Meeting A New Psychiatrist: “Why So Much Paperwork?"

The first time I drafted this post, I wrote "After some legally required paperwork..."

And then I realized I needed to pause. Because while I understand why all that paperwork exists, I also know most people just find it frustrating.

So let's start there.

Before beginning treatment of any kind, your psychiatrist needs to inform you that you have certain rights including:

• Your right to privacy

• Exceptions to every privacy policy that you have a right to know about

• The policies by which they run their clinic

• How their policies are adjusted for patients under 18 years old

• How they expect to be reimbursed for their work

These days, most psychiatrists should also inform you of:

• Your rights during telemedicine appointments

• How you can best contact them when you physically can't come to the office

• Their policies for providing therapy
  

Your psychiatrist also needs to collect certain information:

• Who is the person receiving treatment?

• How can a patient be contacted when they aren't physically in the office?

• If you are completing paperwork for someone else, are you their legal guardian? There are actually rules related to when and how you can be involved in the care of a loved one.

• How will you be paying for care? Do you have preferences for billing?

To preserve your appointment time, all of this information is usually presented to potential patients as a paperwork packet that has required signatures.

But the most important part of this entire process is that you have a right to ask questions. So if there is something in your required paperwork that you don't understand or that worries you, just ask. Sometimes I spend an entire first appointment just making sure a patient understands how the clinic is run and that they are comfortable with my policies before moving forward.

Not every psychiatrist is a good fit for every patient, and that's fine. But every patient has a right to ask questions and feel that they understand what they are agreeing to before moving forward with care.

-Leilani M. Sharpe, M.D., Ph.D. #MentalHealth #Psychiatry #ChildPsychiatry