Appointment Policy
Appointment Policy: An appointment is considered a mutual commitment between you and your clinician and is subject to personal accountability and responsibility in keeping and managing appointments. A 24 (twenty-four) hour notice is required to reschedule or cancel your appointment to avoid automatic no-show or cancellation fees. Appointments for which you arrive late may be cut short to keep the provider on time. As a courtesy, you may receive a reminder phone call, email and/or text for your appointment; however, responsibility for keeping up with your appointment is yours. All patients must arrive on time for their scheduled appointment. Failure to do so may result in a fee and rescheduling (if applicable) of the appointment.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality: The clinic may use information in your chart in the process of providing your medical and/or mental health treatment and other services. Disclosure of your medical/mental health information will be limited to your treatment team, including any doctors, nurses, students, and other staff involved in your treatment, in addition to any disclosures required to coordinate services such as lab work and prescriptions. No information will be released about you or your care to anyone outside the office without your consent or a court order, or as otherwise required by law. The only exception may be made if you are suicidal, homicidal, are a threat to yourself or others, and if we fear child/elder abuse or neglect. You will fill out a Release of Information form where you will list any person(s) to whom we may communicate with regarding you, your care, and/or financial matters regarding your account.
Dismissal
Dismissal: If you are “dismissed” or “fired” from the practice it means you may no longer schedule appointments, get medication refills, or consider us to be your current physician/therapist. You should find a physician/therapist in another practice. You will receive a letter in the mail to your last known physical address, notifying you that you are being dismissed. If you have a medical emergency within 30 days of the date on this letter, we will assist you with care. We will forward a copy of your medical record to your new physician when a release is received. Common causes for dismissal (include but are not limited to): failure to keep appointments, frequent no-shows, general non-compliance (failure to follow physician instructions as a part of your treatment plan), physical or abusive language or actions towards staff, and failure to pay your bill.
Laboratory Policy
Laboratory Policy: It may be medically necessary for your physician to request lab or urine drug screens (UDS) to provide the best possible treatment. It is your responsibility, as our patient, to obtain the requested exams; these tests are a part of your treatment plan. Our office will assist you as much as possible, but testing may require you to visit an outside facility. If you do not obtain the tests within a reasonable time frame, your physician reserves the right to refuse a refill or prescribe further medications until tests are completed. UDSs are performed on patients when necessary. All new patients and patients who are prescribed controlled medications will have an initial UDS and will be subject to monthly UDS after. Any charges that may result from the UDS will be the responsibility of the patient if not covered by the insurance company.
Medication Refill Policy
During your course of treatment at Alabama Psychiatry, LLC, you may be prescribed medications. It is your responsibility as the patient to notify your physician if you need a refill at your scheduled appointment. If you are overdue for a follow-up, or missed your last scheduled follow-up, we will require an appointment prior to refilling medications. Failure to show or frequently cancelling your appointments at which your medications would be refilled, without rescheduling, is considered non-compliance with our office policies and you may be dismissed from the practice.
Please note that no refills will be called in after-hours or on the weekends or on holidays. You must attend all scheduled appointments with your physician if you wish to continue obtaining prescriptions for your current medications. If you have failed to follow up appropriately, it is at the physician’s discretion how to handle your refill requests.
You may email the nurse regarding medications, refills, and concerns, which will then be discussed with the provider. The nurse’s email address is nurse@rrpa.us. Please allow 48-72 hours for a response. If you are running low on your medication, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, to provide adequate time for us to handle your request. Please note that our office will pull in your prescription history via the SureScripts portal.
Controlled substances (including, but not limited to, Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta, etc.) will be issued by your clinician at their discretion. Since these medications are highly regulated, you must provide a signature when picking them up. Prescriptions for controlled substances or lost medication will not be rewritten. In addition, patients taking controlled substances will be subject to random urine drug screening and pill/capsule/film counts.
No show policy
Please avoid a $50 no show fee and disruption to your care. It is your responsibility as the patient to attend all scheduled appointments. If, for some reason, you are unable to make your appointment, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CANCEL the appointment with a member of our staff, 72 (seventy-two) hours or 3-business days, prior to the scheduled appointment time. It is the same for New Patient Appointments, we require a 72 (seventy-two) hour or 3-day business days’ notice to cancel or reschedule. To assist you, we will try to contact you via phone, text, and email for appointment confirmation prior to appointment.
Messages are acceptable and can be left during normal business hours. If you do not provide at least 24 hours’ notice (3 days for New Patient Appointments), you will be charged a No-Show fee of $50 for each appointment missed. In addition, if you are more than 15 minutes late to your appointment, this will be considered a No-Show and you will be charged the No-Show fee. Subsequent missed appointments will result in additional $50 charges and possible dismissal from the practice. Patients who have arrived on time will be seen ahead of those who arrive late to their appointment. If you arrive late, we reserve the right to abbreviate or reschedule your visit upon your arrival. This helps us reduce wait times for patients. Patients who have 2 No-shows with a provider will be discharged from the practice. Patient will be provided 30 days under provider care in order to locate a new provider. Upon the second No-show the practice will serve patient with a No-show letter of termination and the patient will not be allowed to be seen with the practice for at least one year from date of termination. No-Show fees will be added to your patient due statement. These fees must be paid at your next scheduled appointment. Insurance will not be billed for these charges and they are the sole responsibility of the patient.
Payment for Services
Payment for Services: Alabama Psychiatry will directly bill your insurance company following your visits. Your co-payment, deductibles and balances which may apply, will be collected when you check-in. If we are not billing an insurance company for your service, the full payment is due at the time of service. TP accepts cash, checks, debit/credit cards and money orders. Balances and payment agreements are the patient’s responsibility and should be treated as a personal commitment and subject to personal accountability. More information can be found in the Financial Agreement.
Treatment Concerns/Issues
Treatment Concerns/Issues: Our office staff will regularly take phone calls and check messages throughout the normal business day. Please allow 48-72 (business) hours for a response, as our providers are not in the office every day. Also, if you are running low on medication or your condition is becoming more severe, please contact our office as soon as you are aware of this, so that we can help you more quickly. If your need is urgent due to safety/crisis issues, please call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Department for assistance.