Salma Health Policy for Missed Appointments

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Center for Neurohealth, Inc., d/b/a Salma Health (“Salma Health”, “we” or “us”) value our patients' commitment to their mental and physical health, and consistent attendance at scheduled appointments is essential for effective care. Moreover, we work tirelessly to provide treatment to as many people in need as possible, making timely rescheduling of appointments essential.

Missed Appointment Billing Policy

For all appointment types except for SAINT treatment:

• Patients must notify the clinic at least 24 hours before their scheduled appointment if they need to cancel or reschedule. Patients may cancel or reschedule their scheduled appointment through the Salma Health portal or by texting +1 (866) 277-2659.
• A missed appointment or cancellation less than 24 hours prior will incur a fee equal to $100 or the charge for the scheduled appointment, whichever is lower. 
• Exceptions may be considered in cases of sudden illness, family emergencies, or other urgent circumstances at the discretion of clinic management.
• Missed appointment billing does not apply to patients with Medi-Cal or other Medicaid insurance types.

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See below for SAINT treatment.

Missed Appointment Billing Policy - SAINT

For SAINT treatment:

• SAINT is challenging to schedule given that it requires 10 treatments per day over 10 hours each day for 5 consecutive days.
• Due to the difficulty in rapidly scheduling another patient for SAINT treatment, and the high clinical need for this treatment, we require notice of at least 72 hours prior to the planned start of SAINT treatment
• For SAINT, full payment is required 1 week prior to treatment start. If SAINT treatment is cancelled prior to 72 hours prior to planned treatment start, a full refund is provided. If SAINT is cancelled with fewer than 72 hours prior to planned treatment start, then a 50% refund will be given and the remainder applied to a future appointments.
• If due to unforeseen circumstances (sudden illness, family emergencies, or other urgent circumstances at the discretion of clinic management) a patient does not receive all 50 planned SAINT treatment sessions, then they will be refunded at a pro-rated amount for the treatments they do not receive.
• Exceptions may be considered in cases of sudden illness, family emergencies, or other urgent circumstances at the discretion of clinic management.
• Missed appointment billing does not apply to patients with Medi-Cal or other Medicaid insurance types.

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Patient Contact Procedure

• If a patient misses their scheduled appointment without prior notification, clinic staff will attempt to contact the patient within 1 hour of the missed appointment via:
  
  • Phone call (primary method)
  • Text message (secondary method)
  • Email (tertiary method)
• If there is no response within 4 hours from the initial attempt, staff will try contacting the patient again.

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Emergency Contact Notification

• Should a patient remain unreachable after repeated contact attempts, and if they have an identified mental health risk or known safety concerns documented in their records, clinic staff will attempt to contact the patient’s emergency contact.
• The emergency contact will be informed only that we have been unable to reach the patient and asked to assist in contacting or locating them.

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Welfare Check and Law Enforcement Notification

• If a patient has not been reachable within 24 hours following the missed appointment, and either:
  
  • There are documented high-risk factors or immediate safety concerns, or
  • The emergency contact is unable to confirm the patient’s well-being,
• Then, clinic staff may contact local law enforcement to request a welfare check.

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Termination of care for missed appointments

• If a patient misses 3 appointments without acceptable documentation of extenuating circumstances within a 12-month period, then their care may be terminated.

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Termination of care for inactivity

• If a patient does not attend an appointment with a Salma Health provider at least every 12 months, then they will be listed as inactive in our records, and a new set of intake appointments will be required to reinitiate care.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these policies, which are designed to ensure your safety, the effective management of clinic resources, and timely provision of care.