FAQ

The American Telemedicine Association defines Telemedicine as “the remote delivery of health care services and clinical information using telecommunications technology” and can involve the use of internet, wireless, telephone, and satellite. To learn more about Telemedicine, please visit the American Telemedicine Association online.

Telepsychiatry is the practice of psychiatry-specific telemedicine. The field of psychiatry is inherently well-suited to using telemedicine techniques as there is generally no physical exam component involved during appointments. These days, most telepsychiatry is done via real-time televideo-conferencing methods very similar to a Skype or FaceTime session. As long as you are at a location with reasonably fast internet access and privacy, you can see an online psychiatrist for your appointment.

Convenience and comfort. No more battling congested traffic to get to an appointment. No more sitting in waiting rooms and rushing to make it to your next commitment at the end of your visit. Now, you can go back to doing whatever you were doing before your visit, as soon as your appointment ends. This helps you make the most of your time, while still getting quality medical care.  All you need is a broadband internet-connected computer with a webcam and microphone, smartphone, or tablet. If you can use Skype or Google Hangouts, you can conduct telepsychiatry appointments.

Efficient high-quality care. Research has shown that patients receiving telepsychiatry care are just as comfortable with their psychiatrists as patients receiving in-person psychiatric care, with similarly positive treatment outcomes.

Dr. Mehr Karamat and Perinatal Psychiatric Wellness accept the below insurances however also remain primarily a cash based practice who provide out of network care for patients that do not have any of the below insurances.

Dr. Mehr Karamat is accepting the below insurances:

• Optum – (United Healthcare, United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS), GEHA – United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS), UnitedHealthcare Global, Oscar, Harvard Pilgrim, Oxford, UHC Student Resources, UMR, All Savers (UHC), Health Plans Inc, Bind
• Aetna – (Meritain, Nippon, Allied Benefit Systems, GEHA – United Healthcare Shared Services (UHSS)
• Cigna
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Anthem Blue Cross

FREE INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT SUPPORT:

Reimbursify is a company that helps patients file out-of-network claims. For patients whose insurance we are out-of-network with, Reimbursify makes it easy to file a claim and get reimbursed directly by your insurance company.

Our Practice is subscribed to Reimbursify’s Practice Pro plan to help simplify your process of getting reimbursed.

For cash-pay patients while we remain “out of network” to ensure great care for you, we also want to simplify the process of how you can utilize your insurance benefits while still getting the excellent care an “out of network” doctor can provide. We have been able to do this by subscribing to Reimbursify which allows us to check your out of network benefits and see what percentage of your fees paid to us is reimbursable. This really streamlines the process for you. Depending on your plan, you will usually get a percentage of what you already paid back to you, which can help offset the out-of-pocket cost of services. And that is not all! You can file the claim free with reimbursify under our practice without a charge due to our subscription with them via their app, or we can file it for you as well (free of charge).

Yes.  We do not prescribe any controlled medications.  Federal law (Ryan Haight Act) prohibits prescribing any controlled medications (benzodiazepines, ADHD stimulants, controlled sleep medications) over telemedicine. While this law has been suspended temporarily due to the COVID-19 emergency, due to the increased regulatory requirements involved, we will continue to abide by the original law at this time.

– ADD/ADHD (often treated with stimulants like Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin, Vyvanse, etc)

– Anxiety/Panic (often treated with benzodiazepines like Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, etc)

– Insomnia (often treated with controlled sleep medications like Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata, etc)

We offer treatment of the above conditions using non-controlled medications only.

  Some conditions require a higher level of care and cannot be treated by us via telepsychiatry, such as:

– Actively having thoughts or urges to self-harm or attempt suicide (seek out emergency care right away)

– Actively having thoughts or urges to harm someone else (seek out emergency care right away)

– Eating disorders (anorexia, binging/purging)

– Alcohol or drug addiction/abuse

– Any other condition or set of symptoms deemed by Dr. Karamat at any point to be severe enough to need a higher level of care

We do not provide any legal evaluations / certifications, including but not limited to; disability, FMLA, school/work accommodations, or emotional support animals.

We do not provide clearances for surgical procedures

At this time Dr. Karamat provides some basic supportive therapy in each session, utilizes a psychodynamic approach overall and teaches some basic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques when applicable but does not consistently provide psychotherapy appointments. At some point in the future as time and resources allow, she will be offering more frequent and extended appointments for therapy only, but at this time her primary focus is on psychiatric medication management. Therefore, at this time we strongly recommend any patients who would benefit from psychotherapy treatment to seek their own dedicated therapist.