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University Elite PLLC
Mental Health Services
University Elite is committed to providing elite education & care. Because our care and results speak for themselves, we also strive for a transparent experience for our patients. Please read and understand our transparent terms and conditions listed below.
• Risks and Benefits of mental health treatment.
Most people seek treatment with a mental health provider to help with problems related to mood, anxiety, stress, relationships, school, and work. The goal of mental health treatment is to reduce these problems and improve the level of functioning at work, school and in relationships.
During the course of this treatment, however, some people might experience an increase in anxiety, worsening of symptoms, and thoughts of self-harm that could lead to hospitalization. Therefore, it is important to be completely honest with your doctor, follow recommendations made by the provider and verbalize concerns or side effects of treatment on a consistent basis.
University Elite PLLC is dedicated to giving the best care possible and being responsive to the patient’s needs. We understand that there will be times where it is necessary to communicate with your doctor in between sessions. In these cases, the normal communication format between patient and University Elite Doctors is an email to notify of the needed communication. The doctor will then call you back at the first available time.
While it is perfectly legal for a patient to include medical information in the email, we recommend avoiding this because email is not encrypted and your privacy could be compromised.
Please ensure that email is not used for urgent or life-threatening situations. If you ever have an emergency, life-threatening situation or if the issue cannot wait for a response to an email, please call 911, go to your nearest emergency room or call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Please recognize that there will be times when the University Elite Doctor may be out of town or otherwise unavailable for an extended period of time. Every effort will be made to respond to emails in a timely manner but a rapid response cannot be guaranteed. When in doubt or if your need requires more rapid response, seek urgent or emergency medical care through the emergency room or urgent care clinic as applicable.
If a patient’s situation is critical enough to require a provider that is routinely available for in-between session care or after hours calls, University Elite PLLC may not be the best choice for your needs.
If our resources don’t meet your needs, we understand. If that is the case, we will always strive to identify this in the evaluation session(s) or to identify such when it becomes apparent in the treatment sessions. In these rare instances, we will be happy to facilitate the transfer of your records to the provider you specify.
At the current time, some doctors of University Elite PLLC are proudly serving their country as a Department of Defense doctors. Federal law prevents them from seeing any tricare beneficiaries or tricare eligible individuals in another practice. Therefore, individuals that are eligible or currently insured by Tricare are not allowed to be patients of University Elite PLLC at this time. (We are attempting to resolve this restriction ASAP and this restriction will be eliminated when possible.)
Patients of University Elite PLLC usually participate in care via video (telemedicine.) In addition to the federal requirement, reality shows us that there are occasional situations that require emergency services to go to the patient’s location. Therefore, patients of University Elite PLLC must commit to only engaging in telemedicine care when in a predetermined location where contact information for emergency services has been identified/provided to the doctor.
Real life dictates that there may be rare times where the treating doctor will pre-approve the patient to do the telemedicine appointment in another location due to extenuating circumstances. This exception will always require pre-approval from the treating doctor (always before the appointment time) and the patient must provide contact information for emergency services (local telephone number to local police) at the pre-approved location.
University Elite Doctors are “out of network providers” and are not contracted with insurance companies. This simply means we don’t take insurance.
University Elite is a fee-for- Service Company and accepts payment in the form of credit cards. Upon request, we do provide the patient a receipt so they can file for reimbursement from their insurance companies or HSA plans.
All initial sessions are 50 minutes long and are referred to as an “hour.” The remaining 10 minutes are used for administrative requirements (completing paperwork, calling in your meds, etc.) Ongoing care for psychotherapy with medication management sessions will require “hour” long follow up sessions.
Appointments that are strictly medication management will be 20 minute appointments and are referred to as a “half hour.”
New patients usually require between 1-3 intake evaluation/treatment planning sessions.
Phone calls and paperwork in excess of those routinely required as part of evaluation and treatment will be charged in 15 minute increments pro-rated at the doctor’s hourly rate ($300/ hour for a psychiatrist and $150/ hour for a psychologist.)
When paying for services, the patient/customer is paying to reserve that time slot with their doctor. Therefore, payment is due when the time slot is reserved (purchased.)
University Elite affiliated doctors strive to give the best and most comprehensive care available. As such, University Elite Doctors are evaluated before being affiliated and this evaluation continues after becoming affiliated. Our physician’s only accept patients types (child vs adult vs geriatric) for which they have been appropriately trained and University Elite performs ongoing evaluation of their care.
While all University Elite physicians have completed at least a general psychiatric residency and have training in treating psychiatric conditions in child, adolescent, adult and geriatric patients, not all have taken the extra step of gaining additional board certifications in child and adolescent or geriatric psychiatry.
The patient or legal representative acknowledges that the physician may be a certified “general psychiatrist” and may not be board certified in child and adolescent or geriatric psychiatry. The patient or legal representative consents to treatment even if it is from a “general psychiatrist.”
Both the doctor and patient agree that no sessions will be recorded in any format (audio or video) without written consent from both parties. Verbal consent is not acceptable.
University Elite is focused equally on patient education and treatment options. Instead of simply “throwing a med at the symptoms,” we focus on understanding the “why” behind your specific situation and symptoms. Then we take the necessary time to help our patients understand “the why.” This is the reason that our patients are equal partners in choosing their treatment approach.
Please note that to provide personalized service and full confidentiality, University Elite does not contract with any insurance providers. All services are paid for in full by the client when reserving each session.
If requested, your doctor will be happy to provide you with a reimbursement form or “superbill” which you can present to your insurance provider in order to seek partial reimbursement for psychiatric or psychotherapeutic services rendered.
…If you plan to use insurance benefits, it is recommended that you check with your insurance provider prior to your first appointment to understand the full details of your out-of-network mental health benefits. University Elite Doctors are considered “out-of-network” providers for insurance plans. These plans vary widely and typically reimburse patients anywhere from 25% to 90% of the total cost of each session. You may want to ask your insurance carrier to what extent they reimburse for psychiatric services by an out-of-network doctor.