Policies

CANCELLATIONS In order to avoid the associated full fee charge, 24 hours is required to cancel an existing appointment.

CHECK RETURN FEE All returned checks will be charged at a rate of $35. If you have more than 3 returned checks in a year, Dr. Ott will no longer accept checks and will require cash payment from you.

ELECTRONIC MAIL POLICY Please do not use email for complicated medical questions that should properly be addressed via a consultation (not suitable for any sort of emergency communication). As a rule of thumb, a reply to your email will be provided in a timely fashion. However, responses may be delayed over weekends, holidays, or due to technical difficulties.
Please be aware that your email communication with Dr. Ott will become part of your medical record. Please note that email systems may be insecure/unprotected. Thus, other members of your household or your employer may have access to your communication via email and thus it should not be considered private. However, by your continued communication via email with Dr. Ott, you are accepting the inherent insecurity and the privacy risks therein. Please be sure to include your full name and the patient’s name in all communication.
All information contained in email messages is intended solely for the addressee unless otherwise explicitly stated and may contain information that is confidential, privileged, or otherwise protected from disclosure under applicable law. If you are an unintended recipient of any email from our office, you are hereby notified that you have received the document in error and that any review, distribution, or copying of the transmission is strictly prohibited. If this is the case, please notify us immediately by calling the telephone number shown on our home page and return the original message to us by e-mail prior to destroying all copies on your system.
Communications made through the Site's email does not constitute legal notice to Derek Ott, M.D., APC, or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, subsidiaries or affiliates, such as where notice to the Derek Ott, M.D., APC is required by contract, or any federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations.
Longer email correspondence that takes over 15 minutes for Dr. Ott to read or compose will be charged on a prorated basis of the usual fee.

INSURANCE If you carry health insurance covering any service, it is your responsibility to carefully review your insurance coverage prior to your visit. Insurance benefits are a matter between you and your insurance company. Please be aware that Dr. Ott is NOT a participating member of ANY insurance panels for services provided in his private practice location and that payment is required at the time of service. However, a billing sheet (i.e. super bill) appropriate for submission to your insurance carrier will be provided. With this form, your insurance carrier generally provides some level of reimbursement.

LATE ARRIVALS If you are running late, please contact Dr. Ott. Traffic and its consequences are inevitable issues that arise when traveling within Los Angeles. Depending on the circumstances and his schedule demands, Dr. Ott may be able to accommodate you or he will request a re-scheduling of the visit.

LEGAL TESTIMONY It is often unforeseen but legal matters requiring the testimony of a mental health professional can and do arise. Legal testimony can often be damaging to the relationship between a patient and his/her therapist or physician. As such we require that you employ independent forensic psychiatric services should this type of evaluation or testimony be required.

NO SHOW Failure to appear for two consecutive sessions will result in the suspension of treatment. As soon as you have realized that the appointment has been missed, immediately call the office to discuss rescheduling. Dr. Ott will try to accommodate you but this will be subject to his availability.

MESSAGES Voicemail messages are checked several times a day and are generally returned with 24 hours. Please note that it may take more time during weekends and holidays. When you call, please leave your phone number even if you think that we have it.

PAYMENT Payment for associated services is expected at the time of visit. You will be held responsible for the costs incurred from returned checks, collection fees and other associated costs.

REFILLS Requests for refills are best handled via fax (310-394-3769). Pharmacies should fax all requests to this number, attention Dr. Ott, at the address listed on the home page.

**Medication Requests Must Contain The Following Information For EACH Patient And EACH Prescription:

Name of patient:

Date of birth:

Medication name, dose, & directions (Brand or generic):

# of days supply:

Pharmacy info:


Please be aware that one of the purposes of an appointment is to ensure you have enough medications until your next scheduled visit. In order to continue to receive medication, you will need to be seen in person periodically in order to review progress, side effects, update labs and potentially make additional adjustments. This is for your safety and well-being. Patients not seen for over 5 months will not have medications refilled until seen by Dr. Ott. Frequent requests for refills without being seen in the office may result in a $50 charge each time or the discontinuation of services. Similarly, frequent urgent requests for prescriptions for controlled substances (i.e. cannot be called into a pharmacy--Focalin, Focalin XR, Vyvanse, Adderall, Adderall XR, Concerta, etc.) may result in a $50 charge per request.