Practice Policies
Please review Good Neighbor’s practice policies
Thank you for choosing Good Neighbor as your mental health care provider. At Good Neighbor, our mission is to support individuals and families in achieving a life of opportunity, independence, and growth. We look forward to working with you on your healing journey.
Patient Financial Responsibility - As the patient/guarantor, you are financially responsible for all services rendered. Co-payments and deductibles are due at the time of service. It is the patient/guarantor’s responsibility to know your own insurance benefits, including whether we are a contracted provider with your insurance company, your covered benefits and any exclusions in your insurance policy, and any pre-authorization requirements of your insurance company. We will attempt to confirm your insurance coverage prior to your treatment. It is your responsibility to provide current and accurate insurance information, including any updates or changes in coverage. If your insurance has changed or is terminated at the time of service, the patient/guarantor is financially responsible for the balance in full. If we have a contract with your insurance company we will bill your insurance company first, less any copayment(s) or deductible(s), and then bill you for any amount determined to be your responsibility. If we do not contract with your insurance company, you will be expected to pay for all services rendered at the end of your visit. We will provide you with a statement that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. I understand some insurance coverages have Out-of-Network benefits that have co-insurance charges, higher co-payments and limited annual benefits. If you receive services and are part of an Out-of-Network benefit, your portion of financial responsibility may be higher than the In-Network rate. In the event that you fail to make payments for services rendered, your account may be turned over to a collection agency. You will be responsible to pay the collection agency’s fees that may be incurred in the collection of any outstanding balance.
(If your account is over 90 days past due, you will receive a letter stating that you have 20 days to pay your account in full). Partial payments will not be accepted unless otherwise negotiated. Please be aware that if a balance remains unpaid, we may refer your account to a collection agency. In the event of nonpayment, you will be responsible to bear the cost of collections and/or court cost & reasonable legal fees should this be required.
Cancellation/Late Arrivals - Please contact our office at least 24 hours in advance if you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment. We reserve the right to charge for any appointment which is not cancelled with proper notice. Your health insurance will not reimburse for broken appointments. Good Neighbor reserves the right to discharge patients after two (2) consecutive broken appointments (including initial assessments) or in the event of attendance issues. If a patient is more than 10 minutes late for an appointment, the appointment may need to be rescheduled. This is to ensure that the patients who arrive on time do not wait longer than necessary to see the provider. You may be given the option to wait for another appointment time on the same day if one is available. We will try to accommodate late‐comers as best as possible, but cannot compromise on the quality and timely care provided to our other patients.
Medication Management Policy - For your safety, we participate in the Virginia’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). PMP is a 24/7 database containing information on dispensed controlled substances included in Schedule II, III and IV; those in Schedule V for which a prescription is required, naloxone, and all other drugs of concern. The primary purpose of the PMP is to promote safe prescribing and dispensing practices for covered substances by providing timely and essential information to healthcare providers. We are not equipped to provide prescriptions for pain management, substance use disorder management or general medical conditions. Request for these types of medications will be referred to your primary care physician or other specialty providers. New patients who are unable to provide medical records of prior mental health treatment showing of medication history may not receive prescriptions for controlled substances during an initial visit. Be aware that if you are requesting or prescribed a controlled substance you are subject to directed or random drug screening. Primary mode of screening will be through urinalysis testing. In the event that urinalysis sample collection is not a viable option, alternate testing must be conducted prior to being prescribed a controlled substance.
Prescription Refill Policy - During each office visit, you will be provided adequate prescriptions to last until the next recommended appointment time. Should you need to miss an appointment for any reason, please schedule another as soon as possible to ensure there is no lapse in availability of medication. If you require a refill in these circumstances, please submit your request directly to your pharmacy seven days prior to your last dose. Refills in these circumstances will be processed at your provider’s discretion. Please allow three (3) business days for processing. Controlled substance prescriptions cannot be called into your pharmacy and an appointment is required for a written prescription.
After Hours Calls - In the event of emergency, please call 911. For any routine questions, please try to have these handled your during your office visit or during normal business hours when your record and history will be immediately available. Our office has an answering service to receive messages for after hours calls, however they do not have access to any patient information. If you are in need of crisis-level intervention contact 1-800-422-HOPE or 1-800-273-TALK.
Form Requests - Good Neighbor Outpatient Services’ providers reserve the right to deny completing disability forms and/or medical forms for clients who have not been established patients for a sufficient length of time. Accurate individual assessments can be compiled once the client has been continuously treated by the same provider for at least six (6) months or has been seen at least six (6) times. Please allow two (2) weeks for forms to be completed.