TELEMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

This information is designed to inform you about what you can expect from your clinician(s) and staff at PTPS regarding confidentiality, emergencies, and several other details regarding the services you may receive with us as it pertains to technology use and TeleMental Health.

Structure and Cost of Sessions

Based on your ability to make in-person sessions, your clinician may provide phone, email, chat, or video conferencing if your treatment needs determine that TeleMental Health services are appropriate for you. If appropriate, you may engage in either face-to-face sessions, TeleMental Health, or both. You and your clinician will discuss what is best for you.

The structure and cost of TeleMental Health sessions are exactly the same as face-to-face sessions described in our general informed consent forms. 

Messages and emails are billed at your clinician’s hourly rate for the time he or she spends reading and responding.

We require a credit card ahead of time for TeleMental Health therapy for ease of billing. Your credit card will be charged at the conclusion of each TeleMental Health interaction. This includes any therapeutic interaction other than setting up appointments. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express are accepted for payment (4% fee applies), and we will provide you with a receipt of payment and the services that we provided upon request. Prepayment via cash or check is accepted without the service fee. 

Insurance companies have many rules and requirements specific to certain benefit plans. We will do our best to determine if your insurance coverage includes TeleMental Health services prior to rendering the services. We will also attempt to bill the insurance if possible; however, you are responsible for the cost of the session if the insurance does not provide payment for any reason. We will also be glad to provide you with a statement for your insurance company and to assist you with any questions you may have in this area. 

In Case of an Emergency

If you have a mental health emergency, we encourage you not to wait for communication back from your clinician but do one or more of the following:

• Call Crisis / Suicide Intervention
  24-Hour Helplines –  Dial 211
  First call for Help – Broward   County
  24 hours  / 7 days a week
• Call Lifeline: 800-273-8255 (National Crisis Line)
• Call 911
• Go to the emergency room of your      choice.

Emergency Procedures Specific to TeleMental Health Services

There are additional procedures that we need to have in place specific to TeleMental Health services. These are for your safety in case of an emergency and are as follows:

• You understand that if you are having suicidal or homicidal thoughts, experiencing psychotic symptoms, or      in a crisis that we cannot solve remotely, we may determine that you need a higher level of care and TeleMental Health services are not appropriate.
• We require an Emergency Contact Person (ECP) who we may contact on your behalf in a life-threatening emergency only. Please provide this person’s name and contact information at the time of your appointment. Either you or we will verify that your ECP  is willing and able to go to your location in the event of an emergency.
• Additionally, if either you, your ECP, or we determine necessary, the ECP agrees to take you to a hospital.      Your signature at the end of this document indicates that you understand we will only contact this individual in the extreme circumstances stated above.
• You agree to inform your clinician of the address where you are at the beginning of every TeleMental Health session.
• You agree to inform your clinician of the nearest mental health hospital to your primary location that you prefer to go to in the event of a mental health emergency.

In Case of Technology Failure

During a TeleMental Health session, you and your clinician could encounter a technological failure. The most reliable backup plan is to contact one another via telephone. Please make sure you have a phone with you, and your clinician has that phone number.

If you and your clinician get disconnected from a video conferencing or chat session, end and restart the session. If you are unable to reconnect within ten minutes, please call your clinician.

If you and your clinician are on a phone session and you get disconnected, please call your clinician back or contact her or him to schedule another session.

If the issue is due to your clinician’s phone service, and the two of you are not able to reconnect, she/he will not charge you for that session.

Cancellation Policy

In the event that you are unable to keep either a face-to-face appointment or a TeleMental Health appointment, you must notify your clinician at least 24 hours in advance. If such advance notice is not received, you will be financially responsible for the session you missed. Please note that insurance companies do not reimburse for missed sessions. 

Please know that we have the utmost respect and positive regard for you and your wellbeing. We would never do or say anything intentionally to hurt you in any way, and we strongly encourage you to let your clinician know if something she or he has done or said upset you. We invite you to keep the communication with your clinician open at all times to reduce any possible harm.

Face-to Face Requirement

 During the initial session, your clinician will require you to show a valid picture ID and another form of identity verification such a credit card in your name. At this time, you will also choose a password, phrase, or number which you will use to identify yourself in all future sessions. This procedure prevents another person from posing as you.

In summary, technology is constantly changing, and there are implications to all of the above that we may not realize at this time. Feel free to ask questions, and please know that we are open to any feelings or thoughts you have about these and other modalities of communication and treatment.