FAQs

At your first appointment, you, your child, and the provider will go through a comprehensive review of psychiatric, developmental, and medical history. Completing the intake questionnaire in advance is extremely helpful for streamlining the intake process and focusing this initial session. If the patient is a child, the provider, child, and parent will meet all together to understand your priorities and concerns. After that, the provider will often meet with the child or teen separately (provided the child is comfortable and this is developmentally appropriate), then with the child and parent together again to discuss impressions and treatment recommendations. If a parent would like to speak alone with the provider (without the child present), please let us know at the beginning of the appointment. In some cases, an additional parents-only appointment may be needed to allow adequate time for assessment.

We do prefer for the first appointment to be in person, but our office is located on the second floor, and there is not an elevator in the building. If you or your child are not able to walk up one flight of stairs, we can offer a video visit as an exception.

A federal law called the “No Surprises Act,” went into effect 1/1/2022. Under the law, health care providers are required to provide patients who do have insurance or are not using their insurance with a “Good Faith Estimate” (GFE) of the total cost of their treatment.  The purpose of this law is to help protect you from unexpected medical bills. 

You will receive a Good Faith Estimate because our practice is not in your health plan’s provider network.  This means that the provider and the facility do not have an agreement to bill your plan for services, and getting care from this provider/facility could cost you more.  The service fees provided to new patients are only an estimate and not a contract for services.  Our Good Faith Estimate does not include any information about what your health plan may cover for out-of-network benefits.  This means that the final cost for services may be different than the estimate.

Your Good Faith Estimate will show the costs of items and services that are reasonably expected for your health care needs for a service. The estimate is based on information known at the time the estimate was created. The Good Faith Estimate does not include any unknown or unexpected costs that may arise during treatment. You could be charged more if complications or special circumstances occur. If this happens, and your bill is $400 or more for any provider or facility than your GFE for that provider or facility, federal law allows you to dispute the bill. More information is provided in our New Patient Package.

Carolina PPD does not participate in any insurance plans, and payment is due in full for all services at the time services are rendered.  We request that a credit or debit card be kept on file (information can be entered securely in the patient portal), which will be charged at the completion of an appointment or for a missed appointment.  If you would prefer an alternative method of payment (such as check or cash), please notify our office before the appointment.

We have found that insurance companies tend to dictate care in a way that values cost over quality and does not allow much flexibility for individual needs. In order to provide a tailored, comprehensive treatment, we do not currently participate in any insurance plans.

For non-emergent questions and requests, the most efficient way to communicate with your provider is through the patient portal, where you can send a private message. We respond to messages as quickly as possible, but please allow up to 2 business days for a response. Please note that complex requests, such as a request to change medications or concerns about significant worsening of symptoms, are often best addressed with an appointment. You can also call our office at 919.739.4287 for assistance. Providers do not bill for messages, phone calls, or requests lasting under 10 minutes. Requests requiring more than 10 minutes (such as writing a letter or completing lengthy paperwork) are billed at a pro-rated fee.

We request that you cancel or reschedule your appointment with as much notice as possible. You will be charged in full for missed appointments and appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, unless we are able to fill the slot on short notice. Appointments. can be rescheduled directly in the patient portal. For appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, please call our office at 919.739.4287 to notify us.

If you or your child is having a psychiatric emergency when our office is closed, please go to your nearest emergency room or call 911 without waiting to hear back from our office. Another helpful crisis resource is the Hope Center for Youth and Family Crisis, a 24-hour pediatric behavioral health urgent care center. The Hope Center is located at 400 W Ransom St, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526. The phone number is 877.888.7849.

Having records about your prior psychiatric treatment can be very helpful in developing a comprehensive treatment plan focused on your individuals needs. You can request that your providers send your records by mail or fax to our office. They will typically require a “Release of Information” (ROI) form prior to releasing the records; you can complete your provider’s ROI or the ROI form sent to you through our patient portal when you schedule an appointment. If you have a copy of your records, you are able to upload to your client file in CHARM HEALTH patient portal.

No, you do not have to take medication to be seen in our practice. While medication may be a helpful part of a comprehensive treatment plan, medication is only one of several tools available. Other recommendations could include different types of therapy, lifestyle changes, exercise, and natural supplements.

We recommend having blood work done at your local Labcorp facility for the smoothest coordination with your electronic health record. Please follow this link to find your nearest LabCorp office and schedule an appointment.