How to contact us and how we contact you 

When you first call us we may reach back by text if we are in session with patients. the text will acknowledge we received your call and we may ask if you would like us to email you information. You will never receive a text from us if you did not initaite the first contact (we do not solicit patients or market our business using text or phone or email). In the initial email to set up you appointment we will ask for your consent to text you regarding your appointments or to respond to your texts to answer any questions or concerns you have.

Text messages may pose a risk to your privacy and confidentiality and are at your own risk, we ask that you use the secure HIPAA protected email for sensitive and private issues you want to remain conidential. We also ask that you reserve questions that involve medical decision-making to email or scheduled visits.

How Scheduling works

We do not provide ‘free initial consultations’ and all sessions are charged for within your insurance policy contracted rates including telehealth audio only (phone calls) and video sessions. We can not discuss you case or circumstances outside of an initial scheduled consultation billed to your insurance carrier.

New patient appointment:

Let us know your availability and preference for video home care session by telehealth (in-person available if you are unable to do telehealth). 

In order to be scheduled, we need the following information returned by email to nuimageryscheduling@gmail.com :

1. Patient’s full name

2. Date of birth

3. Gender on file with insurance

4. Address

5. Phone number

6. Email address

7. Insurance subscribers full name as it appears on the insurance file and gender and date of birth

8. A copy of the front and back of the insurance cards

9. A copy of a drivers license or other valid photo ID

10. Name and location of preferred pharmacy

11. A credit card number ( include expiration date and cvv code) for the copayment if in network or full session fee if out of network or sliding scale to be charged at the time of service. All Balances must be paid in full prior to the next session. If you do not have a co-pay due, we require a $100 deposit to apply to high deductible plans. ll sessions incur costs, including parent or caregiver sessions. If you do not show up for the initial scheduled session (including parent sessions) you will not receive a refund of the $100 deposit. It is non-refundable. We charge a $50 no show fee for follow-up sessions. We also charge 5% interest a month on unpaid accounts after 30 days. All accounts are due at the time of insurance notification date on the EOB.

12. We require social security number for identification purposes and if needed to collect a debt. You may add it to the portal or during the session if you prefer. Your ID is verified prior to session commencement.

You will receive a link to the portal and can complete your health history and all consents and privacy forms using the portal prior to the appointment.  

Telehealth Session Link:

10 minutes before your telehealth appointment log onto :Telehealth session link: 

Dr. Melissa Scollan-Koliopoulos

https://sessions.psychologytoday.com/dr-melissa-scollan-koliopoulos

Dr. Michelle Reeves

https://doxy.me/michellereevesapn

Dr. Donna Naturale

https://sessions.psychologytoday.com/nu-imagery-healthcare-drdonna 

Ann Pinon MSN, FNP, RN, supervised assisting nurse practitioner

https://sessions.psychologytoday.com/dr-melissa-scollan-koliopoulos-1

Using a mobile device or computer 

What to Expect the First Visit

The first visit is usually a diagnostic interview where we evaluate you for psychiatric and potential medical disorders and developmental disorders and/or learning disabilities. We determine your level of functioning and coping capabilities. Together we decide what medications or therapeutic modalities would be best to improve your quality of life. Medication reconciliation is an essential part of the initial visit and we will request access to electronic prescription history.

About the Type of Psychotherapy We Offer

We deliver several evidence-based forms of brief psychotherapy , psycho-education, and behavior change strategies with the goal being to help you develop and utilize new skills that can help you handle your emotions and change some of your habits. We use dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, rational emotive behavior therapy, and solutions-focused interventions to help you expand your skill-base. Our psychotherapy services are integrated into the medication management sessions. If you are looking for therapy only, after diagnosis we can refer you to a psychologist, licensed social worker, or mental health counselor for long-term therapy.

When brief skills-based therapeutic modalities are not adequate for you, we may refer you to an outside psychotherapist a more intense psychotherapy program.

Visits other than in-person or video-telehealth or audio-telehealth:

Expansion of Virtual Health Options 

We use a digital office assistant SUKI.Ai to dictate and scribe your sessions. it is HIPAA protected and allows us to focus more on you than charting documentation.

Our New Email Policy Effective 11/1/23:

Some emails requesting medical decision-making or psychiatric advise are chargeable visits and you may receive a bill for this service. Remember that all emails are part of your medical record. 

Sending your healthcare provider a message when you have a medical question is a fast and convenient way to receive your care. Since the COVID pandemic, virtual options have improved our access and we are committed to responding to your needs in a timely way. We pride ourselves in being committed and responsive to meeting your care needs when you need it. 

Most of these messages will remain free. However,  responses that require your provider’s clinical time and expertise to answer may be billed to your insurance. There may be a co-pay based on your insurance company’s guidelines and our contract with them. This will allow us to continue to provide the high level of care you have come to expect. 

What to expect if your email or text requests medical decision-making and the message is billed to insurance.

The highest amount that you could be responsible for paying is $60. However, if your message is billed to your insurance, you may not be charged at all or you may see a low out-of-pocket cost. 
 
Similar to a telehealth or in-person session, The amount a provider bills to insurance is based on the amount of time spent reviewing the medical record, labs, prescription record, and providing advice or modifying a plan of care. 

Providers may only bill for messages that require 5 minutes or more.

Different insurance plans cover different things. Here are a few examples of what you can expect:

• Have Medicare? There’s no out-of-pocket cost for most people. Some might have a small fee of $3 to $8. If you’re a Medicare patient with secondary insurance, you’ll owe $0.

• Have private insurance? Most insurance providers cover these messages at little to no cost to the patient. If you have a deductible, or this isn’t a covered benefit on your plan, you could owe up to $60.

Reach out to your insurance provider to learn the specific out-of-pocket costs for your plan. 

What messages will be billed to my insurance?

Messages and phone calls that will be billed usually require your provider’s medical expertise and take longer for your provider to answer — typically taking five or more minutes for your provider to answer.

These include messages about:

• Changes to your medications.

• New symptoms.

• Reporting a response to you medication or treatment that sounds like a side effect or adverse event.

• Changes to a long-term condition.

• Check-ups on your long-term condition care.

• Requests to complete medical forms or provide documentation.

• New behaviors that require expert opinion.

The provider looking at your message might be reviewing the information you sent over and changing part of your treatment plan, or recommending you get a test to learn more. They might need to look at your medical history and do an in-depth review of your records to make sure they give you the best possible advice.

What messages will be free?

It’s important to know that not every message you send to your provider will be billed to your insurance. The quick rule of thumb is to think of time and expertise. Does your provider need to spend a lot of time to fully answer your question? Does it require them to dig into your medical history to respond to your question or review labs ?

Your provider won’t bill for messages about:

• Scheduling an appointment.

• Getting a prescription refilled or a prescription corrected or resent if the pharmacy didn’t receive it.

• Asking a question that leads to an appointment.

• Asking a question about an issue you saw your provider for in the last seven days.

• Giving a quick update to your provider.

• Billing issues and scheduling issues .

What parts of telehealth does insurance cover?

Virtual care and Telehealth has made connecting with your provider easy and convenient. Many insurance plans now cover:

• Video sessions 

• Phone call visits.

• Medical advice via messaging. 

Most of the messages you send to your provider are handled quickly and won’t be billed to your insurance. But requests that take extra time and expertise ( things a secretary can’t resolve ) are considered telehealth, so those services will go to your insurance plan for payment.

You have the option to have message visits- simply send an email or text. Remember that all emails become a part of your medical record. Use your discretion when emailing us sensitive psychotherapy content that you would not want in a medical record and read by other providers if you choose to have your records sent to other providers or insurance companies or in the case that your records are ever subject to legal subpoena. Some things should are best saved for a talking session allowing your provider the ability to keep your thoughts and concerns seperate from your medical record so it remains privileged and confidential. 

Encrypted Email Options 

Below is your SendSafe™ address:

https://sendsafe.to/office@nu-imageryhealthcare.com

Use this link if you wish to send secure messages for added privacy of your protected health information. 

Office Policy

Payment is due at the time of service. In order to book your appointment, we require a credit card on file for payment to be charged at the time of service (copayment or session fee if out of network or sliding scale pre-arrangement). We charge $100 the first session to appt toward deductibles and co-insurance. We charge a $50.00 non-refundable no-show fee and $50 for cancellations less than 24 hours. Please call 201-350-7225 or email to reschedule appointments.

Medication Safety

We do not provide medication refills between sessions because all psychotropic and behavior altering drugs require high risk monitoring. Please ensure your follow up session is scheduled in time for your medication refills. Compliance and prevention of discontinuation symptoms is your responsibility.

Our response to insurance non coverage of less than 90-days:

Psychiatric medications come with many warnings due to potential risks. Many risks are potentiated by other medications you may be taking, chronic medical conditions, and developmental factors. Black box warnings on medication necessitate that we monitor you monthly to ensure your safety and to ensure you gain the speediest possible remission. Please note that insurance companies and pharmacies are concerned with cost-constraints and may pressure you to demand 90-day fills on prescriptions, jeopardizing your safety. When we feel we have developed a therapeutic relationship with you and feel it is safe we may institute a 90-day fill of medication. The 90-day fill of medication indicates we do not need to assess you monthly. This is rarely the case in children or individuals with a history of non-adherence or those who have a history of self-harm or suicidal ideation. It is not standard practice in psychiatry to provide refills without an examination or assessment on record. Occasionally, we may fill 30, 60, or 90 days at a time when we are confident it is safe to do so. We are willing to send prescriptions to more than one pharmacy if it helps you to afford the medication while allowing us to closely monitor your safety. We recommend considering plans such as the GoodRx, OptumPerks, SingleCare, to name a few and Amazon pharmacy for discounts.

Our expectation of adults caring for children on psychotropics:

We request and expect that children under 18 years of age do not have sole responsibility for daily medication administration. Medication errors may lead to overdosage. Sometimes overdosage by children is intentional or due to errors in judgement and/or suicide attempts. Please only provide small dosages of medication for older teens over 16-years of age to help them learn to manage their condition and monitor for adherence. Please provide single doses to younger teens and children and supervise their ingestion. Please keep the Poison Control number accessible for possible errors: 1-800-222-1222

Insurance Policy Information:

We do not verify benefits-and we are unable to determine what your cost share or portion of payment is until we complete the session and submit the claim to your insurance company, you may confirm if the provider is in network by contacting your plan. Your plan determines the allowed rates according to contracted plans you purchase and elected. Everyone’s plan is different. We use multiple procedure codes depending upon what occurs in a visit and what your needs are. The initial mental health session codes are 90792 . Follow-up sessions use 99214 and 90836 most commonly. Therapy is usually 90834. Weight loss session codes are 99205, 99214, and 96156 or 96158.

We participate with many plans. Check with your plan to be certain.

As a courtesy we will bill your plan for out of network services. You are responsible for the full session fee upfront if we do not participate with your plan as in network. Your plan will reimburse you directly according to your contracted rates.

You are responsible for your coinsurance, copays, and deductible which will be charged to a credit card on file upon return of the Explanation of benefits provided by the insurance company.

Currently, we are in network with most plans offered by the following:

-Medicare
-All Horizon ( we are Omnia tier 1) plans

-Cigna--Evernorth behavioral

-Aetna (eff June 2023)

-Clover

-United
-Optum behavioral solutions

-Magellan
-Ameri-Health and Independence

Usually only a copayment is due at the time of service, but your contract with the insurance company determines copays, coinsurance and deductibles due. Our in-network contract with your insurance company determines what we charge.

Privacy

Notice of privacy policy and HIPPA forms are located in the portal and require your signature on file (completed in the portal). We also require your consent to text and email for administrative purposes.

Consent to Care

Clinicians must by law check your controlled substance record before releasing prescriptions. Clinicians will also access your medical pharmacy utilization record in the EMR in order to allow for safe prescribing unless you opt out in writing.

Payment Policy:

Our billing statements are generated automatically by your insurance EOBs and contract ( explanation of benefits). Effective June 1, 2022 we require a credit card on file for balances. We charge a $50 no show fee for follow-up medication sessions and $100 for therapy and diagnostic interview no shows. Our rates are contracted based on what the insurance company says to charge you.

Balances are generated and determined entirely by your contract with your individual insurance carrier. We are unable to legally negotiate any amount other that what the insurance company determines as your portion of the payment. Our insurance contracts do not allow for us to alter the amount the insurance determines you owe by contract. All billing statements are generated by a system that communicates with your insurance company (we do not create the bills ourselves, we use the athena system to do so).

If you are unable to afford your deductibles and would like to be a self-pay with a sliding scale we maybe able to accommodate that but, it is not possible to bill the insurance and have sliding-scale adjustments due to contract limitations.

After 3 statements if there is no valid card on file to charge your portion of the payment, the account goes into collection with TSI and no further appointments will be scheduled for you.

Policy Regarding Documentation and consultation with Schools and other Providers:

We do not work with schools unilaterally or directly. We will provide documentation of your needs to you directly to share at your discretion but will not unilaterally have conversations with school district personnel on your behalf to protect your educational rights to the fullest. It is a parent or guardian’s responsibility to negotiate accommodations with a school district. We do not attend school meetings—you will be referred to a neuropsychologist if that is needed.

We charge a fee of $100 for letters for schools and or disability forms for accommodation’s or benefits due to the time involved with reporting objective data. Insurance companies do not cover care for educational purposes. Letters will only be released upon payment in full. We will not unilaterally consult with school districts—even if you sign a release.

We charge to consult with your other providers (sometimes insurance covers the cost). The rate is the same as a session for medictation management based on time-you will be responsible fort he charge.

We do not do forensic exams or provide documentation for your defense in criminal judicial proceedings or divorce proceedings or any court ordered issues as we are not qualified the same as a psychiatrist or neuropsychologist to do so. You will be requested to see a forensic neuropsychologist at your own expense for any court-related issues, including custody opinions. We do not provide custody opinions as we are not qualified to do so.

We charge for disability form completion based on time and printing charges for the records (a fee for copying medical records at $1.00 a page up to $50.00) Sometimes the insurance company may reimburse for this.