Wedgwood Geriatrics and Thanatology, PLLC, Practice Policies

Introduction

This document is intended to provide important information to you regarding your treatment. Please read the entire document carefully and be sure to ask me any questions or share any concerns that you may have regarding its contents before signing it. It is your right to have a complete explanation for any questions you may have, now or in the future. Although I know this may be uncomfortable at times, your openness and honesty will allow me to better serve you.

About Me

Hereafter referred to as “provider.” I am a Washington State licensed Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (AP 30007806), a certified thanatologist (CT) through the Association of Death Education and Counseling, a certified grief counselor through the American Academy of Grief Counseling, and a certified Grief Educator through world-renowned grief expert David Kessler’s Grief Educator program. I hold a Doctor in Nursing Practice from the University of Alabama @ Birmingham (Birmingham, AL), a Master of Science in Nursing, a postmasters certificate in adult health primary care and in geriatrics and gerontology from Seattle Pacific University (Seattle, WA), a Master of Science in Health Services Administration from Saint Mary’s College of California (Moraga, CA), and a Master of Science in Thanatology from Edgewood College (Madison, WI).  I am trained in palliative care, thanatology, adult health – primary care, advanced practice geriatrics and gerontology nursing, and grief and loss. I have worked in hospitals, clinics, assisted living facilities, and private homes.  I practice under the American Nurses Association and the Association of Death Education and Counseling Code of Ethics. I see adults 18 and over in my practice.

Appointments, Scheduling, & Cancellations

You may schedule a session with me by contacting me through my website. Your initial session will include an evaluation, reviewing history, presenting concerns, current symptoms, and treatment goals. Scheduling future sessions will depend upon whether your needs can be adequately and ethically addressed. If your needs cannot be addressed by this provider you will be referred to other providers.

Standard individual grief counseling appointments are 50 minutes in length. If you are late for your appointment, your session will not be extended and will still end at its normal time.

Please remember to cancel or reschedule 48 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation is less than 48 hours.  Cancellations and re-scheduled sessions will be subject to a full charge if not received at least 48 hours in advance, and will be charged to the credit card on file. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you.

By signing this consent document you are authorizing Wedgwood Geriatrics and Thanatology to charge your card on file for a cancellation or no-show per the above policies.

Billing & Payment

Each 50 minute session is $125, and is due at the beginning of our session. You may pay by through the website or Venmo. I do reserve a handful of sliding scale spots in my practice. These are not guaranteed and are dependent on availability. Any reduction in session fee will need to be discussed and agreed upon prior to initial session.

Insurance I do not currently accept insurance as a form of payment. 

Court Waiver

All clients consent to waiving the right to subpoena me to court. This policy is set in order to preserve the efficacy and integrity of the therapeutic process and relationship. It is my ethical duty to promote the welfare, autonomy and best interest of each and every client. A provider or nurse practitioner’s appearance in court can compromise the therapeutic relationship between client and provider.

By signing these policies and procedures you are waving your right to have me and/or your medical record at subpoenaed.

In the event I am subpoenaed to court (whether I testify in the proceedings or not), I will bill a fee for ALL court related work at $125 per hour with a minimum of 8 hours of time billed. Any time I dedicate  to any court-mandated appearance (including but not limited to preparation of documentation, discussion with lawyers and/or Guardian ad Litem, time spent waiting for testimony, travel to and from court, and any time on the witness stand) will be billed at $125 per hour with a minimum of 4 hours of time billed.

Electronic Communication 

You are welcome to contact me via email, however, I am often not immediately available. I will typically be able to return your call within 1 business day. 

While I do not charge for brief phone calls regarding scheduling or other non-clinical issues, if the discussion becomes clinical in nature, I do bill for phone time at a rate of $30 per 15 minutes. Writing and reading of reports, requested consultation with other professionals, reading records, longer sessions, etc. will be charged at the pro-rated clinical hour rate of $125, unless indicated and agreed upon otherwise.

I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will do so. While I may try to return messages in a timely manner, I cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.

Emergencies

There will be times that I am not available and therefore I cannot be your emergency contact. Because I am unable to respond to texts, calls and emails immediately, for your safety, do not text or email me when you are in a crisis and feeling suicidal, overwhelmed, or unsafe. Please call the crisis line or go to your nearest emergency room in these instances.

If you need immediate help for an emergency situation, you may obtain assistance by calling 911.

If there is an emergency during counseling where I become concerned about your personal safety, the possibility of you injuring someone else, or about you receiving proper psychiatric care, I will do whatever I can within the limits of the law, to prevent you from injuring yourself or others and to ensure that you receive the proper medical care. For this purpose, I may also contact the person whose name you have provided on the biographical sheet.

Dual Relationships & Social Media

For the efficacy of our work together, it is important that we maintain appropriate boundaries. I cannot enter into a personal relationship with you. This boundary must be maintained even after our counseling relationship is terminated.

If we see each other accidentally outside of the professional environment, I will not acknowledge you first. Your right to privacy and confidentiality is of the utmost importance to me, and I do not wish to jeopardize that. However, if you acknowledge me first, I will be more than happy to speak briefly with you, but feel it appropriate not to engage in any lengthy discussions in public or outside of the professional environment.

Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.

Termination

All client/provider relationships must eventually come to an end. Closure of the counseling relationship is an important step for all clients and one that I strive to handle carefully in collaboration with you. Termination of services may arise for several reasons:

• If a client has reached all desired goals
•  If a client requires a higher level of services or a different kind of specialized treatment (ie: inpatient care)
• If I, the provider, am unable or unwilling to continue services for an appropriate reason: retiring, moving, or have had a life change that disenables me to continue my practice
• If conflict of interest is identified after treatment begins
• If the client fails to participate in counseling (ie: not showing up for appointments, does not comply with treatment recommendations)
•  If the client fails to communicate with the provider (ie: not responding to appropriate communications prior to termination)

If you fail to schedule an appointment for 30 days, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued for legal and ethical reasons. 

All the services provided by Dr. Darrell Owens, DNP, are through Wedgwood Geriatrics and Thanatology, PLLC (WGT). These services are not in connection with the University of Washington, and WGT has no relationship with the University of Washington. None of the services provided by Dr. Darrell Owens, DNP through WGT, are in any way associated with his academic affiliation with the University of Washington. 

By signing below, I am agreeing that I have read, understood, and agree to the items contained in this document: