If you are a new or existing patient, we ask you to also kindly read these updated terms and conditions and sign the agreement at the end of this document.
Thank you for choosing to see Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany, Child, Adolescent & Adult Psychiatrist, for your outpatient consultation.
This letter sets out some important information, some of which Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany is required by law to provide to you. This is for your information only and is not a bill. As this includes information about Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany’s charges, if you do not have private medical insurance but someone else will be paying your bill, you may wish to pass a copy of this letter to them. Please note that even if someone else is paying your bill or you have private medical insurance, you are responsible for covering any charges which they do not pay.
Fees for an initial Adult consultation:
- The fee for an Initial 60-minute Adult Consultation is £400
- The fee for an Initial 90-minute Adult Consultation is £525
- The fee for an Urgent 60-minute Adult Consultation is £450
- The fee for an Urgent 90-minute Adult Consultation is £575
- The fee for a 3-hour Adult ADHD Assessment is £1050
- The fee for a 4-hour Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) assessment is £1600
Fees for a Child and Adolescent Consultation
- The fee for an Initial 90-minute Adult Consultation is £600
- The fee for an Urgent 90-minute Adult Consultation is £650
- The fee for a 3-hour Child and Adolescent ADHD Assessment is £1200
- The fee for a 4-hour Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) assessment is £1600
Fees for follow-up consultations:
- The fee for a 15-minute Follow-up Consultation is £150
- The fee for a 30-minute Follow-up Consultation is £250
- The fee for a 45-minute Follow-up Consultation is £350
- The fee for a 60-minute Follow-up Consultation is £300
Please note that Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany offers remote consultations only.
| Please note that we require advance payment for every appointment in order to confirm your booking. |
Fees for letters or reports
We will not charge any fees for writing and sending standard brief GP Letters or letters that are necessary for the correct clinical management of your situation. Examples: Update letter to the GP, referral letter to another specialist (e.g. Cardiologist), Letter for your health insurance (with your consent).
Comprehensive letters or reports for Autism and ADHD assessments are also included in the total fee of the assessment.
If you require a comprehensive letter or report after a general assessment, there will be a fee associated with it of £150. Other bespoke letters have a fee of £150.
School accommodations or mitigating circumstances letter for University have a fee of £100. This may vary if complex, and charges will be dependent on the time input required by the Doctor for each individual letter. Charges will be agreed with you in advance.
Fees for repeat prescriptions outside an appointment
Prescriptions issued during a consultation do not carry an admin fee.
If you request a prescription outside of an appointment there is an admin fee of £35. A prescription will contain 3 months of medication for non-CD prescription and 1 month of medication for CD prescription.
Please note that the cost of repeat prescriptions may not be covered by some insurers and you would be expected to pay this.
Please note that your doctor will request a follow-up appointment at least every 6 months in order to write ongoing prescriptions. An initial new assessment will be requested if the patient hasn’t seen the professional for over a year.
How can I pay?
You can pay by credit or debit card or via our secure Stripe payment feature, which enables us to take a bank payment from your account only upon your agreement at the time of a service request. Please be assured that we will not take payments from your account without permission. The process will be similar to a direct debit payment but this payment will be taken only for individual service requests, not as an automatic or recurring payment.
If you are funded by medical insurance, we require a pre-authorisation number in order to secure your appointment. Please note that if your insurer does not cover the fees, you may be liable for payment.
When can I cancel or reschedule an appointment?
We require at least 24 hrs from the time of the notification if you wish to reschedule or cancel your appointment (for example – if your appointment is on Wednesday at 11am, you would need to cancel no later than Tuesday at 11am).
If you cancel or reschedule your appointment within less than 24 hours from the time of your booked appointment or if you do not attend, a cancellation fee of 100% of the appointment fee will be charged. For appointments on a Monday, we require notice of cancellation on the previous Friday before 4 pm.
Please note that most insurers will not cover a potential cancellation fee. If this happens, you may need to pay the cancellation fee yourself.
Will my appointment be covered by my Private Medical Insurance?
If you have private medical insurance, please contact your insurer before your consultation to check the terms of your policy, particularly the level and type of outpatient cover you have, including any reimbursement limits on individual consultation fees.
Please note you are responsible for any fees not covered by your insurer.
How can I contact Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany in-between appointments?
By Email: Please note that the GMC (General Medical Council, the entity that regulates Doctors in the UK) has issued advice to doctors regarding the use of emails and their security.
Emails are not a secure method of communication and should not be used for clinical confidential, urgent, complex or sensitive issues. We discourage you from providing any clinical information over email, particularly if it is not encrypted, as it is not a secure method of communication to ensure your privacy.
If you do want to contact Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany by email, you can message her directly to: drteresagomez@onlinepsychiatry.uk. To request a consultation please contact admin@onlinepsychiatry.uk.
Please be aware that we may not be able to get back to you until the following working day and that depending on the situation, it may be necessary to book a consultation to discuss your query.
Consent
Before the doctor examines or treats you, they need your consent. Sometimes you can simply tell them whether you agree with their suggestions. However, sometimes a written record of your decision is helpful, so you’ll be asked to sign a consent form. If you later change your mind, you’re entitled to withdraw consent – even after signing.
Confidentiality of Information
We have a legal duty to safeguard your confidentiality. We will only share information about you with your consent. However, in exceptional circumstances, we may need to disclose personal or sensitive clinical information to other agencies (eg: safeguarding/ police) to ensure the safety of the public and to safeguard vulnerable people. In those circumstances, our concerns would be communicated with you and you will also be notified of our course of action. We operate a paperless service. Clinical information about you will be held in a secure electronic medical records system, which you have access to via ‘patient portal’.
What should I do if I have an emergency?
Please note that Online Psychiatry UK is not an Emergency Service and your clinician may be unable to provide support or treatment in the event of certain mental health emergencies.
We would suggest one of the following options depending on the urgency of the situation:
- Attend the nearest A&E department or call NHS 111
- Contact your GP who may be able to assist
- Samaritans offer a 24-hour telephone helpline calling 116 123
- Call 999 if you need an ambulance or a welfare check for a relative
- If you believe you require an urgent admission to the Nightingale Hospital, call 020 7535 7700 and ask for the Duty Doctor to discuss your situation; please note it is a private hospital so you would need to check your cover with your health insurance if you are not self-funding as the NHS will not cover the admission
What do I do if I have a Complaint or a Concern?
Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany endeavours to provide evidence-based, up-to-date and compassionate psychiatric care.
If you have a concern or a complaint about any aspect of the service provided, please call us at at 0203 834 9700 or email us at contact@onlinepsychiatry.uk
If you wish, Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany will offer a telephone conversation or a meeting (free of charge) to discuss your concern or complaint with you.
If you would prefer to submit your complaint in writing, you can send a letter to:
Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany
Online Psychiatry Limited
85 Great Portland street, First Floor, London, W1W 7LT
You can also email your letter to our practice manager at contact@onlinepsychiatry.uk. We suggest you use encrypted email to protect your privacy. You can create a free account with an encrypted email provider such as Egress (https://www.egress.com) if you wish to send us an encrypted email.
We will ensure that all complaints are addressed at the earliest possible opportunity and are resolved within 28 days.
Will I receive a prescription following my appointment?
If clinically appropriate, your clinician will provide you with a prescription during your consultation.
Your clinician will provide an electronic prescription that you can collect from most pharmacies within the UK (please note this is not possible for Controlled Drug prescriptions) or arrange for a courier pharmacy to deliver your medication to you.
Is there a fee for repeat prescriptions?
Yes, as also listed above in the fee section. Please note if you require a prescription outside of an appointment there is an admin fee of £35
Please note that the cost of repeat prescriptions may not be covered by some insurers.
Can I get my GP to prescribe my medication?
Yes, this is possible. You can discuss this with your clinician during your consultation and they will request that your GP (NHS or Private) take over the prescribing. Please note some GPs may not agree to take over the repeat prescribing of certain medications. For some medications such as ADHD medication or Pregabalin, your GP may want your clinician to sign a Shared Care Agreement or may refuse to take over the prescribing entirely. In those cases, we can provide you with ongoing prescriptions.
How can I obtain repeat prescriptions?
If you need a repeat prescription (outside of an appointment), we require that you let us know at least 5 working days before you run out of your medication to ensure we have time to review and process your request.
How can I receive my repeat prescription?
- Your prescription can be sent to your chosen pharmacy for you to collect. Standard prescriptions can be sent electronically and usually dispensed by the pharmacy quite quickly but CD (Controlled Drug) medication will not be dispensed by any pharmacy until they receive the original copy either in person or via post to your pharmacy. Please note we will not generally send CD prescriptions to your home address. The CD prescription will be sent to a pharmacy who will be given your contact details so that you can either choose to collect or have your medication delivered to your chosen address. Please allow at least 2-3 working days for your prescription to arrive.
- Digital prescription arranged through Clynxx, which you can take to most pharmacies in the UK. (Please note this is not an option for Controlled Drug prescriptions.)
- You can also receive the medication via courier or post directly from a courier pharmacy. We mainly work with pharmacierge, an online pharmacy that can post or deliver within the UK. Please be aware there may be an associated cost in some cases and you would need to discuss this with the pharmacy.
Who will hold medical responsibility for my psychiatric care?
After your initial consultation with your clinician, they will be able to let you know if they feel that they have the right skillset and availability to take over the responsibility of your psychiatric care.
Please note that depending on your circumstances, your clinician may not be able to take over your psychiatric care or may decide to discontinue your care usually after the worsening of your symptomatology. This could be, for example, if you are feeling acutely unwell and your clinician does not have availability to safely take responsibility for your care. It is also possible that following your initial consultation with your clinician, they may find that you have a diagnosis that they do not have sufficient expertise in treating. If that was the case, your clinician would let you know after the initial consultation and would endeavour to suggest a suitable colleague with the right availability or expertise.
In most cases, your clinician will be able to assume ongoing responsibility for your psychiatric care as long as you receive regular (at least six monthly) follow up reviews and provide permission for your clinician to share relevant information with your GP about your care and treatment (if appropriate depending on the circumstances).
If your appointment is a second opinion consultation, your clinician will, with your consent, write a letter to the original referrer (and to your GP if you agree), but they will not take over the medical responsibility for your psychiatric care or prescribe any medications.
Will you write a letter to my GP?
Following good medical practice standards, your clinician will write to your GP regularly. If you have consented to share information with your GP, your clinician or their secretary will send this letter (generally by the Carebit patient portal or encrypted email) shortly after your initial consultation.
Following your consultation, your clinician will provide you with a copy of the letter to the GP so you can review it for accuracy and let us know if there is any specific or private information you would prefer not to be included in the letter. Please note that certain information such as the kind and dose of medication that Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany is prescribing cannot be omitted from the letter.
We would always encourage our patients to be registered with a GP and can provide details of private GPs working locally if required. If you are not registered with a GP or do not consent to your clinician sharing information with your GP, they will discuss with you the most appropriate way forward depending on your circumstances and rationale.
In some cases, your clinician may explain that they are unable to be responsible for your care or for prescribing medication unless you provide consent to share information with a third party (such as a family member or your GP or local NHS Mental Health Services such as the Crisis team).
If you do not have a GP or do not consent to your clinician writing to your GP, your clinician will still provide you with a brief report (addressed to you) upon request.
Will you send any information about me to my GP or anybody else?
Doctors are bound by a duty of confidentiality towards their patients. Your clinician will request your consent and document it on the clinical notes before discussing any aspect of your care with any third parties, including other healthcare professionals or relatives/friends.
Your clinician may ask you to sign a Consent to Share information form if you wish to provide or withdraw consent for them to discuss your care with a third party.
In cases where there is a potential risk to your health (for example if you are acutely unwell, or have relapsed into severe addiction or have intense suicidal thoughts), your clinician may decide that in order to be able to continue holding responsibility for your psychiatric care they would require you to provide consent for them to speak to a specific third party, to ensure your safety or to avoid misleading other people involved in your care. If this is the case, your clinician will discuss this with you, with a view to arriving at a mutually acceptable solution.
In certain emergency or extreme circumstances, your clinician may contact a third party (usually the Next of Kin you have provided when you registered with us or a health professional involved in your care such as your GP or therapist) without your prior notification or consent. This is in accordance with the standards of practice for all psychiatrists licensed to practise in the UK.
This can happen:
- if there is a significant risk to your health or safety or that of others
- if there is a safeguarding concern regarding a child
- if there is a strong concern about your mental capacity (as per the Mental Capacity Act)
- if there is an urgent need for a Mental Health Act Assessment (as per the Mental Health Act)
Please note that in all these situations your clinician will endeavour to discuss the situation with you in order to discuss the most appropriate course of action prior to contacting a third party. In case there is no response on the your side or it is difficult to contact you despite several attempts, the professional could contact your GP, therapist or next of Kin without your verbal or written consent.
What happens if I need to be admitted to a mental health hospital?
If you wish or need to be admitted to a hospital or clinic, your clinician can refer you to a number of clinics in the UK or abroad depending on your needs and personal preferences.
Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany does not have admitting rights to a hospital in London, however, if admission is needed they will be able to refer you to the nearest A&E hospital for admission.
Please be aware that once admitted to the hospital or admitted to the home care/crisis team, your clinician will then not be able to remain responsible for your psychiatric care during the time you are admitted, although they will be able to speak to the psychiatrist in charge if appropriate in your case.
What happens if I travel outside of the UK?
If you travel outside of the UK for an extended period of time, we would advise that you let your clinician know so you can discuss your treatment plan and the level of support you will require.
Prescriptions provided by Online Psychiatry UK can only be dispensed from a UK pharmacy. If your situation is stable your clinician may, at their clinical discretion, be able to provide a prescription for 3-6 months of medication during your consultation.
Your clinician holds medical indemnity insurance that allows them to provide psychiatric assessments and advice remotely to patients based in the UK, although the patient can be traveling somewhere else at the time of the assessment.
However, your clinician does not hold a licence to practise medicine outside of the UK. Your clinician’s indemnity cover stipulates that all and any claims or medico-legal concerns are addressed in the UK courts.
What happens if I live outside of the UK?
If your place of residence is outside of the UK, please let us know so we can discuss your situation prior to booking an appointment. We recommend that you engage with a local psychiatrist and GP whenever possible. In some cases, your clinician may be able to continue to offer support but this needs to be discussed on a case-by-case basis with your clinician.
If you are outside of the UK, we strongly advise you (and expect) that you will seek the help of a local psychiatrist or medical doctor who can assist in the event of an emergency and monitor your progress and prescribe medication if required. Any involvement from your clinician (such as emails or remote consultations) is for support purposes only and is not a substitute for appropriate medical care in the country you are located in.
By booking an appointment with Dr Teresa Gomez-Alemany, you agree to issue any claims or medico-legal concerns about your care to the UK courts and not to an overseas court.
Closing episodes of care
At the Online Psychiatry UK we want to be able to offer and build long term therapeutic relationships, to be here for you as and when you need. However, if we have not heard from you for over 12 months, then unless we have already agreed a longer period of review, we will take this as the end of an episode of care and will then close you on our active caseload. We will of course be able to offer to see you again if you wish in future. We will routinely write to you and, where appropriate, other professionals involved in your care (e.g. your GP), if we are closing your episode of care. However, if you do not wish to receive this correspondence then you have the option to opt-out by informing your clinician at any point during your care.