A psychiatrist is a medical doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of mental illness and psychological problems. A psychiatrist has completed medical school, in addition to at least four years of training in the field called residency. Psychiatrists are not only trained to diagnose and manage mental illness, but are also adept at providing psychotherapy.
We will meet with you for an extensive interview and psychiatric evaluation, in which we will gather some information such as: your history, symptoms, and family dynamics. Within this first session together, we will determine the best plan of action to move forward.
We will not reveal any information regarding what happens within the work that we do together unless you have signed the Authorization to Disclose Information form. In the instance that you are in danger of harming yourself or another, then we are obligated by law to notify the authorities of this.
There are no precise determinations that we can make regarding the length of your treatment. Generally speaking, the longer you have had your mental illness not medically acknowledged, the longer the treatment will take. Certain conditions do not require a lot of time to treat, and others considerably more. Certain mental illnesses require just a couple of visits, and others require life long maintenance. We believe that you should seek treatment as soon as possible, for the best outcome.
If you find yourself in the midst of an emergency, please immediately call 9-1-1. If you have an urgent situation, call our office and we will see you as soon as we can.
If you would like us to release your medical information to another medical provider, lawyer, or insurance company, please fill out a Release of Information at our office. Please note we DO NOT release psychiatric records to anyone other than the listed above.
All payments and/or co-payments are payable on the day of service, prior to the appointment. The patient is directly and fully responsible for charges not covered by his/her insurance company, such as co-payments, deductibles, and balances for non-covered services. If the patient's insurance company fails to pay the balance in full, or there is no payment made within 60 days, it is the patients responsibility to pay for services rendered. If the patient fails to notify the office of any changes to my insurance provider or policy prior to his/her next appointment, the patient will be responsible for any charges not covered by my insurance company. If the patient uses a credit card for payment and is not the card holder, he/she must supply a notarized statement from the card holder. There will be a $25 charge on all returned checks. Non-covered services: Dr Vijapura's office will make every effort to make sure your treatment is authorized by your insurance company. However, in the event that your insurance company refuses, for any reason, to authorize services as medically necessary, you as the patient will be responsible for all charges associated with your care.
There will be a fee for these services, due at the time of the request. These are not billable to insurance and the patient is responsible for them in full. These fees are compliant with Florida Statutes, and these services may require up to 10 business days to complete. • FMLA/Medical Leave/Disability - $40 • Jury duty letter - $40 • School Forms - $40 • Prior Authorization for medication - $40
The patient will be charged $40.00 for a late cancellation or late reschedule (within 24 hours of the
appointment), or for a no call/no-show, for EACH occurrence. For Monday appointments, the patient should call to
cancel/reschedule BEFORE 5 pm the preceding Thursday, as our office is closed Friday and on
weekends. This charge is not billable to insurance and the patient is solely and completely
responsible for this payment. There are no exceptions. Multiple late cancellations/reschedules or
no call/no shows (3-strike rule) WILL result in termination of our care. Being terminated from our practice will mean you are no longer allowed to make an appointment and you will not receive prescription refills from our office.
Dr. Vijapura does not perform telephone refills, and the patient must be present for a face-to-face/virtual/telemed visit in order to obtain a medication refill or changes in medication. It is the patient's responsibility to schedule a follow-up appointment prior to running out of medication. Auto-refills requested by the pharmacy will be denied. Any lost or stolen prescriptions for a controlled substance will not be replaced without a police report. We do not prescribe narcotic pain medications such as Lortab, Norco, OxyContin, Roxicodone, or Vicodin. You may authorize our office to obtain your entire prescription history from Pharmacy Benefit Programs and Pharmacy fills.
For any emergencies, such as suicidal ideation, you should call 911 or go to the nearest ER. For urgent clinical issues such as side effects from a medication, you may reach our answering service and leave a message, someone will return the call as soon as possible during our business hours. For routine matters, you can leave a message that will be returned the following business day. You should use phone communication or email for any clinical concerns or medication issues. You may not use email or FaceBook for appointment requests.
To ensure adequate medical oversight and to practice in accordance with the accepted standard of care, patients MUST BE SEEN for a visit by their provider at least every 3 months. If you have not been seen in 4 months, your chart will be closed and will require a new patient appointment in order to re-open.
The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychiatric provider, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission.
Exceptions include:
- Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse, for which we are required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately. - If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, we must notify the police and inform the intended victim. - If a client intends to harm himself or herself, we will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, we will take further measures without their permission that are provided to me by law in order to ensure their safety.
