Welcome to Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness
Welcome to Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness
We are looking forward to working with you, and we want you and all of our clients to receive the optimal concierge treatment experience. To ensure that, we have put these practice policies in place that will hopefully clarify most questions that arise. Please familiarize yourself with the policies so you can know what to expect in our clinic. If you have additional questions, please visit our FAQs page or contact us.
practice policies
Establishing Care & Physician-Patient Relationship
You will need to complete the consultation request form so that you can be scheduled for an initial consultation call. Completion of the consultation request form and/or the initial consultation call does not make you a patient of Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC.
Dr. Patel can be considered your doctor only after both Dr. Patel and the patient have mutually agreed to a treatment plan after the evaluation process is complete. Elements to consider are mutual agreement about the purpose of the work, methods to be used, and investment from both parties.
Therefore, visiting this website, initial email or phone communication, initial evaluation, or any other contact prior to agreeing on a treatment plan does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.
Please note that Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC places the focus on the physician-patient relationship. Participating in appointments and open, honest communication with your physician is vital in being able to develop an effective treatment plan together.
Business hours for Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness are Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5 PM. Dr. Patel may choose to see patients or respond to communications outside of these hours, but responses from the practice or Dr. Patel should usually be expected only during business hours. For emergencies that require immediate care at any time, you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Coaching and Consulting Hours: These hours vary based on timing and needs, including evenings and weekends. These hours will be established during discussion with Dr. Patel.
clinic hours
appointments & scheduling
New patients can begin a consultation with Dr. Patel by completing the information in the form here. To provide the highest quality of care, we encourage all new patient appointments to be in-person, but exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.
All future appointments for established patients should be scheduled through the patient portal or in-office following an appointment. Please take note as to whether you have scheduled an in-office or virtual (video) appointment. You may also email us or call and leave a message.
If your appointment extends longer than the time scheduled, you will be billed per 10-minute increment over appointment time.
Same-Day Appointments: There is a possibility for same day appointments for established patients. The same applies for new patient appointments pending review of intake form and consultation phone call. If appointments are unavailable the same day, established patients are generally able to schedule within one to two weeks, and new patient assessments are often scheduled within 4-6 weeks.
Frequency of appointments depends on individual treatment needs. However, to remain active in this practice, you are required to be seen in the clinic at least every six months.
Cancellation Policy & Missed Appointments
Once we schedule your time, Dr. Patel holds that time specially for you. As a courtesy to other patients who are wanting that time slot, please call Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC at least two business days before to cancel.
For example, if your appointment is on Monday at 4 PM, please cancel no later than the previous Thursday at 4 PM.
Late cancellations or missed appointments are billed at the full fee based on the duration of the scheduled appointment time that will be automatically charged to the card on file. Please remember that insurance will not reimburse for this.
Of note, we do offer a 15-minute grace period for all appointments before they are deemed no-shows; however, we will still end the session on time, and you will still be charged for the full appointment even if you are late.
If you cancel 1 new patient assessment appointment, we reserve the right to collect a 50% nonrefundable deposit to reschedule. If you no-show 1 new patient assessment, we will require a nonrefundable full payment to reschedule, and/or reserve the right to not reschedule at all.
We reserve the right to waive the cancellation fee under certain unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances (for example, state of emergency / severe weather / natural disaster / you or a family member are hospitalized or being evaluated in an emergency room or urgent care setting).
prescription refills
It is our policy to write prescriptions and refills when you come for a scheduled appointment. It is a shared responsibility between both patient and physician to monitor medication refills to minimize the need for prescribing medication outside of office appointments. Please contact your pharmacy first to check for available refills before contacting Dr. Patel. If you do require a prescription outside of appointments and have checked with your pharmacy, please contact Dr. Patel directly via patient portal.
Please note: You may be prescribed controlled substances at Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC, but early refills will not be provided for them without discussion and approval from your treating physician.
treatment
Treatment discussions, including those about potential new medications or dosage changes, should take place during scheduled appointments. No medication changes will be made via text or email. Urgent matters with sensitive PHI requiring communications or services outside of scheduled appointments should occur via patient portal and may incur additional fee-for-service charges.
Fees
In order to provide you with the highest value and quality of care, Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC, is an out-of-network practice and does not contract with any insurance payers, meaning we are a fee-for-service practice, so we do not file with any insurance company. Payment is required at the time of service. A Superbill can be generated upon request for submission to your insurance company for out-of-network reimbursement. Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC cannot guarantee whether or not you will be reimbursed for appointment fees. Because we are out-of-network, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate. Learn more here. Please contact us to inquire about rates as they vary depending on the service, especially if travel or consultant work is required.
Additional Administrative Fees-for-Services: At times, administrative fees may apply in addition to the clinical appointment fee. If there are any communications or services (listed below but not limited to) requiring longer than 5 minutes, there will be an additional charge.
Communications/Services (list not all-inclusive) subject to additional fee: All calls deemed medically necessary including collaboration with other providers/schools during the intake process or afterwards, forms, paperwork/reports, letters, prior authorizations, reviewing outside records, coordination of care/communication with families, emails, and calls/messages between appointments requiring more than 5 minutes.
Payment: Payment is required at the time of service. A credit or debit card must be kept on file at all times and will be automatically charged at the time of your appointment unless an alternative method of payment is being used. Payment can be made via cash, Zelle, credit, debit, or HSA/FSA. In the event that your payment fails to go through, you will be unable to schedule your next appointment until payment is received. If you have recurring appointments scheduled or multiple appointments scheduled in advance, please note that your next appointment will be canceled if payment for the prior appointment is not received at least 24 hours in advance of your next appointment.
Insurance Reimbursement: Dr. Patel is an out-of-network provider. You will be provided with a medical service receipt (Superbill or invoice) for each visit, which has the information you need to submit an out-of-network claim to your insurance company for reimbursement. From this medical service receipt, many people choose to pursue reimbursement for any out-of-network benefits for which they are eligible, but Dr. Patel considers that a private decision between a patient and their insurer. If you plan to submit for reimbursement, it is important to contact your insurance company to clarify their process and what percentage they will cover. Please keep in mind that not all services may be eligible for reimbursement, so confirming your benefits prior to your visit is advisable. This way, you can better understand your financial responsibility and make informed decisions about your care. Please note that insurance companies usually do not reimburse for fees outside of appointment times, which includes no-show fees, late or cancellation fees, paperwork fees, refill fees, and possibly other fees.
Advantages of Fee-for-Service Model
Quality: You are free to get the best clinical care possible, without any interference from the insurance company.
Access: Appointments can last as long as they need to and can be as frequent as necessary.
Privacy: If you do not seek reimbursement from your insurance company, your chart is completely confidential and will never be released without your permission.
The “No Surprises Act”: Effective 1/1/2022, a new federal law called the “No Surprises Act” was enacted. This law requires us to provide you with a “good faith estimate” of the total cost of your treatment. Estimating the total cost of psychiatric and psychotherapy treatment is very difficult because the course of treatment varies for everyone. The law requires us to make this estimate prior to completing an assessment which further complicates things. In psychiatry & psychotherapy, there are only a handful of CPT codes (billing codes) that can be used and the prices for those codes do not vary. You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items & services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services.
Make sure your physician or other health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your physician and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-877-696-6775.
If you would like to discuss an estimate further, please contact Mississippi Psychiatry & Wellness, PLLC.
have another question?
If your question lies outside of our Practice Information and FAQs, we are here to talk further with you. Simply visit our “Contact” page.