The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and American College of Surgery have requirements for accreditation that require surgical patients to undergo a pre-op psychological evaluation. According to ASMBS guidelines, this must be done by a psychologist or psychiatrist, not a licensed social worker. Many insurance payors require this before they will approve surgery as well. It’s important to understand what your options are for evaluation and to get the ball rolling as soon as possible, as the “psych eval” can be a rate-limiting step in your process to surgery. If you are already seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist, you can obtain a letter of clearance from them in many cases (please download the “Psychological Evaluation Guidelines” document below and give to your provider). If not, we offer multiple options for our patients as outlined here.
Online Options
As many of our patients are out-of-town, we partner with several online/virtual providers. Depending on your insurance and/or self-pay situation, there are a few different options:
Dr. James Glynn
www.onlinebariatricpsychevals.
- Dr. James Glynn is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in online bariatric psych evals.
- Great for Ohio/KY/IN residents with commercial/private insurance (e.g. Anthem, BCBS, Humana, Aetna, etc.) or Medicare
- He takes most major insurances as well as Medicaid.
- His self-pay price is $185.
- He offers appts Monday thru Saturday and guarantees delivery of the psych eval report within 24 hours.
- He can often accept same day requests too!
- To schedule just go to his web site listed above or call 973-696-0800 extension 10.
Dr. Joseph Stote
- Dr. Joseph Stote is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pre-op bariatric psych evals.
- He does not accept insurance, but offers pre-op psych evals for an affordable self-pay price of $185.
- Scheduling is done online through his website.
Assessment & Therapy Associates (ATA)
- ATA offers virtual pre-surgical psychological evaluations.
- Telehealth visits via video chat only require that you have internet access on either a computer or cell phone.
- They accept most insurance and are licensed in most states.
- Appointments can be scheduled from their web site.
Psychological Health Services
Psychological Health Services: Terri Czup, Ph.D – (614) 430-9697
- Has providers in multiple states.
- You will need to call to initiate the process.
- They can bill most major insurances including Ohio Medicaid (Caresource, Buckeye, Molina, etc.) and Medicare.
- The Kentucky provider is self-pay only!
- Their self-pay price is $500.
Advantage Point Behavioral
- Has providers in multiple states. The Kentucky provider is self-pay only!
- You will need to register online to start the process. They can bill most commercial insurances, or their cash price is $200.
