Policies

Appointment Cancellation/Rescheduling

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, you must call at least 24 hours in advance of the appointment in order to avoid being charged. The full rate will be charged for an appointment that is missed without prior cancellation or that is canceled or rescheduled less than 24 hours in advance. Insurance generally does not cover charges for missed appointments or late cancellations; therefore, any charges will be your responsibility. Charges for missed appointments or late cancellations should be paid at or before the next visit.

Please note that if you are ill or running late, you also have to option to do a video visit during your scheduled appointment slot.

In order to respect all patients' time and schedules, I try very hard to stay on time for appointments. However, if an emergency has come up in the office, there may be a delay. Otherwise, you will need to be on time to make full use of your scheduled time.

Billing & Insurance

If I am a contracted provider for your insurance plan, I will bill the insurance directly. Payment of any applicable copayment or deductible is due at the time services are rendered. If I do not have a contractual provider relationship with your insurance plan, full payment for services is due at the time services are provided.

Some services may not be covered by health insurance. Charges for uncovered services will be your responsibility. This includes a $20 fee for refills, forms, written reports, and letters requested outside of an appointment.

If your insurance policy changes, please inform me of your new policy and bring your insurance card with you to your next appointment. Most policies have a limit to how long after an appointment the service can be billed to the insurance. Therefore, if you fail to notify me of a change in your health insurance policy in a timely manner, you will be responsible for the entire amount of the charges not covered by insurance.

Please remember that you, not your insurance, are ultimately responsible for payment.

Payment of any outstanding balance that is your responsibility is due promptly upon receipt of a billing statement or at your next visit, whichever comes first. For self-pay balances over 50 days past due a service charge will be added each 28 day billing cycle equal to 1.5% of the outstanding balance or a minimum of $5.00. For self-pay balances over 100 days past due, the minimum service charge will be $10.00. A charge of $25.00 will be applied for all checks returned unpaid. If an overdue account is sent to a collection agency, collection fees and expenses will be added to the amount due. A copy of the currently applicable fee schedule is available upon request. Fees may be modified without notice.

Privacy & Confidentiality

All patient information is confidential and cannot be released to a third party except with specific authorization by the patient. However, there do exist a few limits to this confidentiality:

If child or elder abuse is revealed in the context of the therapeutic relationship, this must be reported to the proper authorities, and confidentiality may be broken.
If the patient poses a serious danger to himself/herself or others, confidentiality may be broken in an attempt to provide medical/mental health treatment and/or safety.
I am obligated to warn a person if I think this person is likely to become a victim of violence at the hands of a patient.

Please note that I may lawfully use and disclose your protected health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations. This is further detailed in the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices you will receive before your visit.

Please keep in mind that communications via email over the internet are not secure. Although it is unlikely, there is a possibility that information you include in an email can be intercepted and read by other parties beside the person to whom it is addressed. The patient portal is available for secure communication with me.

Communication and Emergencies

I generally return calls and emails within the next business day. I am most quickly reached by phone message if you need to speak with me urgently. If you are having an emergency, please call 911 or go to a hospital emergency room. I recommend using George Washington University Hospital in Foggy Bottom. If you are hospitalized for psychiatric reasons, please let me know that you are in the hospital, so that I can coordinate with your treatment team there.