Practice Policies

Emergencies & Crisis

WellMinds MD is not an emergency or crisis service. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

For mental health crisis support:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 (available 24/7, nationwide).
• Washington State Crisis Line — 360-586-2800 (24/7).
• National Suicide Prevention Hotline — 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Dr. Porbandarwalla is unable to serve as your emergency contact or be called for acute crises outside of scheduled appointment hours.

Intake Package

All new patients are required to complete the intake package at least 24 hours prior to their first appointment. The intake package includes a health history form, consent for treatment, HIPAA authorization, and any relevant releases of information. Failure to complete the intake package may result in appointment cancellation and the applicable cancellation fee.

Intake materials are sent via our secure patient portal. Please check your email for the portal invitation and complete all forms promptly.

Cancellations & No-Shows

Your appointment time is reserved specifically for you. We require at least 1 full business day's notice (Monday–Friday, excluding holidays) for cancellations or rescheduling.

• Cancellations with less than 1 full business day's notice — for appointments covered by insurance through Headway, a $200 cancellation fee will be charged; for private pay appointments, the estimated cost of the appointment itself will be charged.
• No-shows (missed appointments without any notice) — the same fee applies: $200 for Headway-covered appointments, or the estimated cost of the appointment for private pay.
• Example: If your appointment is Monday at 10am, the cancellation deadline is Friday at 10am (not the weekend).

Repeated missed appointments may result in discontinuation of care to ensure access for other patients.

Payment & Insurance

WellMindsMD does not process insurance claims, verify benefits, or handle insurance billing. Patients with eligible Aetna, Regence, or Premera plans may use benefits through Headway, which independently handles eligibility estimates, claims processing, billing, and payment.

Check costs through Headway: Use Headway’s cost estimator before scheduling. For plans not handled through Headway, appointments are private pay and we can provide a superbill upon request for you to submit directly to your insurer.

We accept credit cards, debit cards, HSA, and FSA for payment. A credit card on file is required for all patients.

Administrative Fees

Administrative work that extends beyond 10 minutes outside of scheduled appointment time will be billed at $400 per hour in 15-minute increments. This includes but is not limited to:

• Letters for school, work, housing, or legal purposes
• Prior authorization requests
• Medical record preparation and review
• Phone calls or messages requiring clinical review beyond routine messaging

We will always notify you of an anticipated administrative fee and provide an estimated time before beginning the work.

Controlled Substances

WellMinds MD adheres to all DEA and Washington State regulations regarding controlled substances. The following policies apply to all patients receiving controlled substance prescriptions:

• A complete prescription history review is required for all patients prior to initiating a controlled substance prescription.
• Refills for controlled substances always require a scheduled appointment. They will not be refilled between appointments or via phone/portal requests alone.
• If a controlled substance prescription is lost, one replacement may be provided on a case-by-case basis. Subsequent losses will not result in additional refills.
• Prescriptions for controlled substances will not be provided at an initial evaluation without a full clinical assessment.