Get Acquainted with Our Office Policies

The Retreat at Ponte Vedra Beach is usually open Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Extended hours may be offered to accommodate students during the school year. We may close the office for holidays or vacations; this will be stated on our telephone voicemail greeting.

Please plan ahead and schedule appointments and refill requests before annual closings. The office will be closed from December 24th through January 1st and will reopen on January 2nd. Other holiday closings include the following:

• Memorial Day
• 4th of July (and the neighboring day proximal to the weekend)
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving (and the following Friday)

Please call our office with inquiries and requests for appointments. If you are new to our practice, we’re delighted that you’re considering our mental health services in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL! We would like to get to know you better and will send you a questionnaire to help us understand your needs.

Once your initial patient information paperwork has been completed and reviewed, we’ll contact you to schedule an intake appointment. Initial evaluations for diagnostic purposes and treatment planning are scheduled in 60-minute increments. They usually require one to three 60-minute visits.

Your first three visits are consultations. At the conclusion of your third visit, you and your doctor will discuss options for your course of treatment, and you will be asked to enter into a doctor-patient agreement.

Follow-up appointments are scheduled for 30- or 60-minute increments, depending on the type of service rendered. We encourage you to schedule your next visit at the end of each appointment, as this increased likelihood that you’ll be able to secure your preferred time. Special pricing is available when you schedule recurring appointments or make advanced payments, so please ask our staff about your options.

Our fee-for-service private payment structure guarantees that your treatment frequency and duration are determined by you and your doctor – not by an insurance company. This allows us to provide higher-quality treatment and personalized care.

Payment is expected at the time of each visit. We will provide you with a billing invoice that you may submit to your insurance carrier for direct reimbursement under an out-of-network provision. We will not bill or accept payment from any private insurance or Medicaid/Medicare. Please reach out to our office for a fee schedule.

Payment, due in full at the time of the visit, may be made via credit card, check, or cash. We strongly encourage (and may require) the use of electronic payment through our scheduling program. You will be billed in full for missed/no-show appointments, as described in our policy below.

We require that patients with balances pay their account balances to zero prior to receiving further services. Patients who have questions about their bills, or who would like to discuss a payment plan option, may call and ask to speak to a business office representative. They can help you review your account and concerns.

There are times when you must miss an appointment due to an emergency or obligations at work or with family. We understand. Please be respectful of the medical needs of other patients by contacting us as soon as possible if you are unable to show up for an appointment. We will attempt to reallocate this time to someone who is in need of treatment. Appointments are in high demand, and your early cancellation may allow another patient access to timely medical care.

Will I be charged if I need to cancel my intake appointment?

Our doctors do not double-book appointments; they reserve time exclusively for your appointment. If you cancel an appointment within 48 business hours of your appointment, or if you “no-show” for your initial appointment, further requests for an intake appointment must be approved by the doctor and will require payment, in full, in advance to reserve the time slot.

Payment will not be refunded or forwarded if the rescheduled intake appointment is missed. We schedule intake appointments with adequate time for the provider to conduct the evaluation. If you arrive 15 minutes late for your intake appointment, this is considered a no-show.

Will I be charged if I need to cancel my follow-up appointments?

Please reach out to the office as soon as you know you need to cancel. We do require at least 48 hours’ (two full business days) notice for all cancelations—for example, 10:00 a.m. Thursday is the cancellation deadline for a 10:00 a.m. Monday appointment. This gives us time to attempt to reach someone else on the waiting list.

There is a full charge for appointment no-shows and cancelations if we are not notified 48 business hours prior to the appointment time. The full cancellation charge will be made to the card we have on file, or expected at the time of your next visit, in addition to any anticipated visit charges. However, if we are able to fill your canceled time slot, you will only be charged a $25 cancellation fee.

Please note that patients who no-show or cancel two (2) or more times in a six-month period may be dismissed from the practice and denied future appointments.

What if I can’t reach anyone in the office to cancel?

In the event you must cancel and cannot reach the office personnel, please leave a message on the office voice mail system. Our answering machine will date and time your call. We will honor the date and time of your message.

Will you remind me of the appointment time?

You will receive a call, text, or email reminding you of your appointment time 72 hours in advance. No cancellation fee will be charged if your call to reschedule is received 48 business hours before the appointment. Not receiving a reminder call regarding an appointment does not absolve your responsibility in terms of our missed appointment/no-show policy.

What if I am running late for a scheduled appointment?

We understand that delays can happen. That said, we ask that you make every effort to arrive promptly for your appointment. This helps everyone to stay on time and follow the daily schedule. If you arrive 15 minutes past your scheduled time without notifying us, the visit will be considered a no-show.

If you are late due to circumstances beyond your control, please notify us as soon as possible. We will attempt to fit you into the schedule that day or accommodate you at the end of the day. If we are unable to see you that day, or you are unable to wait, we will charge you the $25 rescheduling fee.

I am an established psychotherapy patient and can’t come this week.

Psychotherapy appointments are scheduled twice a week to twice a month. The specific days and times are reserved in advance to facilitate our patients’ progress.

We allow for one missed psychotherapy visit without charge. To avoid future cancellation charges, please reschedule your appointment 48 hours (2 business days) prior to your appointment day, and we will attempt to reschedule you within one week. You will be billed for the canceled appointment if either our office or you are unable to reschedule within one week of the canceled appointment.

Prescription medication refills must be requested four (4) business days before the medication will run out. This can be done by phone or via a pharmacy fax. Refill requests received at our office on Fridays will not be completed until the next business day. It is your responsibility to ensure an adequate supply of medications.

Patients are strongly advised to avoid same-day refill requests, as your provider may not be available to sign prescriptions requiring a doctor’s signature. A $25 fee will be applied to same-day refill requests unless the request occurs during your treatment session or a refill is prearranged by your provider.

Controlled substances (including but not limited to: benzodiazepines, “anti-anxiety meds,” stimulants, or “ADHD meds”) will be refilled no earlier than four (4) days before they will run out. The final determinant of when a controlled substance runs out will be the pharmacy dispensing record. Unless controlled substances are filled using a mail-order pharmacy, your provider at our practice will only fill these medications for thirty (30) days at a time. Your monthly refills will be coordinated with your prescribing provider.

If a medication is lost or stolen, your provider retains the right to refill the prescription early. If the medication is a controlled substance, proof of theft will be required, including a filed police report.

It is the responsibility of the patient or parent to know what coverage a health insurance/prescription plan will or will not cover regarding medications. We are happy to complete the forms required by your plan if the forms are provided by you or forwarded via fax to your provider at our practice. We will notify you when your forms are ready or fax forms securely to the pharmacy.

If your insurance company requires you to use a mail-order pharmacy for medications, contact the mail-order pharmacy, and have them fax the necessary forms to our clinic. We must receive these forms at least four (4) business days before medications run out to ensure there is no interruption of treatment. If the mail-order pharmacy requests additional information, you may be asked to make an appointment to resolve the matter.

Business Hours: We receive phone calls during regularly scheduled office hours. We may close the office for holidays or vacations, and this will be stated on the telephone voicemail greeting. If we are unable to take your call, please leave a detailed message that includes your name, phone number, the reason for the call, and the name of your doctor.

We make every effort to return calls by the end of the business day or by the morning of the next business day. Please leave a day and evening phone number where you can be reached. Do not leave urgent or emergent messages or requests at this number. Call 911 or activate your local emergency response system for medical or psychiatric crises or emergencies.

After-Hours Calls: If you call after business hours and the nature of your call cannot wait until the next business day, please indicate that you need to speak with the on-call doctor, and we will respond as soon as we are able to do so. Do not leave urgent or emergent messages or requests at this number. Call 911 or activate your local emergency response system for medical or psychiatric crises or emergencies.

If you call for the doctor after office hours and your telephone caller ID does not accept private or blocked calls, you will not be able to receive the callback.  Please disable this option until after you talk to the doctor.

Emergencies: If you have a psychiatric or medical emergency at any time, please call 911 for immediate assistance. We are happy to coordinate with your emergency services provider once you are in a safe and secure setting.

While email can be a quick way to communicate, we cannot guarantee that it is secure or confidential. Please be aware that emails and responses to emails will become part of the medical record.

Your doctor and the staff will not accept ‘friend’ or contact requests on any social or business networking site. Adding patients as friends or contacts can compromise your confidentiality and our privacy. If you have concerns or questions, please bring them up with your provider.

You may find our practice listed on sites that solicit customer reviews. These sites comb search engines for business listings and add listings often without our knowledge or permission. If you find our clinic or your doctor listed on any of these sites, please know that the listing is not a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement. In fact, our ethical code prohibits doctors from soliciting testimonials from patients.

You have the right to express yourself in any forum you choose regarding your opinion of your doctor and the quality of the services you and/or your child has received. However, choosing to post to a business review site can compromise your and your child’s confidentiality. We hope that you will bring your concerns and comments directly to our staff or your doctor, as often reviews or comments posted on these websites are not viewed by your doctor or our staff.

While this written summary of exceptions to confidentiality should prove helpful in informing you about potential problems, it is important that we discuss any questions or concerns that you may have.

There is a fee of $35.00 for disability forms, as well as for other disability forms that are 1 page or less. More complex forms will be charged up to $50.00, depending on the length and time involved to complete the form.

Requests for letters to the school, camp, or other non-clinical agencies by your doctor will incur a charge of $25.00. More complex reports or letters will be charged based on the amount of time spent on producing the document.

Requests for records will be billed at $25.00 for the first ten pages and $1.00 per page for each additional page.

It is of the utmost importance to us that your experience with The Retreat at Ponte Vedra Beach is a positive one. Your relationship with your doctor is at your discretion. You have the right to seek mental health treatment from any provider with whom you feel comfortable. If you have concerns about the quality or nature of the services provided, concerns about our staff, building, or billing procedures, please let your doctor know. Discussing these issues will strengthen our working relationship and in no way harm the quality of services you will receive at our clinic.

Please be aware that we do not provide forensic services and will not participate in court‐related matters of any kind. If you feel a psychiatrist’s involvement is going to be required in a matter for which you are undergoing litigation, we will need to discuss termination of services and referral options. If a court-ordered subpoena by a judge mandates an appearance in a court‐related matter, the following fees apply.

• The court involved services will be billed to the client directly at a rate of $400/hour. The court involved services include, but are not limited to, writing and/or submitting reports, consultations with attorneys and/or other parties involved in the matter for which a Release of Information has been signed.
• If subpoenaed to appear in court, the client will be billed directly at $400/hour, including travel time and preparation.