Beginning a Consultation

My name is Peter Forster, I am the Clinical Director of the Mood Disorders Clinic. I hope that this page can provide you with the information that you need to know about the process of beginning a consultation. You may have more questions, and that is good. I will be talking to you and trying to answer your questions soon.

Have You Come to the Right Place?

Although we are very proud of the work we do with patients with mood disorders, this is definitely not the right place for everyone to get care.

Our initial consultation is very comprehensive. It involves filling out a questionnaire that takes an hour, or sometimes more, and then coming in for three or more visits. For many people who come to see us this thoroughness is a relief. But it is probably not for you if you are in an urgent need for immediate changes in treatment. We almost never begin a new treatment plan until the second or third visit. It is probably also not for you if you are pretty satisfied with what has been done in the past and you just want to resume the same treatment with a new clinician.

We do not accept insurance reimbursement instead of payment from our patients. In other words, you will have to pay us and then seek reimbursement from your insurance company. Some will cover much of the cost, some will cover none of it. Part of the reason we don't accept what is called insurance assignment is that we were simply not able to keep up with the intricacies of all the different plans and policies.

If you want to get care that is covered by your insurance company you may have to be assertive. Many companies, unfortunately, have lists of clinicians in the area who are not actually available to provide care for new patients. Keep track of who you call and then, with the list in hand, call the insurance company... tell them you are going to call the Department of Managed Care or the Department of Insurance at the state if you don't get help. It is hard, but you have to be persistent.

Finally, we ask that you pay us with a credit card (a Visa or MasterCard) and that you sign a form that authorizes us to bill you for sessions on the date of each session. Also, for the first session, which costs $350, we ask that you pay in advance before we schedule the session. Why is this? It is, we think, because for most people coming in for a consultation remains something that is very, very hard. And too many people decide they want to come in and then don't show up on the day of that first visit.

What is the Next Step?

Call our main number at (415)551-0520 and say "Peter" when you hear our outgoing message. You will be transferred to my voicemail. Leave your name (please spell your last name, or any name that is a bit complicated, we try to keep track of everyone who calls us, but to do so we have to get your name right), how you found out about the clinic, and a telephone number and some good times to contact you. Also be sure to say that you read all of the information on this page. I will get back to you within a day, if I possibly can.

I will then ask you to review the information in the documents posted below, and I will ask you to fax in signed copies of the Credit Card authorization form and the Summary of Information for Patients form.

Once we get those two forms we will either mail you a questionnaire or setup a secure website where you can fill out the questionnaire (we use Secure Socket Layer encryption so your information is safe). The online questionnaire allows us to be a little bit more efficient in completing the consultation, but we know some people aren't as comfortable with a computer as we are.

Clinic Policies

Summary of Information for Patients - this form summarizes our policies. Review it, call us if you have any questions, if not sign it and fax it back to us.

Credit Card Authorization - this form authorizes us to charge your credit card for treatment and authorizes us to charge you for the initial visit. Fill it out, sign it and fax it back to us, or call us if you have any questions.

Privacy Policy Statement and Acknowledgement of Receipt of Privacy Policy. - These forms summarize our privacy policy. Review the Privacy Policy Statement. If you have questions please let us know, otherwise fill out the Acknowledgement form and fax it back, or bring it in to your first appointment.

You will need these forms if someone else is paying for your treatment:

Third Party Payer Form - Have the person who is paying for your treatment fill this out and fax it back to us.

Third Party Credit Card Form - Have them also fill this form out and fax it back to us.

Adobe® Reader® is free software that enables business professionals and home users to reliably share information using intelligent PDF files. With Adobe Reader, you can easily view, print, and search PDF files using a variety of platforms and devices. Click on the link below to download the software for Windows.
Get Adobe Reader 7.0

A Final Word

We have spent a lot of time on this page going over administrative issues. That is not because we are focused on the business side of our work, it is really so that we can stay focused on what is important, providing the people we see with the best, most compassionate, most well informed, care we can.

Peter Forster, MD

Clinical Director, Gateway Psychiatric Services