| Office
Policies We know the decision to seek psychological services is an important one. We hope
the following information will answer some of the questions that you may have regarding
practical matters. Please feel free to contact our office if you have questions that are
not addressed here.
Confidentiality
All communication
between provider and client is held in strict confidence unless: (1) you authorize the
release of information with your signature, (2) there is reason to believe that you will
harm yourself or someone else, (3) there is suspicion of abuse and/or neglect of a minor
or an elder, or (4) we are ordered by a court to release information (for example, this may
occur if there is a child custody dispute). If you use insurance, a diagnosis (at least)
must be submitted to the insurance company. You have the right to receive treatment
without using your insurance, which affords you the most protection, but then the full
cost must be paid out of pocket.
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Appointment Policy
The length of an
appointment may vary based upon services provided. Most therapy sessions are scheduled for
45 to 50 minutes - this is known as a "clinical hour." Psychological testing
usually requires several hours spread over one or more days.
 Because the
appointment time is reserved for you, it is necessary to charge for appointments which are
not cancelled 24 hours in advance, unless they are occasioned by circumstances which we
would both define as an emergency. Currently, late cancellations are charged a fee of
$30.00 ($60.00 for testing appointments). If you miss your appointment without calling
beforehand, you will be charged a "no show" fee of $50.00 ($135.00 for testing
appointments).
Please remember that
failure to cancel appointments in a timely manner means someone else who wanted services
could not be seen. In particular, when testing is scheduled, your doctor may have set
aside several hours for you.
When coming for your
first appointment, please arrive 15 minutes early to complete necessary paperwork.
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Telephone Calls and Emergencies
We make every effort to
be available to you when you need us. Therefore, we have a 24 hour live answering service
to take your calls. We return phone calls as soon as possible. The answering service is
instructed to notify us immediately in the event of an emergency. It is not necessary to
divulge the actual details of your personal concerns to the answering service, but be sure
to let them know that it is an emergency. If we are out of town for extended periods, an
"on-call" therapist may contact you in our place. If you are unable to reach us
in an emergency situation, you should go to the Emergency Department at your local
hospital.
Sorry, but we cannot
handle emergencies for individuals who are not already our clients.
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Fees, Billing, and Insurance
Fees are an important
issue to anyone receiving professional services. Our basic fee structure is as follows:
|
Initial
Consultation |
$150 per
hour |
|
Psychotherapy |
$100 per
hour |
|
Psychological
Testing |
$135 per
hour (including time spent interpreting and reporting results) |
Please note that these
fees are subject to change at any time.
If we have a contractual
agreement to adjust our fees (for example, with Medicare), our actual charges might be
lower, and billing will be handled in keeping with those contractual agreements.
As a courtesy to our clients, brief phone consultations and letters are
provided at no added charge. Lengthy phone calls, detailed letters, or other non-routine
services (e.g., school visits, consultation with attorneys) are billed based on the time
used. Please ask for details of these charges, which usually are not covered by insurance.
Note that all fees are subject to change.
Payment in full is requested at the time of service.
We currently accept cash and checks, and hope to soon be able to accept debit cards and
credit cards. Monthly statements will be provided as needed to assist you with obtaining
insurance reimbursement. When necessary, we will file a claim with your insurance company
directly. If we bill insurance for you, please pay your co-payment and any balance due at
the time of your appointment. Please feel free to discuss any special circumstances with
your doctor.
Billing is handled by a billing service. Information needed to process
your claim will be given to the billing service and submitted to the insurance carrier.
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A Note About Insurance Coverage
Your policy might state
that the insurer pays a certain percentage of the charges (for example, 80%). However,
insurers sometimes declare an arbitrary amount as the "usual, customary" rate
that is much lower than what we (or our peers) actually charge (In fact, for some
plans, this rate is now lower than it was in 1984). The insurer then pays only a
percentage of that arbitrary rate. The remainder of the actual charge is added to your
co-pay.
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Past Due Accounts and Service
Charges
All accounts are due at
the time of service and payable in full within twenty-one (21) days after receipt of the
periodic billing statement. We do understand that financial problems may sometimes affect
timely payment of your account. If this occurs, please contact our office or the billing
service to discuss payment arrangements. Accounts past due (over 60 days) will be subject
to a service charge of 1½% per month on the unpaid balance. Returned checks will be
subject to a $27.00 service charge.
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