, we will accept the agreed upon fee from your insurance company.  We will submit an insurance claim for you.  If you have a deductible, a copayment, or coinsurance, you are responsible for paying those at each session.
• It is your responsibility to notify your psychiatrist of any change in insurance coverage.  You are ultimately responsible for any amount not paid by your insurance plan for any reason.
• If we are not a contracted provider under your insurance plan, we will provide you with a bill that you may submit to your insurance on your own.
• If an insurance company is paying for part of your bill, we are normally required to give a diagnosis in order to be paid.  Diagnoses are technical terms that describe the nature of your problems and something about whether they are short-term or long-term problems.  We may also be required to provide the insurance company with information about your treatment.
• By signing below, you authorize your insurance company to pay policy benefits directly to us.  If a check is mailed to you, you are responsible for paying that amount to us at the time of your next appointment.
• Finance charges of 1 ½ % per month may be added to any accounts which are 60 days or more delinquent.  There will be a $3.00 re-billing charge for each statement sent to you for uncollected amounts due after your insurance has paid.  You will be an additional 40% added to your bill for processing fees, if your account requires collection or attorney services. We reserve the right to release necessary information to a collection agency or attorney.
• There will be a $32.00 fee for any returned check.

Late Cancellation/No Show Policy

If you are unable to make your scheduled appointment, please cancel at least 24 hours in advance so that another patient can be scheduled during that time.  If 24 hours’ notice is not given, you will be charged the full session amount.  We are not able to bill your insurance for this amount. For Monday (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday) appointments, cancellation must be by Friday at 5 pm. The minimum amount is $100.00. We will need a credit card on file to bill for missed appointments.