Practice Policies

Spero Psychiatry has practice policies in place to ensure that our patients receive the best care possible. Please see our policies below. 

Medication Refills: 

• If you are a current patient and need a refill of your medication, please send a message to your doctor through their preferred means of communication (either through a message in Simple Practice or directly to their email address.) Be sure to include which medication you need and to which pharmacy you would like it sent.

• We kindly ask that you reach out to your pharmacy and speak with a pharmacy associate before contacting our office. Pharmacy apps, bottle labels, and notifications may be incorrect for what prescriptions are actually at the pharmacy. Please check with your pharmacy first.   

• Our doctors do not answer refill requests from pharmacies. Please contact your doctor directly.

• If you have a question about medication side effects or usage, please send a message to your doctor.

• Please schedule all follow-up appointments before you run out of your current prescription.   

• If you have missed an appointment and need a refill of your medication, please make sure you have a follow up appointment scheduled before requesting a refill. Please note that refills are at the discretion of each provider. 

• If you begin any new medications, become pregnant, or have any significant changes in your health, please notify your doctor immediately as this may affect your treatment.  

Messages:

• If you have a question or concern for our office staff (e.g. new insurance card, question about billing/collections, question about office policy, etc) please email our staff at Spero@SperoPsychiatry.org.

• If you have a question for your Psychiatrist or Psychologist, please send them a message through Simple Practice.  If you are a patient of Dr. Barron's, please send her an email to LaurenBarron@LaurenBarronMD.com. 

Insurance:

• Please check with your insurance company prior to your visit to ensure that your Psychiatrist or Psychologist accepts your insurance.

• If your Psychiatrist or Psychologist is not credentialed with your insurance company, we offer a Set Fee Rate for each appointment.

• Please notify staff immediately if you change insurance companies. Staff will need a picture of the front and back of your new insurance card. If we do not receive your insurance information within a timely manner, we may not be able to file the claim with your insurance company.

• If you change to an insurance provider that your Psychiatrist or Psychologist is not credentialed with, we offer a self-pay rate for each appointment.

• If we see that your insurance denied payment due to lack of coverage, we will reach out to you to determine if you do have active insurance. If we do not receive a response within 15 business days, your appointment will be converted to a Set Fee Rate appointment.

To Cancel or Reschedule an Appointment:

• To cancel or reschedule your appointment, please CALL the office during business hours and speak with one of our staff. If you reach our voicemail, please leave a message and one of our staff will call you back. Please do not try to reschedule appointments via email.

• Please call at least one business day in advance to cancel your appointment (Saturday and Sunday cancellations are not allowed). 

• If you are unable to give notice at least one business day in advance, a late cancellation fee of $100.00 will be assessed to your account. This fee is not billable to your insurance company. 

• In order to make sure that all patients have enough time for their appointments, we ask that you are not more than 10 minutes late for your appointment. If you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, you will not be seen for an appointment, your account will be assessed a $100.00 missed appointment fee, and you will need to reschedule your appointment.

Missed Appointments: 

• If you do not show for a scheduled FOLLOW UP appointment, a missed appointment fee of $100.00 will be assessed to your account. This fee is not billable to your insurance company. 

• If you do not show for a scheduled NEW PATIENT appointment, a missed appointment fee of $150.00 will be assessed to your account. This fee is not billable to your insurance company. 

After Hours Answering Service:

• The after-hours answering service is for EMERGENCIES only. For all non-emergencies, please call the office during regular business hours.

• To reach the after-hours service, please call the office number at 803-708-9591 and follow the prompts.

• The psychiatrist on call cannot send in prescriptions or schedule/reschedule appointments. 

Prior Authorizations:

• When you go to the pharmacy to fill a prescription and they tell you they need authorization from your doctor, this is a Prior Authorization (PA). 

• PAs are a requirement from your insurance company.

• Please ask your pharmacy to fax the PA to our office. 

• If you have any questions regarding a PA, please send an email to Spero@SperoPsychiatry.org or call the office. 

For minors or those requiring legal guardianship:

• For every appointment, the patient, regardless of age, must be present for the appointment. 

• For every appointment, the legal guardian must either be present for the appointment. 

We love our office staff.

• Our office staff works very hard to provide support for our providers and patients. Any harassment, disrespectful behavior/language, or use of profanity towards our staff may result in dismissal from the practice.

• If this occurs, you will be notified by mail that you have 30 days to find alternative care, you will be given the names of other providers who may be able to provide care, and you will be provided 30 days of emergency coverage 

Pet/Animal Policy:

While we do appreciate the importance of your pet(s) in your life, due to liability reasons, we cannot allow animals, even emotional support/emotional comfort animals, to be present in the office.

• We do allow service animals that have been individually trained to assist with a specific disability as recognized by the ADA.

• If a service animal is present, it must be under control, leashed at all times, and not pose a threat to others.

Termination of Treatment:

• Should you decide to terminate treatment with one of our Psychiatrists or Psychologists, please call the office and inform the staff. 

• For Psychiatry patients: If the patient has not been seen by his/her/their Psychiatrist in over a year, this will be seen as an indication that he/she/they no longer require care, and their chart will be closed.