We are committed to providing you with the best possible care. In order to achieve this goal, we need your understanding and
acceptance of our policies. Please thoroughly review the following and give us a signed copy.
We typically provide services on an appointment basis. If your situation is an emergency, please go to the nearest emergency facility.
During normal working hours, your telephone calls to our office are answered by us. Charges may be made for appointments cancelled
without 48 hours’ notice.
We are participating providers with virtually all insurance companies. If we do not participate with your insurance plan, we will do our
best to join. Most insurance companies cover, at least in part (and in some cases fully), the cost of our services. We honor the rates
that “allow” for their “covered” services. They may not “cover” all services we provide. In most cases, we are required to file with your
insurance carrier for you as part of our contract with your company. You must realize, however, that the failure of your insurance
carrier to pay for services rendered by any of our staff does not relieve you of your responsibility to pay us directly.
Insurance companies are now routinely and unpredictably changing what services they “cover,” the amounts they pay and other
factors. Insurance companies differ substantially in the services they “cover” and they amount they pay. Further, in this computerized
world, we are forced to use “procedure codes” when submitting claims to these carriers. These procedure codes, as well as diagnosis
codes, may carry vague and general definitions that do not always exactly correspond to the symptoms of the patient or specific
services we, and other clinicians, provide. Be aware that the services we provide may not fit the specific descriptions associated with
the procedure codes and we may be forced to select a procedure code that seems to fit best, but perhaps is not an exact description of
the services we provide. The same is true of diagnostic codes. Our billings reflect time spent by any of our staff in direct contact with
the patient; however, billings can also include time spent by any of our staff in other activities including, but not limited to, telephone
conversations, scoring and interpretation of evaluations/tests, report writing, time spent filling out forms and writing letters, and
general preparation. These may include billing time when the patient is not in the office, especially testing and collateral contact.
Before engaging in services with us, please understand that we do not always listen to recorded phone messages and do not always
read emails, text messages, and social media. Note that certain elements of these forms of communication may not be confidential.
You can email us at: info@associatedclinical.com
The term “telehealth” refers to any type of service delivered by electronic means, and typically insurance coverage is exactly the same
for telehealth services as it is for face-to-face services. Again: you may be charges for time spent on your case even if you are not in the
office.
With the exception of special services testing (e.g., testing for forensic purposes), Dr. Carter and other clinical psychologists at this
practice generally bill 16 units for full assessments/evaluations, and this includes time spent on numerous activities. Again: This
includes billable times that patients/clients are not in the office (e.g., for test scoring, test interpretation, and report writing).
Testing/assessments typically involve services covered by your health insurance, but certain elements may not be covered. Our testing
sessions may also involve therapy services and you should feel free to discuss topics of concern during testing sessions. Often, testing
requires that we obtain separate, ongoing, and multiple authorizations from insurance companies. Sometimes this can create delays
and elongate the testing process.
