UPDATED OFFICE POLICIES – July 2018 for E. Hitchcock Scott, PhD, LPCC917 – from HIPAA Policies Recommendations Dated August 27, 2013
© 2018 E. Hitchcock Scott, PhD, LPCC917, NCC, ATR-BC
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
Internationally Certified Advanced Addiction Counselor
Board Certified Registered Art Therapist
Registered Expressive Arts Therapist
PO Box 6806
Malibu, CA 90264
C 310-880-9761
JULY 2018 OFFICE POLICIES
- OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:00 AM till 9:00 PM.
- PAYMENT OF SERVICE: You are expected to pay for services at the time they are rendered unless other arrangements have been made. Please notify me if any problem arises in your ability to make timely payments.
$350.00 for 53 minute session, due upon date of service.
$525.00 for 80 minute session, due upon date of service.
Please have a check made out before session and arrive on time so we are able to spend the whole 53 or 80 minutes for our work. If you have been granted a scholarship due to need or a courtesy for professionals, I request that you do not share your discount with others. Doing so may result in the loss of the scholarship. Billed accounts due upon receipt, if payment is received more than 2 weeks after billing date, a ten percent penalty fee may be applied.
- INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT: I do not bill insurance companies, nor do I accept payment from them. However, if requested I will provide a super bill for each billing period for you to submit to your insurance company, or a billing statement for you to use as a tax write off. Insurance agencies will not reimburse for missed appointments. By signing this document you agree to billing via email. Periodically, there are times I grant financial grace or scholarship, it is the author’s prerogative to give grace to a client or not depending upon your progress in counseling, therapeutic need or circumstances. Please note, if you request a full scholarship or weekly discounted rate, then you must provide the most recently filed tax return, the year prior, for consideration.
- SESSIONS GREATER THAN SCHEDULED: 53-60 minutes for an hour session or 80-90 minutes for an hour and thirty minute session will be prorated to the nearest quarter hour for $87.50, unless prior arrangements have been made.
- CANCELLATIONS: Missed appointments without 48 hours notice will be charged the full fee; messages can be left at ehitchcockscott@me.com, or 310-880-9761 – 24 hours a day. An email is best for documentation of the time of cancelation. Please avoid texts, as they are less secure. Again, insurance companies will not reimburse for missed appointments even if you are responsible for the full fee.
- TELEPHONE TIME: Standard fee listed above for telephone calls, consults, written reports, and travel. Telephone messages left for Dr. Scott at 310-880-976, after working hours (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays noon till 9 PM or after five Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), will be returned the next day. Weekend calls will be returned on Monday.
- Unpaid bills over 60 days due, will be forwarded to a collection agency.
- I am not a child custody or divorce expert; therefore, I do not offer expert witness services. In addition, I do not voluntarily speak to lawyers or provide expert witness testimony of any kind. I charge my full fee for all duties related to conversing with lawyers or courts, plus travel, food and lodging.
- EMERGENCY PROCEDURES: An emergency is an unexpected event that requires immediate attention and can be a threat to your health. If there is an emergency of any kind, personal or otherwise, please call 911. If you leave an emergency telephone message for Dr. Scott please say so in the message that you are calling about an emergency and I will return your call as soon as possible.
- If I have not called you back within sixty minutes or sufficient time to intervene upon the crisis (which ever comes first), and the emergency persists, and the emergency requires it, please call 911, or your physician, or admit yourself to the nearest hospital for observation. If you have an emergency, even if you have admitted yourself to a hospital, please let me know where you are, the nature of your emergency, and how to reach you.