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Please reach us at contact@southfloridaintegrativemed.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
An integrative model of medicine is one that draws upon multiple medical knowledge bases: from allopathic medical practice and from complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices. The integrative model expands a doctor’s or therapist’s so-called toolbox of options from which to choose for a patient.
Functional medicine is a systems-based approach to treating illness that focuses on identifying the root cause of a patient’s presenting problem. Our doctors apply this model to treat our patients’ mental health by looking at not only psychological factors that may be impactful, but also by taking a clinical history and physical examination, measuring inflammation, examining food sensitivities, and considering genetic factors.
There is common ground between integrative medicine and functional medicine. Our philosophy is that both should be practiced with the following approaches to care:
South Florida Integrative Medicine works under a "fee for service" practice model. This means, that the established fee for the appointment is due at the time the appointment occurs, payable in full by the patient or the patient's Financially Responsible Party. We do not bill a patient's insurance for any part of the cost for their services at our practice.
A patient may submit a detailed receipt (called a "Superbill"), provided by our practice upon request following the appointment, directly to their insurance company for potential financial reimbursement under the terms of their available mental health insurance benefits. We encourage all our patients who plan to submit Superbills for reimbursement to understand their insurance benefits in advance of their first appointment. Services rendered by student intern or practicum providers and non-licensed providers such as Coaches are not reimbursable by insurance companies.
In 2019, our owners established SFIM II, an adjacent clinic of psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners. The nurse practitioners who work with that practice do accept some health insurances: currently, Cigna, Aetna, and UnitedHealthCare.
If you live outside of our area, but live in a state in which which our providers are licensed to see patients, you may have visits with our providers via Telemedicine or come to our office for in-person visits. Covid-19 pandemic waivers that were put into place for therapists and doctors by state governments to deliver therapy and consultation services to patients across state lines have expired. Our medical doctors may only prescribe medications in states in which they are licensed. Our doctors and therapists are licensed to provider care in the State of Florida. If you live outside of the State of Florida, please ask our New Patient Coordinator if a provider who you want to see is licensed to provide care in your state of residence.
Appointment Types
An initial appointment with a new care provider is called an in-take appointment, and these first appointments are 90 minutes at our practice. New patients should arrive 15 minutes early to make sure their onboarding paperwork is complete.
Subsequent appointments are called follow up appointments. All follow up appointments for therapy services are at least 60 minutes. For services with our doctors, follow up appointments typically range from 30 minutes to 60 minutes depending on the patient's personal circumstances and care plan.
Our standard follow up appointment length with a doctor or nurse practitioner for a minor child patient is 60 minutes, to allow enough time for the provider to meet with both the parent(s) and the child. A parent or guardian must be present with the minor child patient at the appointment.
Appointments for psychoeducational assessments have a different schedule outside of these parameters.
Appointment Frequency
The standard of care for patients who are engaged in therapy services is to have weekly to biweekly appointments based on the care plan they arrange with their therapist. The standard of care for active patients at our practice who are being prescribed medication is to see their doctor for an appointment at least once every three months. A patient who has not seen their doctor in more than three months may be asked to make a 60 minute follow up appointment depending on complexity.
Prescribing Controlled Substances
By Federal law and Florida statutes, physicians must see active patients for whom they are prescribing Schedule 2 controlled substances at a minimum of once every three months. Patients who request a refill of a controlled substance prescription who have not been seen by their doctor in at least three months will be asked to make an appointment before their prescription may be filled.
Re-establishing Services
A patient who has not seen their provider for an appointment in a year or more time is considered "inactive" and will need to schedule a new in-take appointment of 90 minutes in order to have enough time with their doctor or therapist for a reevaluation.
The No Surprises Act was passed by the U.S. Congress and went into effect on January 1, 2022. Under this law: You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your health care will cost. Under the law, health care organizations need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees. Make sure your health care organization gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care organization, and any other organization you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.
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