Psychiatric Conditions and their detailed management or at-length discussions cannot be piggybacked onto physical exams or sick visits. Our physicians take great efforts to assist in identifying problems associated with depression, anxiety, behavioral disorders, attention deficit disorder and other psychiatric conditions. Referring our patients to mental health services is part of the process in providing quality care. Psychiatric conditions and concerns require a lot of time and should never be “piggybacked” onto other visits. And once you have seen a specialist, it is not advised to go back to your primary doctor for further treatment on that subject. If you have a psychiatrist, please contain your psychiatric questions to that psychiatrist.
Our staff are advised to set up psychiatric related matters (like behavior concerns for your child) as a separate visit. Please let the appointment scheduler know if you want our provider to address psychiatric-related matters before you set up the appointment. Finally, for patient safety reasons, new patients require a real hand-off from their last doctor, so if there are psychiatric or other medications that need refilling, they need to be seen by our doctor and have records from the prior doctor before any refills of medications.