Official practice brochure, in HTML format for posting on the internet as a service to my current and future patients, of the office and practice policies of:
...William J. Mayo, 1935 |
| METHODS OF THERAPY:
You certainly have a legitimate right to be curious, up front, about what forms of therapy I might propose. The two most common forms of therapy in my practice are (1) the use of psychotherapy (or "talking therapy") and (2) the use of pharmacotherapy ("pills" or "medicines"). Frequently, some combination of the two of these is best. My orientation to this combination comes from my training at Mayo Clinic, where I learned to take care of the whole person. This avoids the philosophy that a patient is merely a vessel into which to deposit psychiatric medications, but exists with real life problems that frequently need to be talked about. It has been my experience that this more holistic approach avoids the excessive use of medicines. The other forms of therapy which I employ include the use of group therapy and the selected use of hypnotherapy. Group therapy is a particularly effective and economical form of treatment for people that have mild difficulties and who would benefit from the opportunity to share with other people experiencing the same type of difficulties. In the past, I have usually had two or three active groups at any one time which I personally lead. This part of my practice is in flux at the moment, while I develop the "Functional Medicine" component, but I'm hopeful to add it back in some time in the future. MEDICATION CONCERNS: My use of medications is oriented toward the least amount possible, which is frequently none at all. One of the ways I'm able to do this is to take advantage of natural and "holistic" modalities with amino acid and essential fatty acid supplementation. However, current up-to-date psychiatric medicines avoid most of the unpleasant side-effects of medicines used in the past. In anything other than the most severe forms of psychiatric disorders, I can virtually promise you that you will not be subjected to any of the "Night of the Living Dead" type zombie feelings that have been so caricatured in the movies! When medicines are required, I will ensure that you have an adequate dose for an adequate period of time. My approach is always step-by-step and rigorously logical. INFORMATION THAT I NEED FROM YOU: Before your first appointment with me, you will receive a rather lengthy questionnaire from me to be filled out. The questionnaire you receive will be related to the general reason (no need to go into great specifics) that you give my staff when you called for an appointment. Current questionnaires include, among other things, a general questionnaire, one specific for children, and one specific for all forms of sleep disorders. These tend to be exhaustive and will take a while to fill out! Filling these out beforehand will save us both time and make our time together more meaningful in that I will be able to learn more about you as a person rather than just ask a bunch of questions. If you lose your questionnaire prior to your appointment, please come early, and we will be pleased to furnish you with another one - but do allow time to complete it! (Stay tuned for downloadable forms from this site!) CONFIDENTIALITY ISSUES: Your information communicated to me is considered privileged and confidential. However, "confidential" means less and less these days: insurance companies are increasingly demanding more and more details of patients' cases prior to certifying payment. That puts you, me and the insurance companies all in a bind: for the insurance company to pay for your care, I increasingly have to disclose more and more of your psychiatric records. The way out of this dilemma is for you to pay for your care directly, with no insurance reimbursement. That could be relatively expensive, but it would keep your history totally confidential. There are unfortunately no other solutions. Psychiatric records can also be subpoenaed by the court system, as well, if you are involved in a legal action where your records might be relevant. The bottom line here, however, is that "I don't release nuthin' to nobody'" unless: (a) I have a signed release of information from you; (b) either I or my office staff have talked with you to make sure it's OK to release this info, or, alternatively, (c) I'm compelled to release the information due to a subpoena. If this occurs, I will still be in touch with you in advance of the release of your data. YOUR RIGHT TO ASK QUESTIONS: It is my feeling that it is not only your right but your responsibility to ask any questions that come to mind. My philosophy is, "No question is a dumb question." It's your body and mind, after all, that is either receiving medications or undergoing psychotherapy! You will notice that the backs of my appointment cards have spaces for your to jot down questions so that you will always have them at the tip of your tongue for our next session together. I will also be glad to refer you to books, videos, and other sources of information to get your questions answered and to enable and empower you to learn more about your condition and any medications which I am proposing that you should try. YOUR TIME IS RESPECTED: I never liked waiting for doctors when I was a kid or after I became an adult, and I don't expect you to either. You will not be kept waiting for more than twenty minutes or you will not be charged for my services. In general, I expect to typically see all patients within, at most, ten minutes of their appointment time. Toward that end, I would request that you not plan on arriving unduly early, because I will schedule all other patients with the same respect for their schedules and will probably not be able to get to you earlier than your listed appointment. The only exceptions to this policy are when (1) there is an illness in my family; or (2) there is a hospital emergency. However, if you are forced to miss your appointment, I promise you that there will not be a one or two week wait "to get back in to see the Doctor." Please plan on arriving about fifteen minutes prior to your first appointment to fill out some necessary forms. NOTE: If there appears to be a discrepancy about your appointment, and you state that, for example, you are SURE your appointment time was at 10:30, but we've got you scheduled for 11:00, the "no charge" deal only applies if you have your original appointment card in your hand with the "10:30" time written on it. Recall can sometimes play tricks on us; ink typically doesn't. CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PATIENTS: The opportunity to work with children and adolescents is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my practice. Their direct honesty and youthful enthusiasm has always been a source of refreshment for me and a needed change of perspective from the "adult" viewpoint all of the time. Sometimes, however, there develops tension between the parents' desire to know the sometimes confidential matters disclosed in a therapeutic contact versus the child's or adolescent's wishes to keep some things private. My policy to deal with this conflict consists of three parts: (a) the matters discussed between the older child and adolescent are generally considered confidential unless (s)he gives me direct permission to disclose things to the parents. (b) I will always endeavor to reassure the parent, in general, that things are relatively all right, if indeed, they are so, and I will explore with the child or adolescent their wishes in terms of how much I can disclose to the parents - with my goal to be to achieve as much communication as possible between them. (c) Finally, I will always disclose information to parents or other responsible parties when, in my opinion, a child or teenager is in imminent danger of harming himself or someone else, and we will all work together to insure that the best type of treatment program is planned to insure the young person's safety and recovery. MY PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY:
Generally, I am always available to my patients on my pager or cell phone for true emergencies. However, I would prefer that you initially call my office and leave a message with my secretary or answering service. If you feel that you need to talk directly to me, I will always try to be available. All you have to do is click on my "calendar" link on my web page to find out where I am or how I can be reached - or call the office and listen to the answering machine message. TELEPHONE CALL QUESTIONS: You are welcome to call my office during business hours and leave a message. You may also call my office number and leave a message with the answering service which either I or a staff member will answer within one business day. If you have any questions about your care or your medications, let me hear from you! PAYMENT: Full payment is expected at time of service. Virtually all forms of payment are accepted. Payment for professional charges is YOUR personal responsibility. I don't treat insurance companies; I treat patients. For that reason, I expect the patient to pay, not the insurance company. Insurance benefits, and your deriving legitimate benefit from them, is between you and your insurance company. We must keep our books in some semblance of order, and we appreciate your understanding and cooperation in the full payment of your account. Neither I nor my staff discriminate against any person, at any time, for any reason, including, but not limited to: race, religion, sexual preference, amount of physical challenge, political affiliation, or political views or memberships. It is my intention that all patients who come to see me will be treated with the respect, courtesy, and dignity to which they are entitled and deserve. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL POLICY ON ECOLOGY It is my professional and personal feelings that the principles of ecology - that is, an understanding and caring for our environment, is increasingly applicable to all of us, including those of us in the healing professions. It's hypocritical, in my opinion, to talk about getting people healthy while we cut down more trees, poison our environment, and make the planet more unlivable all the time. We are beginning to go to a paperless office, and have eliminated filing cabinets stuffed with paper. Patients charts are kept digitally which means they are instantaneously available to me and to my office manager, and we're not killing trees to make more photocopies to do it. Obviously, significant security measures are being taken to protect the integrity and privacy of this data. I am determined to stop killing trees just to practice medicine. Strangely enough, it's not just good for the environment, but it's good for business and it's good for patient care - which is why I got into this profession, anyway! We are recycling aluminum cans. There are two receptacles in my office - one in the waiting room, and one at the payment window, where aluminum cans can be disposed of. They are going to a good cause. I hope that you enjoy our new efforts in this area. If you have constructive suggestions, you can e-mail us, write us (watch that paper usage!), or call us at the locations provided in this brochure and elsewhere on this site. A WORD OF THANKS! If you are a current patient, thanks so much for the trust and faith you have shown in my staff and in me. If you are soon to be a patient, and have been given this address and internet site by my staff in advance of your upcoming appointment, I look forward to welcoming you to my practice. And, if you're just visiting, thanks for stopping by! Louis B. Cady, M.D.
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