Genetic Testing Could Revolutionize Depression Treatment

adminCosts of Treatment, Depression, Diagnosis, Major Depression, Mental Health, Testing, Treatments of Depression Leave a Comment

Depression is a debilitating mental health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. While there are a variety of effective treatments available, many patients do not respond to the first antidepressant they are prescribed. This can lead to frustration, discouragement, and even worsening symptoms.  A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) suggests that genetic testing could …

Get Labs Drawn at Your Home or Office

adminAbout GPS, Costs of Treatment, General, Self Care Leave a Comment

Mobile Phlebotomy ServiceSprinter Healthhttps://www.sprinterhealth.com/ Where They Draw Serving the entire Bay Area, and growing throughout California and parts of the US.During the booking process, you can see if they serve your location. Timing They will come to your home or office as early as 7 AM, with one-hour windowsThey have scheduling as convenient as next-day What They Draw LabCorp and …

Insurance Coverage Denial – Appeal Process Overview

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My insurer refuses to cover my prescribed treatment. What can I do? If your insurer denies your coverage, you can challenge your insurer’s decision by completing the following steps in order: Appeal the Decision How do I appeal the decision? If your insurer denies your claim, you have the right to an internal appeal.[1] This means you can ask your insurer …

CPT Codes and Billing Changes

CPT Codes and Billing Changes 2021

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In January of 2021 the AMA changed the way that physicians must choose the appropriate “CPT” or billing codes for outpatient visits. The changes simplify the process and also make it clear that we have been “undercoding” for psychiatric outpatient visits at Gateway Psychiatric for quite a while. The reason for this is that the previous system for choosing billing …

Cost of Sending Medical Records from Gateway Psychiatric

Peter ForsterAbout GPS, Costs of Treatment Leave a Comment

It is our policy to provide you and other health care providers ready access to necessary medical information. Fortunately, it is easy for us to create a summary of your care that includes our initial assessment, your diagnoses, and a complete record of any medication we may have prescribed. Unfortunately, if you want a complete copy of your record, due …

Life Insurance or Disability Insurance and Confidentiality – the MIB and Limits of HIPAA

Peter ForsterAbout GPS, Costs of Treatment, Physical Conditions and Health Leave a Comment

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has a few limitations that should be considered when you are applying for life insurance or disability insurance. Life insurance and disability or long term care insurance companies ask you for the names of all the doctors who have treated you and your consent to get records from the doctors. The consent …

generic medications

Generic Medications

Peter ForsterBest Practices, Costs of Treatment Leave a Comment

I have long been a strong proponent of generic medications. Recently, however, several of my patients have expressed concerns about the generic medications that they have received. This led me to do some research on generic pharmaceutical companies. The first thing to know about generics is that they are made by many different manufacturers in many different countries. This is …

Get Your Insurance to Pay for Your Care

Peter ForsterCosts of Treatment Leave a Comment

Let’s face it: dealing with insurance companies is a drag. Because it can be tedious and sometimes involve hours of phone calls with (often unhelpful) insurance agents, the task of getting the reinubursemed for out-of-network claims often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. If this is a familiar story, you may want to take a look at the …

Telemedicine Coverage Mandatory in California

Peter ForsterCosts of Treatment, Policy Leave a Comment

California Governor Signs New Telehealth Insurance Law On October 11, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law requiring commercial health insurance coverage and payment parity for telehealth services, unfortunately the law won’t take effect until 2021. However, in consideration of the State of Emergency declared by the Governor and the Secretary for Health and Human Services, an industry trade group, America’s …