Welcome to BHAC, serving children, adolescents, and adults. Our goal is to provide you and your family timely, respectful, quality service in a pleasant practice environment.
HOURS
BHAC is open from 8:00AM- 5:00PM Monday through Friday by scheduled appointment only. When the office is closed, a brief voice mail message can be left on our voicemail.
APPOINTMENTS
Appointments can be scheduled through the BHAC support staff. We do not over-book or double-book; the time you schedule is yours. If you cannot or do not plan to keep your appointment, please let us know at least one work day (24 hours) in advance to avoid a charge.
EMERGENCIES
If you have an emergency, call 911 or go promptly to an Emergency Room or Urgent Care Facility for assistance. During office hours, your call will be returned as soon as possible. We make a every effort to return all patient calls on the day received (please be sure we have current home, cell, and work phone numbers) and at least by the end of the next working day. If you feel your concern is urgent, please make this clear to the Support Staff at the time of your call. You may also find it helpful to contact your therapist or primary care physician.
AFTER HOURS/ HOLIDAYS
If you have an emergency, call 911 or go promptly to an Emergency Room or Urgent Care Facility for assistance. After hours, weekends, and holidays, please contact your primary physician, or an Urgent Care Facility.
PRESCRIPTION REFILLS
BHAC psychiatrists’ routine practice is to write a prescription(s) to cover your needs until your next appointment. There should be no need for additional refills if you keep scheduled appointments or reschedule promptly. If an exception occurs, please call the pharmacy (during business office hours, at least two working days before you will run out) and ask them to call the office to approve a refill. BHAC psychiatrists will refill prescriptions during business hours, for active patients with scheduled follow-up appointments. Patients are generally seen at least monthly at first, then up to every two months when well established, and occasionally up to every three months. Persons not seen in over four months are not considered active or current patients of BHAC. Medication changes generally require appointments so they can be adequately considered, explained, and discussed. Refills will only be approved for current patients who have scheduled follow-up appointments. Controlled substances (Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine) cannot be refilled by phone and will not be rewritten except during an appointment.
If another psychiatrist is covering for your primary psychiatrist, the covering psychiatrist will often hold refills until your doctor returns, if possible, or may approve only enough medication to cover the patient’s needs until your primary doctor returns.
DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP
BHAC psychiatrists become you or your child’s primary psychiatrist (doctor) when a mutual agreement is made to work together after the initial evaluation (usually one to three appointments) is completed. This relationship is a professional, cooperative partnership in which we both have responsibilities to work toward agreed-upon goals. Because of the nature of psychiatric treatment, a person or family must be seen at least every three months to be considered an active or current patient of BHAC. Professional relationships with psychologists and therapists are also subject to the same guidelines.
RECORDS
There is a fee for copying and mailing records. A completed, signed release of information is required.
PAYMENT
Payment-in-full is due at the time of service. Personal checks, debit cards, cash, and MasterCard/Visa are accepted.
RETURNED CHECKS
There is a CI $30.00 charge for returned checks.
INSURANCE
BHAC will bill your insurance for a fee of CI $10.00 or we can provide you with insurance information if you wish to submit the claim on your own. A copy of your insurance information will be kept on file. Please inform our office staff in a timely manner if there are any changes to your insurance policy. Your insurance policy is a contract between your insurer and you. You are responsible for all charges incurred, as well as for any services that are not covered by your policy, such as telephone consultations, testing, and reports.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS
There is a fee for appointments missed, canceled, or changed less than one business day (24 hours) in advance, except when, at the discretion of the clinic, there exists dangerous weather conditions, serious illness, or a life-threatening emergency. For example, if you have a Monday appointment scheduled for 3:00PM, you must notify us of any change no later than 3:00PM the previous Friday (or sooner if that Friday is a holiday).
Please remember, this is fully your time. We do not over-book or double-book appointments. Please notify us promptly if you cannot make your appointment so that we can offer the time to someone else. The missed appointment fee equals the full amount that would have been received for your appointment.
REPORTS, EXTENDED CALLS, LETTERS
Due to the additional time and costs incurred, there is a charge for extended or complex phone calls, and for letters, reports, medication authorizations, or extended calls done on your behalf to other clinicians or insurance companies/agencies.
HIPAA
HIPAA is a US federal law to improve privacy and Internet transactions for billing and records. BHAC meets or exceeds HIPAA privacy standards