See below for Office Policies and More about the Practice…
We ask that you read these policies before making an appointment.
About The Providers
Tamara Gordon, PMHNP-BC, practice owner is a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner in the State of New York. By law, this provider is authorized to diagnosis and treat all psychiatric disorders listed in the DSM-V.
COVID-19
Due to the current public health emergency, our practice remains operating at a virtual capacity. All patients must be physically located in New York at the time of receiving services per telehealth law. In the event you do not agree with the following, please make arrangements with the provider for proper referrals to practices seeing patients in-person at this time. As long as the public health emergency is active, the DEA will be waiving the requirement for in-person visits every 24 months related to controlled substances prescribing. In the event the public health emergency ends, it will be mandated and required that any and all patients must be seen in an office setting once at least every 12 months and must be seen by the actual prescriber of the medication per federal and state law.
Telehealth Platform
The provider currently sees patients through a secure, HIPAA-compliant portal such as simple practice or spruce health. See contact for waiting room link. All that is necessary to join a visit is an electronic device that has a camera and a microphone. Please connect to a stable internet connection. To receive telehealth services, you must be physically located in the State of New York at the time of the visit according to state laws.
Emergency Situations
If you are experiencing a crisis and the provider is unavailable to meet or be reached during or after business hours, it is recommended that you call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Voicemails and emails are considered non-urgent and will be returned within 2 business days, although usually addressed the same day.
Additionally, you may call 1888-NYC-WELL, 311, or text well to 65173. This is free, confidential and available to all New Yorkers 24/7 in the event of a mental health crisis.
For Long Island residents: If you are having a crisis call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Additionally, you may contact DASH 631-952-3333. This is a program that helps individuals who are in crisis, due to substance use, mental illness.
Self-Pay and Out-of-Network
All major credit Cards are accepted as form of payment, payments are processed through square. Cost of services will be invoiced using Square at time of booking with the expectation that payment will be made upon receipt and prior to the scheduled appointment.
Insurance and In-Network
We accept United Healthcare, Oxford, Oscar, united health care Aetna, Cigna, Anthem BCBS, and Empire BCBS plans through Headway.co in the states of NY. Copays and cost of services depends on your individual health insurance plan; some patients may be required to meet deductibles before benefits start, whereas most plans have a set copay for all visits regardless of type. Headway perform insurance verification through their system and provide support related to billing and claims. Insurance verification may take at least 1-2 business days after obtaining all necessary data through intake forms. Please fill out all forms sent by the office in entirety to ensure proper and timely insurance verification. After verification, you will receive an email with coverage details and anticipated costs. Copays are collected after completion of your appointment, Headway will automatically take your copays ( if required) from the method of payment on file. Clients are expected to pay for copays immediately upon completion of an appointment. For clients with outstanding copays, this may impact the ability to schedule future appointments. All patients are expected to place a valid credit card on file. No-shows and cancellations with less than 24 hour notice may be subject up to a $75 fee depending on visit type, even if rescheduled and will be determined at the discretion of the provider.
Cancellations and No-Shows
Patients who cancel without at least 24 hour notice may be subject to fees and forfeit their payment for services. Please see above on each individual policy based on selected payment of services. No-shows may impact the provider’s ethical ability to continue care and patients will be given notification of such after two no-shows.
Client-Provider Relationship
The expectation is that after an initial evaluation, the client will return within 2-4 weeks if started on new medications. Follow-ups for refills and medication management are expected to return monthly. A patient can request to make an appointment at anytime to see the provider and will be placed on the schedule within a time period that the provider determines is safe and appropriate. Clients who have a pattern of repeat cancellations and have one or more no-shows and are being prescribed medications may be given adequate legal notice on finding another provider based on ethical considerations. The provider is not obligated to reschedule or see these clients once they have been given notice of a list of recommended providers.
Services We Do Not Cover
At this time, we cannot see patients who seek assistance for treatment of substance use disorders including for the purpose of rehabilitation, maintenance, or withdrawal. It is recommended that patients who require specialized services seek appropriate outpatient substance use programs or visit your nearest Emergency room. Additionally, the prescriber does not prescribe ketamine or psychedelics for mental health reasons. In the State of New York, marijuana may be prescribed for medical and psychiatric conditions, but the prescriber is not registered with this program. We do not offer worker’s compensation services or fill out disability claims. Additionally, we do not offer forensic exams or psychiatric evaluations for legal matters including but not limited to court cases, immigration services, civil suits, criminal investigations, fitness for duty, child custody, divorce proceedings.
Controlled Substances and Prescriptions
Our provider understands the importance of stimulant use for attention-deficit disorders, hypnotics for sleep disorders, and benzodiazepines for treatment of panic disorder and severe anxiety states. Generally speaking, the DEA has identified these substances as having determined levels of risks that may lead to physical and psychological dependence. Please read more about this here. What this means is that patients may end up becoming addicted to a substance when that was not their initial intention for the simple purpose of trying to reduce psychiatric symptoms. For this reason, the provider will discuss indication, risks, and benefits for the use of such substances and will write prescriptions in a way that is safe and effective and will require appropriate monitoring. In some cases, if you are taking these substances on a daily basis, the recommendation may be to safely taper off these medications until they are appropriate to use on an as needed basis. Therapy has been effective in assisting with decreasing the use of controlled substances. The State of New York does not allow more than a 30-day supply of controlled substances and all prescriptions are required to be sent electronically. Once a prescription is filled, it will require a 23-day period to pass until the next prescription can be picked up, although insurances may not cover early refills before the 30-day period and pharmacy or state policy may prohibit early dispensing. If you take more than the required dosage of any controlled substance, please be aware that we cannot send the early refills for prescriptions.
Pre-Authorizations for Medications and Costs
In some cases a prior authorization is required for some medications, this may cause a delay in getting your medication. Patients should not be impacted when it comes to medication refills and cost of treatment but it happens sometimes for those who rely on insurance to cover benefits. Insurance plans have control over what medication and the forms in which they chose to cover. If they deny coverage of a specific form (oral, transdermal, etc.) or type (generic vs. brand), which can happen in some cases, the office will attempt to contact the insurance company to justify the psychiatric need for the medication. The office may take up to 5-7 business days to complete this process with the insurance company and provide proof of final decision. Pre-authorizations are sometimes approved for a limited period of time and are usually good for one year, but will need to be renewed periodically. Medications can be paid out of pocket without use of insurance and are found to be affordable in most cases. Please try using www.goodrx.com for prescription coupons.
