Hours: Our front office receptionist is generally present 8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday-Friday, except holidays. When the office is closed, a brief message can be left on the answering machine, although we prefer that you call back during business hours.

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Appointments: Appointments can be scheduled by the receptionist. Dr. Yates currently has availability Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 9:00 am and 5:00 p.m. Although appointment slots may already be filled at the time you prefer, enough changes do occur that we can often fit you in if you call. An informal waiting list is kept for those awaiting an opening. Please do not hesitate to call back if you are awaiting an opening. We do not over-book or double-book; the time you schedule is yours. 

 

*If you cannot or do not plan to keep your appointment, you must let us know 24 working hours in advance to avoid a late cancellation or no-show charge of $150. For example, we would need a call from you by 9:00am on Friday, if you were calling to cancel a Monday appointment for 9:00am. 

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Emergencies: If you have an immediate life and death emergency, call 911 or report to an emergency room as quickly as possible.

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During office hours, Dr. Yates will return calls as quickly as possible. He strives to return all calls (excluding holidays) by the end of the day, or by the end of the next business day at the latest. 

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After hours, weekends, and holidays, Dr. Yates can be reached (for emergencies only, please) through his answering service. This emergency answering service can be accessed via the telephone number on our office voicemail greeting when we are out of the office.

 

When Dr. Yates is away or on vacation, he will have a psychiatrist covering for emergencies. If Dr. Yates or his covering psychiatrist has not reached you within an hour, please call back.

Prescription Refills: Dr. Yates' routine practice is to write prescription(s) to cover your needs until your next appointment. There should be no need for additional refills between appointments if you keep scheduled appointments or reschedule promptly.

 

If an exception occurs, please call the pharmacy (during business office hours, at least two working days before you will run out) and ask them to call the office to approve a refill. Dr. Yates will do so during business hours, for active patients with scheduled follow-up appointments. Patients are generally seen at least monthly at first, then up to every two months when well established, and occasionally up to every three months.

 

Persons not seen in over three months are not considered active or current patients of Dr. Yates. Medication changes generally require appointments so they can be adequately considered, explained, and discussed.

 

Refills will only be approved for current patients who have scheduled follow-up appointments. Controlled substances (Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, benzodiazepines, etc.) cannot be refilled by phone and will not be rewritten except during an appointment.

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If another psychiatrist is covering for Dr. Yates while he is away, the covering psychiatrist will often hold refills until Dr. Yates returns, if possible, or may approve only enough medication to cover the patient's needs until Dr. Yates returns to the office.

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Doctor-Patient relationship: Dr. Yates becomes your psychiatrist when a mutual agreement is made to work together after the initial evaluation (usually one to three appointments) is completed. This relationship is a professional, cooperative partnership in which we both have responsibilities to work toward agreed-upon goals. Because of the nature of psychiatric treatment and Dr. Yates' practice, a person or family must be seen at least every three months to be considered an active or current patient of Dr. Yates.

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HIPAA is a federal law in place to improve privacy and internet transactions for billing and records. Because Dr. Yates does not use billing and coding services via electronic transactions, signing HIPAA forms and notices is not required. Dr. Yates' practice meets or exceeds HIPAA privacy standards.

Dr. Yates does not use or respond to email due to internet privacy concerns, email communication challenges, basic time limitations in the workday, and because the front office staff is available full time to take messages and relay them to Dr. Yates.

 

Making, changing, and canceling appointments will only be done by phone.  Refills will not be done by email.  

 

We ask you to call (296-4280) or fax (296-3835) your concerns or needs, especially if they are of an urgent nature and cannot wait until your next appointment to discuss.  However, you may email non-urgent information (if needed for an upcoming appointment, or if you would like it added to your chart) via the receptionist at frontdesk@phd-md.com   The receptionist checks email twice per day and will forward information to Dr. Yates.  

 

In Dr. Yates' practice, email is only used to receive such information from you; our email response is limited to confirming receipt if requested.  To reduce the chance of any communication errors, all urgent or emergency matters must be handled by phone.

Insurance: We do not file or bill insurance. This allows Dr. Yates to work directly with you to create a customized treatment plan, without restrictions from insurance companies regarding treatment frequency, duration, style, aim, or diagnosis. For each visit with Dr. Yates, we will provide you with a superbill (i.e., a billing invoice with medical coding) which may assist you in your filing for any available reimbursements with your insurance company.

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Your insurance policy is a contract between your insurer and you. You are responsible for all charges incurred, as well as for any services that are not covered by your policy, such as telephone consultations and reports.

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Payment is due at the time of service. Personal checks, cash, and Master Card/Visa are accepted. We cannot make change.

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There is a $25 charge for returned checks.

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There is a $150 charge for missed appointments or late cancellations. The time you schedule with Dr. Yates is yours unless we hear otherwise. Cancelling or rescheduling at least 24 hours ahead of time allows us to offer the appointment slot to others on the wait list. 

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There is generally no fee for copying and mailing records of fewer than five pages. Beyond this there is a charge of 25 cents per page plus postage, to cover costs and staff time. A completed, signed release of information is required.

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Due to the additional time and costs incurred, there is a charge for extended or complex phone calls, and for letters, reports, medication authorizations, or extended calls done on your behalf to other clinicians or insurance companies/agencies or at your request.

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Dr. Yates' practice is fully independent of all persons and agencies where he may consult or contract, and is completely independent of others who share office space at 1980 E. Ft. Lowell Road, Suite 150. Dr. Yates is the sole operator of his practice and has a completely separate practice from co-officing practitioners in his office space.

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