FAQs

During the intake/assessment appointment, all new patients are seen for a comprehensive 90-minute initial evaluation in order to recommend the best course of treatment for their individual needs and attempt to evaluate potential psychiatric diagnoses.  It may take additional appointments to fully ascertain particular diagnoses.

In the interest of providing the best care possible, it may be necessary for Dr. Reed to order certain labs or tests, or to confer with other medical professionals with patient/guardian consent, prior to prescribing certain medications.

Dr. Reed accepts a patient into treatment in an effort to determine whether they can benefit from the services available.  The evaluation process may take several sessions to determine if Dr. Reed is a good fit for you and vice-versa. If in the opinion of Dr. Reed you are not able to benefit from the treatment she provides, withdrawal will be recommended and other plans discussed.

All information discussed in your sessions is confidential.  Dr. Reed is obligated by law and her professional code of ethics to protect your right to confidentiality.  This means that she must have your permission before sharing any information about you to anyone, with the following exceptions:

• Legal limitation: Dr. Reed is obligated by law to disclose information you tell her under certain legally defined situations: 1) if you are a danger to yourself and/or others; 2) if you are unable to provide food, clothing or shelter for yourself; 3) if you tell her about an incident of child, elderly, or disabled/dependent individual abuse by you or someone else; 4) under certain circumstances if court-ordered.
• Communication with other professionals: It is possible that Dr. Reed will need to communicate with other health care professionals working with you to ensure continuity and comprehensive, safe treatment.  Dr. Reed will discuss these communications ahead of time with you, and obtain written consent before they take place except in the situation of a psychiatric or medical emergency.
• Dr. Reed makes every effort to protect patient confidentiality in all communications.  Although Dr. Reed generates HIPAA-compliant and encrypted email and HIPAA-compliant text messaging as potential avenues of communication with patients, no email or text is 100% secure and could be retrievable by unintended third parties.  Dr. Reed cannot guarantee full protection against potential unknown/illegal/unauthorized privacy violations. If an email is initiated by a patient that includes sensitive patient information, the patient will bear sole responsibility for any privacy-related outcome of this communication.

Initial Visits: All new patients are seen for a comprehensive 90-minute initial evaluation in order to recommend the best course of treatment for their individual needs.

Follow-up Appointments/Medication Management: Medication management/follow-up visits are 25-50 minutes in length.  After a stable regimen has been established, follow-up appointments will typically occur every 1-3 months.

Psychotherapy Sessions: With or without medication management, therapy sessions are 50 minutes in length.  The frequency of therapy sessions is scheduled based upon your needs and generally begins with a once-weekly schedule.

Every effort will be made to accommodate your rescheduling needs; however, appointments cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48 hours advance notice will be charged the full scheduled appointment rate.  Missed appointments will be charged at the full scheduled rate.

For potential new patients, telephone is the preferred route of communication.  Aside from setting up an initial evaluation, Dr. Reed will only communicate via email/text with established patients.  Email and text communication are not substitutes for face-to-face encounters. Text and email messages may be filed in your medical chart.  If Dr. Reed is unable to reach established patients by telephone call, text, or email, the U.S. Postal Service may be used for correspondence.

Full payment is due at the time of each visit. As a courtesy to the physician, if an appointment is cancelled by the patient, 48 hours notice by telephone will be given to the physician’s office (two working days; weekend days and holidays do not count). Missed appointments/appointments cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48 hours advance notice will be charged the full scheduled appointment rate. Unpaid fees may be turned over to a collections agency after 45 days.

The doctor may charge for telephone consultations and for all other administrative uses of her time on your behalf, at the rate of $650/hour.
Dr. Reed does not accept insurance and does not bill insurance companies; however, you may be eligible for reimbursement by your insurance provider for a portion of the fee for your visits. Dr. Reed provides detailed receipts (“superbills”) which include the information needed for insurance claims. You may submit these superbills to your insurance company for potential reimbursement, the amount of which is determined by your out-of-network benefits.

Dr. Reed is not a Medicare/Medi-Cal provider. Dr. Reed will provide a detailed receipt upon request to patients who wish to submit a request for reimbursement to their private insurance company, but Dr. Reed does not bill insurance companies or fill out insurance forms. Patients are responsible for obtaining reimbursement from their private insurance company if desired.

Most hospitals offer emergency psychiatric services.  If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Patient-generated email and text communications are not appropriate for communicating urgent or emergent matters.