Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Below is a list of some of our most frequently asked questions separated into 4 categories for ease of viewing: General Questions, Telepsychiatry Information, Scheduling and Administrative, and Services and Payment.

General Questions

1Are you accepting new patients? How soon can I be seen?
New patient availability is kept current on our scheduling page. If we are accepting new patients you will be able to find appointment dates available for booking. Evaluations can be self-scheduled 1 to 30 days in advance depending on current availability.
2What age groups do you treat?
We accept patients 18 years of age and older at this time. We do not treat children or adolescents under 18.
3What diagnoses do you treat?
Please visit our What We Treat page for a very detailed description of the diagnoses we treat and details on the extent that we are able to treat them.
4Is medication right for me?
Maybe. There are numerous considerations that go into determining whether or not medication may be appropriate in any given case. An evaluation will help further clarify if medication is appropriate for you. Even if medications are not appropriate, it is often prudent to have a medical history review performed. This can help rule out medical conditions that may manifest with psychiatric symptoms. At Baltimore Psychiatry we view medications as a tool and the potential benefits should outweigh the potential risks. We do not "push" medication and do not always encourage or recommend medication use. We may recommend you work with a therapist or engage in alternative treatment instead. With that being said, medication management is our primary service.
5What is your controlled substances policy?
Click here to review our CDS Policy.
6Who will provide my treatment?
Please see our About Us page for detailed information on the practitioner.
7Are visits confidential? What is your privacy policy?
For patients or those who become patients: We naturally value privacy and take protection of your information very seriously. Additionally, there are strict federal laws and ethics guidelines pertaining to protecting patient privacy. We do not disclose your patient status or record to anyone who is not directly involved in your care without your consent. There are some legal exceptions, such as emergencies. During the intake process you will receive and sign a copy of our privacy policy.
For those just browsing our website (who do not become patients): You can view our website's privacy policy on our privacy policy page.

Telepsychiatry Information

1How does telepsychiatry work?
These sessions consist of live, interactive 2-way audio and video communication. Although the session is conducted remotely, you will communicate with your healthcare provider exactly the same way as if it were an in-person visit. You can access sessions via desktop computer, laptop, tablet, iPad or smartphone. Our Telepsychiatry setup is as simple as they come!

After completing all steps on the scheduling page for your initial appointment, you should receive an appointment confirmation email. This email will arrive within 72 hours (or no less than 90 minutes prior to the appointment start time, whichever comes sooner). The email will contain a link to your secure appointment and a security code that needs to be entered to access the appointment. There is also a "how to prepare for your appointment link" that will run a test on your device to make sure everything is setup properly and tell you what needs to be done if it is not.

If you elect to receive appointment reminders they will arrive approximately 60 hours and 45 minutes prior to your appointment. E-mail reminders will contain the appointment link and security code or direct you to login to the patient portal and access the appointment there. Text reminders will direct you to access your appointment confirmation email or login to the patient portal to access the appointment there.

Note: Audio and video must be 2-way and interactive to deliver safe care and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations. We cannot deliver care via just audio or video, both components must be conducted in a live manner.

2Can I attend appointments from anywhere in the state, country, or world?
One of the great benefits of telehealth is the convenience and flexibility of meeting anywhere in the state where it is convenient for you. However, it is a legal requirement that patients must be inside the state of Maryland at the time of all their appointments, without exception. We can only accept new patients who are living in Maryland. If a patient leaves the state temporarily for a vacation we cannot see them while they are gone. Prescriptions will always be sent to a Maryland pharmacy. We very strictly cannot treat individuals when they are outside the state of Maryland. As long as you have an appropriate location to attend the appointment it does not matter where in Maryland you are. Please make sure you are not driving a motor vehicle or we will need to end the session immediately. We cannot endanger the lives and safety of our patients or other individuals on the road with distractions, even for a second.
3Do I need to download any program, software, or app?
It is very unlikely you will need to download anything, but you may need to download a compatible browser. Our system makes use of commonly used web browsers to prevent the need for additional programs and apps.

If you are using a Windows or Android device: Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are the 2 supported browsers.
If you use an Apple Mac or I-Phone: Safari is the supported browser.

All of these browsers are free downloads if you do not already have them. Make sure these browsers also have permission to access your camera and microphone or the Telehealth sessions will not load or otherwise properly function.

4Do I need any special hardware or equipment?
Not if you have a modern laptop, tablet, iPad or smartphone; if you use a device with a webcam, microphone, and speakers built-in, you will not need any extra hardware or equipment. If you use a desktop computer: You will need a basic webcam and headset (or microphone and speakers). A headset is recommended but not required. Using a headset will ensure no one in your immediate area can overhear the session. Although we conduct sessions in a private area on our end, we still use a visible headset as an added layer of privacy for our patients.
5How fast does my internet connection need to be?
Most modern internet accounts should provide more than enough speed as video conferencing does not use large amounts of bandwidth. For optimal functionality, we recommend that your device is able to achieve a minimum 4Mbps of both download and upload speeds. This is 4 megaBITs per second (mbps) or 1/2 of a single megaBYTE per second (MBps). Keep in mind this is the speed your device needs to achieve. If other devices are connected to your internet at the same time as your session, you will need extra speed to accommodate their activities too. WiFi connections are also not as strong as wired connections.
6How is medication prescribed?
If medication is deemed appropriate for you, we will send an electronic prescription to a local pharmacy of your choice in real-time during your appointment. If the medication is in stock and the pharmacy is not busy, your prescription could be ready for pickup in as little as one hour.
7What if I need labs drawn (blood work)?
We order lab testing when appropriate. We may order these electronically or mail the form to you and you can take it to your local lab.
8Is there anything I should do to prepare for a new patient appointment?
While you can attend appointments from anywhere in Maryland, please make sure you have a quiet area to complete the session free from interruptions. Your appointment confirmation email will have a link titled "how to prepare for your appointment." Follow this link with the device and internet connection you intend to use. It will run a test on your device to determine if you have the right browser and if your audio and video are properly enabled. If they are not, it will explain what needs to be done. Otherwise, nothing special is required, but here are a couple tips to help minimize issues.

Make sure that emails sent from our electronic medical record are not going to your spam folder(s) and double-check those folders if you have not received your appointment link. Use an Ethernet (direct wired) connection whenever possible as this will solve the majority of connectivity issues. When an Ethernet connection is not available, we recommend remaining as close to your router as possible when using WiFi. If using a mobile device is necessary, always use password protected WiFi or LTE and never public WiFi. Public WiFi has extraordinary security risks and should never be used to attend an appointment.

Scheduling and Administrative

1How long are appointments?
Initial evaluations are 90 minutes, with 75 minutes scheduled as an interactive video chat. Your practitioner will spend about 15 minutes evaluating your history and intake documentation prior to your appointment. Medication management follow-ups are usually scheduled for 30 minutes. It is important to understand that follow-up appointment time includes all aspects of care delivery from note review, face to face meeting, documenting, prescribing, and other necessary aspects of delivering care. The face to face component of a standard follow-up is often closer to 25 minutes but can be less or more depending on the individual patients needs.
2How often do patients need to be seen for an appointment?
Our goal is to get patients stable as quickly as possible so they can invest their time, energy, and money on the enjoyable aspects of their lives and not on medical appointments. Exactly how often one needs to be seen depends on their diagnosis, medications used in treatment, response to treatment, compliance with treatment recommendations, and many other factors that cannot be predicted prior to treatment.

As a very rough reference point, new patients are typically seen once monthly until medications are adjusted and working well. Often within 3 months they will be stable enough to trial 60 days. If things are still going well and medication adjustments are not needed, we will then start 90 day visits routinely. After one year of quarterly visits, some patients may be eligible to switch to visits every 6 months. Patients may become eligible for visits every 6 months if they are taking only one medication, are functioning at a high level, have no needs outside of appointment times, and the provider feels this change would be safe. If someones status begins to decline between appointments or they prefer more interaction, we can always see them more often or they can reschedule to be seen sooner.

We have a strict controlled dangerous substances (CDS) policy and patients requiring CDS will be seen monthly for a minimum of 3 months. Patients receiving any CDS at this practice must be seen at least every 90 days without exception.

3Where are you located?
We are located in and offering services throughout the state of Maryland via Telepsychiatry. Since the start of the COVID pandemic we work remotely with no office accessible to the public. We can treat patients anywhere in Maryland via telehealth.
4What are your appointment hours?
Most healthcare practices only offer appointment times during normal business hours requiring most patients to take off from work or school to attend any appointments. At Baltimore Psychiatry we offer weeknight and weekend appointments to help our patients avoid this cost and inconvenience. We currently have openings for Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday after noon appointments. We also offer a mix of other weeknight and weekend hours on a variable schedule. We may have some flexibility to accommodate requests. We do not offer morning hours.
5What is your rescheduling and cancellation policy?
With remote accessibility anywhere in the state and our weekend and weeknight appointment options, appointment attendance has never been easier or more convenient. We work with our patients to provide convenient hours from the outset, so rescheduling should seldom be necessary. We are happy to accept an occasional reschedule request without any questions asked. However, we generally ask that reschedules of these serious medical appointments be limited to urgent needs. To keep costs down for all of our patients, those excessively rescheduling appointments will lose rescheduling privileges and/or be discharged. Rescheduled appointments must be within 7 days of the original appointment date for patient safety.

Follow-up appointments: These may be rescheduled or cancelled with a minimum 72 hours' notice. Cancellations made with less than 30 days notice or those held for 30+ days are subject to a cancellation fee.

Initial Evaluations: Evaluations may be rescheduled once with a minimum 72 hours' notice but in order to keep our pricing low for those serious about treatment, they are not eligible for refund if missed and cannot be cancelled.

6How do I reschedule or cancel?
We have a convenient self-serve rescheduling system. The entire rescheduling process can be completed in as little as 60 seconds and is available 24/7. You can reschedule using several different methods:

I) You may use the “manage appointments” link included with the appointment confirmation email.
II) You may go to the new patient scheduling page and click on the "schedule an appointment" button, which will bring you to the booking page. On this page you will see the "manage appointment" link.
III) If you have completed your new patient evaluation and activated the patient portal invitation, you may login to the patient portal and use the "reschedule" function available there.

Services and Payment

1What services do you offer?
We offer psychiatric evaluations and medication management throughout the state of Maryland. Please refer to our Services & Pricing page for a detailed breakdown of services we offer, the pricing of these services, and payment methods accepted.
2What payment methods do you accept?
We accept most major credit and debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. As an authorized medical provider we also offer services that are eligible for use with a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
3Do you accept my insurance?
Please visit our insurance page for current details.