Policies

Welcome. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with you, and will do all we can to provide the best care possible. In order to do so we would like to provide you with certain basic information about the practice, so as to minimize misunderstandings. Please ask questions anytime you are unsure about what is happening or why. Thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with these policies. Please note these policies are subject to change. Any changes will be posted to our website.

Office Location

Bothell Psychiatric Associates
19515 North Creek Parkway, Suite 202
Bothell, WA 98011

Office Hours, Appointments & Communication

We are in office Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM, with our providers choosing their own schedule. Voice mail (425) 949-0204 can be reached 24 hours a day and messages are retrieved regularly, Monday through Saturday, excluding holidays. Don’t hesitate to call with problems. We will return your calls as soon as possible. However, if your call is not of an emergency nature, please allow one-to-two business days’turnaround time. Office hours are by appointment only and appointments can be scheduled via phone or email. Special or emergency appointments can be arranged as needed, at provider discretion.

As a courtesy, our office does send automated appointment reminders in advance of your scheduled appointment. Should you fail to receive an expected reminder please contact our office to verify the appointment, as well as the contact information we have on file. Please also check your email’s spam filter, in case our message was flagged. Patients are responsible for their appointments, regardless of the successful delivery of our reminder.

TeleMedicine

Our providers offer telemedicine (video) appointments in the interest of providing safe and appropriate care to our community. You will receive the link to your provider’s telemedicine portal as part of the automated reminder for any appointment scheduled as telemedicine. Our office is also able, on request, to provide you the link directly. Please try to allow as much time as possible for your request for a link. It is the patient’s responsibility to understand how their insurance policy covers telemedicine.

Confidentiality

We will hold as confidential all information that is discussed, and the fact that you are seeing us, with only the following exceptions where we are ethically and legally bound to divulge:

When you give written consent to us for information to be released to someone.
If you provide us with information in which you convey substantial intent to physically injure another person, we will make effort to inform that person, their family, and appropriate authorities of your stated intention.
If we feel that you are no longer able to take care of yourself and/or intend to physically injure yourself, we will act in a way to minimize your harm to yourself by notifying your family and/or the proper authorities.
If we become aware of currently existing child/elder/developmentally disabled individual physical or sexual abuse situations, we must notify child/elder protective services.
If we receive a court order requiring that we relinquish our records, we will comply; we will also inform you.

We keep a record of the health care services we provide you. You may ask to see and receive a copy of that record for a fee. We will not disclose your records to others unless the law compels us to do so. If you should wish to see your medical record, it is available to you upon request.

Consultation

In the context of professional consultation, we may discuss your situation with other psychiatric professionals, but will not disclose your name or other identifying information. If there are records or information from other physicians or individuals whose input you feel would be helpful to your treatment, you may sign a Release of Information (found here) allowing the exchange of information between other parties and our office.

Evaulation

Our evaluation consists of three one-hour appointments, fairly close together—ideally within a week or two of each other. For minor patients—those less than 18 years of age, the first of these three appointments will be for parent(s) only; the patient should attend all other appointments, unless prior arrangements have been made. These appointments will cover: the history of the concern that brings you to us for care; past psychiatric history; past medical history; family psychiatric history; developmental history; social history; and the exploration of various topics related to questions of psychiatric mental health care and evaluation.

Emergencies

What is an emergency situation requiring immediate attention?

A psychiatric emergency is any situation in which you feel an immediate risk of harm and/or death to yourself or someone else.

What is not an emergency situation requiring immediate attention?

Medication refill requests; appointments; situations and/or events that do not involve immediate danger to yourself or others.

We prefer to deal with crises before they erupt into emergencies. We encourage you to contact us soonerrather than later if you have a problem. Nevertheless, emergencies do happen. Most of the time we can be reached at our office phone. Please leave a message if there is no answer. If it is outside of business hours and you need immediate assistance, please call our emergency answering service at (877) 206-4930, and they will reach out to your provider on your behalf. An option to reach our answering service is part of our outgoing voicemail message outside of regular office hours.

If you need immediate attention because you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency and/or you are having thoughts of harming yourself or others, please call 911 or go to the nearest hospital Emergency Room or Urgent Care for appropriate emergency care. You may also call the following numbers for additional support.

24-hour crisis line: 866-427-4747
Teen help line: 866-833-6546
Washington peer support line: 877-500-9276
Washington addiction support line: 866-789-1511
National suicide prevention lifeline: 800-273-8255
Safe Place: If you are in trouble or need help, text SAFE and your current location (address, city, state) to 4HELP (44357) for immediate help or call 800-422-8336

We do not provide inpatient management. Please let the emergency physician know they may call us. If you are hospitalized, your care will be managed in the hospital by one of their psychiatric providers. We will make every effort to be available to them for consultation and exchange of information to facilitate your care and inform our future work. Please contact our office for prompt followup care once discharged.

Prescriptions & Refills

We prefer not to authorize refills outside office hours. Please try to anticipate your medication needs and address this issue at the regular appointment time. Your provider will prescribe enough medication to make it to your next anticipated appointment. It is your responsibility to schedule that appointment before you run out of medication.

Inclement Weather

If you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment on the basis of inclement weather, road closures, or other cause, please plan to attend your appointment as scheduled via telemedicine. If this is the case, please reach out to our office for the appropriate telemedicine link.

Cancelations

Since your appointment time is reserved exclusively for you, it is necessary that you cancel any appointment you are unable to keep. There is a $100 charge for missed appointments, and for appointments canceled or rescheduled with less than 24 hours’ notice.

Forms & Letters

In the event that you need a letter written or a form completed (e.g. for school, legal matters, an employer, or other purpose), please provide us the form or the requirements of the letter with as much advanced notice as possible. Depending on the nature and complexity of the material, your provider may, at their discretion, require an appointment in order to complete the form. These appointments will be subject to the provider’s normal availability and fee schedule. Form completion incurs fees which will be reviewed on an individual basis. Practitioners use their own discretion as to whether they will complete a given form. Please note that it may take up to two weeks to complete paperwork requests.

Patients with Insurance Coverage

We are licensed Practitioners (M.D. or ARNP) and, as such, our services are covered by some Insurance plans. Many Insurance plans however, have special requirements or restrictions regarding Mental Health care. It is your responsibility to contact your Insurance Company to find out if Mental Health services by us will be covered. It is particularly important to ask about: Psychiatric coverage; limits on types of therapy or number of visits; separate deductibles; and whether your plan has any special restrictions, such as needing a primary care physician’s referral or requiring prior authorization or special forms.

We cannot accept responsibility for collecting an insurance claim or negotiating a disputed claim. Insurance reimbursement is a contract between you and your carrier. Please contact your Insurance Company directly if you need information regarding Insurance authorizations, payments or denials. You are responsible for payment of your carrier. You are responsible for payment of your account. Please be aware that, in addition to the cost of services, if your insurance policy does not cover mental health visits in our office, the costs and availability of any medications prescribed may also be impacted.

As a courtesy, this office will bill many of the major insurance companies, provided that you have given us the necessary insurance information. If your insurance fails to pay your claim, it is your responsibility to pay this clinic and take the matter up directly with your insurance carrier.

We are contracted with: Regence Blue Shield, Premera Blue Cross, and Life Wise Health Plan of Washington.

For your reference, below are the billing codes most frequently used in our practice, along with the full price without insurance:
90792—$250, initial evaluation appointment, scheduled at one hour;
99215—$235, second and third evaluation appointments and longer follow up appointments, scheduled at one hour;
99214—$170, standard followup appointments, scheduled at 30 minutes.
Additional codes may be used, based on time and complexity. There is also a report fee of $130 that may be required. Please discuss this with our office as you schedule your evaluation. The report fee, if required, will be due immediately.
Missed appointments and appointments canceled with less than 24 hours notice will be subject to a missed appointment fee of $100.
Forensic/legal work incurs fees, which we will discuss on an individual basis.

If you wish to have the practice hold a card on file for payments, please speak to our office about the process.

Patients with No Insurance or Out of Network Insurance

Patients who wish to establish care at our office without contracted insurance will be asked to submit a Credit Card on File Authorization form before scheduling any appointments. Some insurance companies will not reimburse a non-contracted provider or will pay at a lower rate. Please know your policy before deciding to seek treatment from an out-of-network provider. If we receive payment from your insurance company after your account has been paid in full or if a credit balance occurs, you will be issued a refund check in the amount of the overpayment.

Billing Policy

It is not our intention to cause our patients undue hardship, but we must collect payment for services as efficiently
as possible in order to continue serving the community.

Payment is expected at the time of the scheduled appointment. If we will be billing your insurance, your copayment is due at the time of service. Unless specific arrangements have been made in advance, the patient (or the person responsible for the patient’s bill) is responsible for making payment or co-payment at the time of service. Should you receive a statement for services from our practice, payment in full is due on receipt. Accounts ninety (90) days past due are subject to collections procedure. In the event that your account is sent to collections, you will be discharged from the clinic, subject to relevant laws and guidelines.

For billing questions, please contact our office, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

FOR ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE’S FAQ SECTION