Clinic Policies
Thank you for choosing Mind Bloom La Jolla for your mental heath care. We strive for all of our clients to have the best possible experience, and we also understand navigating the healthcare system can be challenging, to help ensure clarity, efficiency, and patient responsibilities please take a moment to review our general clinic policies. By engaging in treatment you are agreeing to the following office policies:
General Behavioral Expectations
Any aggressive, inappropriate, or threatening behavior (physical, verbal or otherwise) towards providers, staff, or other individuals in office may result in immediate discharge.
We appreciate the increased access to healthcare and flexibility that telehealth offers. We do ask that telehealth visits are treated with the same attention and respect as an in-office visit (please ensure you are not driving/engaged in other activities that would be potentially dangerous, or in a setting where you would be unable to engage in a confidential conversation about your health).
Appointments
Initial evaluations can only be confirmed after all required consent forms are completed. Just as with any other medical care, we cannot provide treatment without the completion of patient consent forms, acknowledgment of financial responsibility, and any other related disclosures/required forms.
Appointments scheduled via patient portal are telehealth only appointments. To schedule an in-office visit, please contact the office.
Appointment Reminders- Appointment reminders are sent via text message or e-mail from our electronic health record system, AdvancedMD 1 day prior to your appointment (due to these settings, the system will not automatically send an appointment reminder if the appointment is scheduled the day before or the same day of the appointment). Our office Staff also provides reminder calls the day before the appointment. Scheduled appointments are also viewable on your patient portal.
In-office visits may be scheduled by contacting the office. Street parking is generally available on Silverado Street, there are also several paid parking lots nearby. On arrival to the office, please take a seat in the waiting room, as your provider may be completing a session with another client. There is a red call button located in the waiting room that notifies our office manager if you need assistance.
Most insurance carriers require virtual visits be live audio and visual calls. Regulations also mandate these visits occur on a secure HIPAA compliant platform. You may save the link for your provider’s virtual waiting room for future visits.
Your provider can only see patients within the state he/she is licensed in.
Please ensure you are able to take the call in an area with adequate privacy and adequate wifi connection/cell signal.
The telehealth platform allows you to perform a pre-call test to ensure your camera and microphone are connected, we encourage you to check in for your visit 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time to perform this test to be performed and to reduce any technical difficulties causing delays in starting your visit.
Late arrivals to your appointment (generally 10 or more minutes late) may result in cancellation of your appointment. If you need to cancel/reschedule your visit, please contact the office at least 24 hours prior to the appointment to avoid a no-show/late cancellation charge.
More than three no-show/late arrivals may result in a discharge from the clinic.
Medication Management
Refill requests can be made through the patient portal. Although we are often able to fulfill refill requests the same day, urgent/last-minute refill requests may not be able to be accommodated.
Proactively monitor your medication supply and allow 2-3 business days for refill requests.
Continued prescriptions require regular follow up visits, as directed by your provider. For new prescriptions, a follow up visit should be within 30 days, unless otherwise specified by your provider.
Controlled substances require follow up visits at least every three months, unless otherwise specified by your provider.
Failing to adhere to recommended follow up visits may result in prescription refill requests being denied.
Medication must be taken as directed. Taking more medication than prescribed, or sharing medication with other individuals may result in immediate discontinuation of the medication and may result in discharge from the clinic.
Prescriptions cannot be sent out of state
Portal Messages
Portal Messaging is not intended for emergencies. For medical/psychiatric emergencies please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Mind Bloom La Jolla is not an emergency service clinic.
Message response: Messages sent via the patient portal are often responded to the same day, however, responses may take 5-7 business days.
Streamlining messages your provider receives helps expedite requests (for scheduling requests please select the appointment/scheduling option, please use the refill request feature for prescription refills)
Patient Portal messaging is intended for brief questions/clarifications. For new concerns, medication adjustments/changes please schedule a follow up visit so your provider can perform an appropriate assessment.
Most portal messages will remain free, replies that require medical expertise and more than five minutes of your provider’s time may be billed, as we do for other medical services. If a message is billable, we will first bill your insurance provider, as we do for all other medical services. Your insurance may apply a co-pay/deductible/coinsurance for these services.
Paperwork Requests
All requests for paperwork/letters must be completed during a scheduled appointment, please provide this information to your provider at the beginning of your appointment so it can be completed during your visit. Due to the substantial time these requests require of your provider, we are unable to complete these outside of a visit.
Any paperwork needs (disability, accommodation letters, etc) need to be discussed directly with your provider prior to submission to ensure your provider agrees with the necessity/appropriateness of the request. Your provider may decline to complete requests submitted outside of a consultation with your provider.
Requests for certification/letters for matters such as EDD (disability) is a decision made in collaboration with your provider. Continued certification/continuance of matters such as disability benefits requires regular adherence to treatment plans/recommendations, and regular follow up visits. Typically your provider will recommend monthly follow up visits. Failure to maintain regular follow up visits/adhere to treatment recommendations, may result in your provider declining to continue to certify necessity of disability benefits, which may result in loss of benefits.
Student Participation
Many of our providers periodically precept nurse practitioner students, any student involvement in an appointment is only allowed with your permission.
Insurance Changes
Notify the office of any changes in insurance at least 24 hours prior to your appointment. This allows the office to verify insurance coverage. Failure to update insurance information prior to your visit may result in claims being processed incorrectly, insurance denials, and ultimately the cost of the visit becoming the patient’s responsibility.
Payments
Co-payments/deductibles/co-insurance/self-pay fees are the patient’s responsibility. Just as with other outpatient medical services, these responsibilities are due at the time of service. Telehealth services have led to unique challenges in ensuring timely payments for services rendered. Starting 04/15/2025, unless a specific agreement has been discussed and agreed upon, we will require patient financial responsibility to be collected at the time of service. This can be satisfied by either (i)an active credit/debit card maintained on file (ii) contacting the office and providing credit/debit card information prior to your visit. This will help ensure we can continue to serve our patients and community by reducing administrative time/costs to address outstanding balances, ensure fair compensation for our providers, and maintain the operating costs of our clinic.
Unpaid balances may result in discharge from the clinic and referrals to collections.
We have always been sensitive to financial hardships many people are currently experiencing. If financial hardships may interfere with your treatment, please contact our office, and if needed, we will continue to offer reasonable payment plans if needed.