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Bay Area ADHD Specialist FAQ's |
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How can I arrange to talk with you or see you?
Why should I choose you for my psychiatric medication needs? What are your policies regarding insurance and billing? I have insurance. Why would I want to see a provider who is out-of-network? Do you provide talk therapy? Can you see me for medications if I am currently in therapy with another therapist? What types of payment do you accept? Do you accept Medicare? Do you accept MediCal (also known as Medicaid)? What is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist and other mental health professionals? What does it mean when it says that Dr. Schwartz is "board certified" in psychiatry? What should I do if I have never seen you, but I am experiencing a serious emergency? What kind of problems can you help with? What is your policy regarding missed appointments and cancellations? Do you treat children or adolescents? How can I arrange to talk with you or see you? Call 415-673-7700 Main Line, or our backup voicemail line (415-339-7400), please leave the best number where you can be reached. We usually have staff available to directly take your call during the following office hours: Mondays: closed Tuesdays: open 1pm to 5pm Wednesdays: closed Thursdays: open 1pm to 5pm Fridays: open 1pm to 5pm We are also often, but not always, open up to several hours in the morning prior to 1pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Back to Top Why should I choose you for my psychiatric medication needs? If you want skilled professional services, easy access, and value, then you should strongly consider our convenient psychiatric practice. Call (415) 673-7700 Mondays Noon-5pm; Wednesdays Noon-5pm; Fridays Noon-5pm ; or our backup voicemail at 415-339-7400. Back to Top What are your policies regarding insurance and billing? While I am not a member of HMO panels, many PPO health plans will cover a portion of charges. You will receive a monthly invoice upon your request. Clients file their own insurance claims. There are many good reasons for you to consider NOT filing an insurance claim for your psychiatric services, which are described in the answer to the following question on this FAQ page. Please be aware that psychiatric expenses are also eligible for Flexible Spending Account reimbursement. Back to Top I have insurance. Why would I want to see a provider who is out-of-network? The short answer is availability, availability, and availability. Other reasons include the potential for more confidentiality, and more control over your treatment plan. AVAILABILITY: Most insurance companies publish on their website a list of physicians whom they have a contract with. This list of providers deceptively makes it appear that there are plenty of in-network psychiatrists available to provide services to you. However, this is not true, especially when trying to find a psychopharmacologist in San Francisco. Many if not most of the psychiatrists and psychopharmacologists listed on the insurance company websites have full practices and either have stopped accepting new patients altogether, or else have stopped accepting new patients who want to pay through insurance. We have heard stories from many clients who suffered for months calling dozens of psychiatrists listed on the insurance company’s website, none of whom would see them as a new patient, in most cases not even returning phone messages. So finding an in-network psychiatrist who is available to see you might be a lot more difficult than you first imagined. CONFIDENTIALITY: If you somehow could beat all the odds and actually find a psychopharmacologist who was willing to see you as an in-network provider, another serious pitfall would be lack of confidentiality. Treatment with an in-network provider is not confidential. You lose a great deal of confidentiality when you use your insurance to see an in-network provider. Insurance companies insist on obtaining and holding records of your diagnosis and treatments, and usually will require obtaining additional sensitive personal information about you, such as your history of substance use, stressors in your personal and work life, and history of suicidal thoughts or attempts. Most of the public does not know this, but the federal medical "privacy law" (HIPPA) in fact is a law which entitles the federal government as well as corporations to grossly invade your medical privacy when you see a doctor who bills insurance companies electronically. Harvard law professor Richard Sobel notes, “HIPAA is often described as a privacy rule. It is not. In fact, HIPAA is a disclosure regulation, and it has effectively dismantled the longstanding moral and legal tradition of patient confidentiality.” The Patient Privacy Rights Foundation warns that “over 4 million businesses, employers, government agencies, insurance companies, billing firms, and all their business associates that may include...marketing firms and data miners” are entitled to see and use individuals’ healthcare records if the record is held by a physician who uses electronic billing. Access to medical records creates the possibility of employment discrimination. Studies have shown that thirty-five percent of Fortune 500 companies admit to having looked at employee’s health records before making hiring and promotion decisions. Even if a doctor wants to protect your confidentiality, after your information is sent out to your insurance company, the doctor no longer has control over who can see or use it. The most private situation is one where you use a practitioner like myself who does not electronically bill any insurance company. Since I refuse to contract with any insurance company and refuse to electronically bill any insurance company, I am able to provide you with the highest level of confidentiality permitted by law. I do not disclose any information to your insurance company unless you request me to. In my practice, you are fully in control as to how much information, if any, you want given to your insurance company. CONTROL: Lack of control over your treatment options can be another problem when using an in-network provider. The insurance companies often attempt to micromanage your care by insisting that their bureaucrats “pre-authorize” sessions in advance in order for you to be eligible for coverage. Often they pre-authorize only a small number of sessions and require a difficult and time-consuming process for you and your doctor to get authorization for more sessions. In this way and others, insurance companies can make it difficult for you to get them to pay for the treatment you want. YOU ARE IN CONTROL: You always have the option of submitting a claim to your insurance company for reimbursement. Our office will be happy to provide you with itemized bills for this purpose upon your request. By choosing me as your provider, you and I are fully in control of your treatment decisions. You are in control of deciding to what degree, if any, you want to involve your insurance company. Back to Top Do you provide talk therapy? No, I provide medication services only at this time. One reason we provide medication services and not "talk therapy" or "psychotherapy" is because there is an excess of talk therapists available (e.g. social workers, marriage and family therapists, etc.) whereas there is a shortage of available psychiatric medication specialists such as myself. If you are looking for both talk therapy AND psychiatric medications, you should consider our practice for your psychiatric medications, since the advantage is that you will find that when you choose your psychotherapist to supplement your medication treatment with me, you will be able to choose from thousands of licensed psychotherapists in the area, and select the one that you feel most comfortable being your therapist. We will be happy to provide medication services to patients who are seeing another professional for psychotherapy ("talk therapy"). Back to Top Can you see me for medications if I am currently in therapy with another therapist? Yes. We are happy to meet with clients for medication consultation and management sessions who are concurrently seeing another psychotherapist. Call our assistant's desk now at 415-673-7700 for more information or to request a return call. Back to Top What types of payment do you accept? We accept personal checks and Visa and MasterCard credit cards or ATM/debit cards. Back to Top Do you accept Medicare? I am not accepting patients enrolled in Medicare at this time. Back to Top Do you accept MediCal (also known as Medicaid)? I am not accepting clients on MediCal (Medicaid) at this time. Back to Top What is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist and other mental health professionals? Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist. Of all mental health professionals, only a psychiatrist is a licensed physician. Only a psychiatrist has graduated from medical school and completed a four year training period following medical school which has focused on mental health experiences in a variety of outpatient and inpatient settings. Only a psychiatrist, as opposed to all other mental health professionals, is experienced in and licensed in the State of California to prescribe medications, including psychoactive medications. Call our assistant's desk now at 415-673-7700 for more information or to request a return call. Back to Top What does it mean when it says that Dr. Schwartz is "board certified" in psychiatry? Dr. Schwartz is board-certified in psychiatry. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. (ABPN), is an independent, nonprofit organization that certifies doctors practicing psychiatry and neurology. The ABPN is one of the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Although many groups may use the term "board" in their title, only those with the highest qualification standards may become members of the ABMS. More information about board-certification can be viewed at the website http://www.abms.org/which.asp Back to Top What should I do if I have never seen you, but I am experiencing a serious emergency? You should call 911 if you are experiencing a serious emergency. Back to Top What kind of problems can you help with? I can help you find out whether medication might be right you, and help you learn about your treatment options, including medication treatment. I do not exclude any conditions or problems from my practice. Some people come to see me for mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobias, attention-deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD), or pre-menstrual / peri-menstrual mood symptoms (including PMS). In addition, I have extensive experience working with bipolar disorder (manic-depression), addictions, and more severe disorders. Call our assistant's desk now at 415-673-7700 for more information or to request a return call. Back to Top What is your policy regarding missed appointments and cancellations? Checking in with us regularly and on time is an important aspect of your treatment. When you make an appointment, we set aside time for your use. If you miss an appointment, or fail to make a verified cancellation giving us "timely notice," you can expect to be charged for that appointment. "Timely notice" of cancellation for your first visit is five (5) full business days prior to your appointment. The initial consultation fee is fully refundable with a verified cancellation no later than five (5) full business days prior to your appointment. If you make a verified cancellation later than five (5) full business days prior to your appointment, but prior to three (3) full business days prior to your appointment, we will refund half of the initial consultation fee. "Timely notice" of cancellation of your second session and subsequent "follow-up" visits is no later than three (3) full business days prior to your appointment. A verified cancellation means that you have received a cancellation verfication number from our assistant. You can obtain a cancellation verification number by calling our assistant during the posted assistant's hours. At that time, the assistant will verify your cancellation by giving you a cancellation verification number. By keeping a record of your cancellation verification number, you have documentation that your cancellation has been verified by our office. "Business days" are defined as Mondays through Fridays, excluding weekend days and legal holidays. A "full business day" is defined as a 24 hour period between business days. Back to Top Do you treat children or adolescents? No. My practice is only open to adults of age 18 or older per my availability. Back to Top |
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