CLINIC POLICIES

BILLING POLICY

INSURANCE

PlayTalkGrow is contracted with most commercial insurance carriers and NC Medicaid plans as an in-network provider.  Ask about your specific plan. Patients with these insurances will have claims submitted on their behalf.

All Denials, Copayments, Coinsurance, and Deductibles will be charged to the credit card on file when PlayTalkGrow receives the Explanation of Benefits.

PlayTalkGrow is not responsible for insurance denials or reimbursement that does not match the out-of-pocket costs of treatment.

You are responsible for updating PlayTalkGrow of any future changes to your child’s insurance or contact information as soon as possible.  PlayTalkGrow is not responsible for insurance denials resulting from termination or a change in insurance without prior notification.

FEE SCHEDULE for PRIVATE PAY

Should your insurance not cover speech therapy, you may pay the following rate for services.

Initial and Re-Evaluations are $195 per occurrence.

Treatment Sessions are $80 per occurrence.

We accept payment via check or major credit cards.

TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY
If you need to contact your clinician between sessions, please contact the office or your clinician directly. Please note that Face- to-face sessions are highly preferable to teletherapy sessions. However, if you are out of town, sick or need additional support, teletherapy sessions are available. If a true emergency arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION
Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, we do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). We believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
We cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, we will do so. While we may try to return messages in a timely manner, we cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.
Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail is considered telemedicine by the State of California. Under the California Telemedicine Act of 1996, telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. If you and your therapist chose to use information technology for some or all your treatment, you need to understand that:

1. You retain the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled.
2. All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable.
3. Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee.
4. Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent.
5. There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine. Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, improved quality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to treatment, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs. Effective treatment is often facilitated when the healthcare provider gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. The provider may make assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third person consultations, but also from direct visual and olfactory observations, information, and experiences. When using information technology in services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the provider’s inability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues. Potential consequences thus include the provider not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally to the provider.

MINORS
If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your treatment. We will discuss with you and your parents’ what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.

TERMINATION Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. We may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if we determine that the treatment is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. We will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If treatment is terminated for any reason or you request another provider, we will provide you with a list of qualified Speech-Language Pathologists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.

Should you fail to attend an appointment for three consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, we must consider the professional relationship terminated.