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How can I arrange to talk with you or see you?
When is your office staffed if I have further questions I want to discuss with your staff? Why should I choose you for my psychiatric medication needs? I have private insurance. Will I receive reimbursement from them for the care you provide? Do you provide talk therapy? Can you see me for medications if I am currently in therapy with another therapist? What is your fee schedule? 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? Do you treat children or adolescents? How can I arrange to talk with you or see you? If possible, call during our assistant's Hours: our assistant can usually be reached directly at 415-673-7700 during these hours: most Mondays 2pm-5pm; Wednesdays 2pm-5pm; Fridays 11am-2pm. If you instead call our voicemail line (415-339-7400), please leave the best number where you can be reached at those times. If possible, please try to call us back at the assistant's desk during the above listed assistant hours so that we can avoid any possible need to play phone tag. Back to Top When is your office staffed if I have further questions I want to discuss with your staff? Our office is usually staffed most Mondays 2pm-5pm; Wednesdays 2pm-5pm; Fridays 11am-2pm. The office is closed on some legal holidays. Back to Top Why should I choose you for my psychiatric medication needs? If you want skilled professional services, easy access, convenience, and value, then you should strongly consider our convenient psychiatric practice. Call our voicemail now at 415-339-7400 to request a return call. Alternatively, our assistant can usually be reached directly most Mondays 2pm-5pm; Wednesdays 2pm-5pm; Fridays 11am-2pm at (415) 673-7700. Back to Top I have private insurance. Will I receive reimbursement from them for the care you provide? Many of our patients do receive reimbursement from their insurance company for the care we provide, but this varies from insurance plan to insurance plan. We provide out-of-network services for those with insurance. If you have insurance, it's likely they will reimburse you for some or all of my fees as a non-participating, or out-of-network, provider. If you have insurance, please let us know, and we will provide you with a monthly receipt. Please also be aware that psychiatric expenses are eligible for Flexible Spending Account reimbursement. Incidentally, we have found that only a small percentage of medication-management-only psychiatrists in the area are still in-network with the insurance companies. In fact, we understand that many patients have spent weeks or months making dozens and dozens of phone calls in an unsuccessful attempt to find a psychopharmacologist in the area who accepts insurance. Two reasons why you may want to pay privately for your psychopharmacology services are: availability plus confidentiality. It is likely going to be very difficult for you to find a psychopharmacologist who is available to see you who will be in-network with your insurance company. In addition, you lose a great deal of confidentiality when you use your insurance company, as your insurance company will keep a record of your diagnosis and treatments. In addition, federal laws now allow a wide array of government agencies to access your medical records if your doctor bills insurance companies electronically. 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. Harvard law professor Richard Sobel observed, “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. The most private situation is one where you use a practitioner like myself who does not electronically bill any insurance company. In years past, I was one of the few psychiatrists in town who accepted most private insurance plans, but I was forced to give up this arrangement after finding that the administrative burden placed upon our staff to deal with the insurance companies was too enormous to be a workable business arrangement. If you do decide that you want to work with your insurance company, please be aware that if you have a PPO insurance plan, it is likely that they will reimburse you for a percentage of my fees. We will be happy to provide you with a monthly itemized statement that you can submit to your PPO insurance plan when you request reimbursement from them. 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. I am happy to meet with you for medication consultation and management sessions if you 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 is your fee schedule? We provide value to you by offering our psychopharmacology services at a highly competitive fee schedule. Our self-pay fees are significantly lower than those of most other psychiatrists in the area. Call our practice at 415-339-7400 or 415-673-7700 for more details. If you have PPO insurance, it's likely they will reimburse you for a percentage of my fees as a non-participating, or out-of-network, provider. If you have insurance, please let us know, and we will provide you with a monthly receipt. Please also be aware that psychiatric expenses are eligible for Flexible Spending Account reimbursement. 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 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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