Policies

Medication Policy:

Medication Refills:

  1. PLEASE NOTE: We do not accept refill requests from pharmacies due to patient safety issues.

  2. Request refills directly through Dr. Young by Charm Portal Message.

  3. Refill requests must be made at least 4 days before you run out.

  4. Med refills can be expected within 3 business days.

  5. You can first check your med bottle to see if you have refills left, and if you do, ask the pharmacy to fill it for you.

Prior Authorizations: If your pharmacy says a Prior Authorization (PA) is needed for your medication before filling the prescription, please look up the medication’s cost on GoodRx.com. If the medication costs more than $50/month, please reach out to the Psychiatry Coordinator to complete the PA. If the med costs less than $50/month, we ask that you tell your pharmacy to fill the prescription using the GoodRx coupon - if you would like a PA done for this medication, a service fee of $45-75 may be applied, depending on how time-intensive the PA is.

GoodRx.com Coupons: Sometimes the "GoodRx" coupon cost for a med is cheaper than your insurance copay. If the pharmacy tells you the copay amount is significantly higher than expected, please ask what the out-of-pocket GoodRx cost is instead. You can tell the pharmacy whether you want to pay your insurance copay (which goes to your deductible) or pay the GoodRx cost, which does not go through insurance.

Getting Your Medications: If you have not received an ordered med within 3 days, please call/text our Coordinator and we will figure it out quickly.

Med Costs: All meds we prescribe should be less than $50 for a 30-day supply, with a few exceptions. If you get to the pharmacy and are told the cost is higher than this, please call/text our Coordinator before paying so that we can help sort it out quickly.

‍New Medications or Medical Problems In Between Visits: While taking a psychiatric medication, please let us know within 24 hours if you ever have any fainting, chest pain, heart racing, uncomfortable heart beats (palpitations), trouble breathing, lightheadedness, difficulty eating, weight loss, eating disorder, seizure, falls, new medications, or new diagnoses related to any of the above.

Practice Policy:

Principles: Dr. Young practices patient-centered, evidence-based medicine. This means that she will always trust and respect your honest experience, offer you individualized treatment options, and fully support your informed decisions while highly prioritizing your confidentiality and safety.

Confidentiality: For your privacy protection, we obtain your informed consent via shared-decision making discussion and via completion and signature on the Release of Information (ROI) Consent Form before confirming you are our patient or responding to a records request from any individual or organization. Please note that it is within the standards of the mental health professions to obtain your written informed consent directly from you and only after we have fully counseled on the the possible benefits and risks of sharing your psychiatric health information, regardless of a consent signed with another individual or organization.

Parents/Guardians: Please feel free to send a Portal message with updates on how your child is doing before the visit. If your child is <18, a guardian must be available for the last 15 minutes of a visit to discuss and gain consent for the plan, either in person or by phone.

Collaborative Care: The highest benefit from medication is often achieved when used in conjunction with therapy. Meds can help improve mood and function and “grease the wheels” for therapy to pave new neuronal pathways in the brain toward healthy thoughts, feelings and actions. If you would like to have an individual therapist in your corner, we can help match you with a therapist who fits your style, personality and needs. 

Therapy Changes: Let us know if you change how often you do therapy or if you stop therapy, as it may change the frequency of our follow-up visits.

Texting: Please avoid texting us on the weekend, if possible. Please use Portal messages whenever possible to connect with Dr. Young instead of texting. Please note that we cannot guarantee text messages are read or sent a response.

Forms, Letters, and Reviewing Records: Forms, letters, and reviewing records are best completed during visits. If needed outside of a visit, please allow 7-10 business days for completion, with prorated charge for time spent.

Stimulants & Controlled Substances Policy:

Stimulant and Controlled Substances Refills:

  1. The DEA does not allow stimulants to have automatic refills on them, so there will always be “0” refills listed on the pill bottle.

  2. Request a refill when you have at least 4 days left of medication.

  3. Request a controlled-substance refill by Charm Portal message only.

  4. For your patient safety, we do not accept faxes from pharmacies requesting refills.

Staying Within DEA Laws: I trust my patients to only use their controlled meds as prescribed and follow the “9 S's" to avoid misuse: Please do not Sniff, Snort, Sell, Share, Stop, Split, Self-adjust dose or frequency, Seek from other providers without letting me know, or let it be Stolen. If you are not taking the controlled med as prescribed, please let us know and we will help, without judgment and with shared decision-making.

New Medical Problems: While taking a stimulant or controlled substance, please let us know within 24 hours of ANY fainting, chest pain, heart racing, uncomfortable heart beats (palpitations), trouble breathing, lightheadedness, difficulty eating, weight loss, eating disorder, seizure, falls, new medical problems, or new medications. Using a stimulant or controlled substance with any of these issues or with some medications can lead to negative health consequences and even death, and our aim is to help you be safe, healthy and thriving.

90-day Supplies: Stimulants can be prescribed for a 90-day supply, however some insurance companies will only pay for 30-day supplies at a time. If this happens to you, these are the following options:

  1. I can send three consecutive, pre-dated 30-day prescriptions to your pharmacy

  2. I can send a 90-day supply to a mail-order pharmacy as insurance companies will often pay for that method

  3. You can pay out-of-pocket for a 90-day supply using GoodRx, which is often cheaper than using your insurance

National Stimulant Shortages: If your pharmacy is out of stock of your med, we ask that you provide us with an alternative pharmacy that you have called to ensure they have at least a 30-day supply of the dose you need.

Lost/Stolen Meds: Be careful with your meds! If they are lost, VA law requires you to submit a police report to get a replacement supply.

Payment Policy:‍ ‍

Dr. Young is currently out-of-network/self-pay for the physician visit, and we can provide a “superbill” for you to submit for possible insurance reimbursement of visits only. Rates are listed on the Practice Policies Consent Form signed prior to initial visit and include:

  • $600 for initial visit

  • $300 for 60-minute follow-up visit

  • $175 for 30-minute follow-up visit

  • Prorated $300/hr for additional physician time spent outside of visits during work hours (Mon–Fri, 9am - 5:30pm) on billable tasks, including care coordination, forms, letters, record review, meetings, and phone calls.

  • Prorated $450/hr for calls and care managed after hours, on weekends, or holidays.

  • Rates, billable tasks, and court fees are listed on the Practice Policies Consent Form signed prior to initial visit.

Mental Health Recommendations:

Sleep. Sleep is key. Try to keep a bedtime routine to “power down” your body, go to bed and wake up around the same time every day, and have a cutoff time or duration for any online scrolling.

Exercise. Exercise can lift moods, give more energy, and make it easier to sleep at night. Even a brief daily walk outside has mood benefits.

Avoid alcohol and other substances. Alcohol and other substances can increase suicidal thoughts and make a person more likely to act on them. Ask for help if you find yourself using alcohol or substances as an escape.

Enjoyable activities. Engage in a hobby. Give yourself permission to say “no” to things that don’t bring you joy. Connect with people who make you feel good in healthy ways.

Engage with a mentor. Having one trusted, caring adult in your life, at any age you are, is one of the most protective factors against suicide. This could be an extended family member, teacher, community leader, neighbor or anyone else who believes in you, listens to you, and reminds you of how important you are.

Safety Recommendations:

‍If you feel you are at risk of harming yourself or someone else:

  • Reach out and talk with someone you trust

  • Avoid using drugs or alcohol when having those feelings

  • Remove access to any items that you might use to hurt yourself

  • Do not be alone; call someone whom you trust to come be with you

  • Call the 988 suicide prevention hotline for support

  • Call 911, 988, or go to your local emergency department

Crisis Resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:  call/text 988, suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Crisis Text Line:  text HELLO to 741741, crisistextline.org

Community Service Board:  434-972-1800 (Region 10), dbhds.virginia.gov/community-services-boards-csbs

The Trevor Project:  text 678-678, call 866-488-7386, thetrevorproject.org

LGBT National Help Center Hotline:  888-843-4564, www.glnh.org

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673, hotline.rainn.org/online