Telepsychiatry across New York State

After you book, you receive a link by text or email. A few minutes before the appointment you click it, allow your camera and microphone, and wait until your clinician joins. The visit itself follows the same structure as an in-person one: how you have been, what has changed, side effects, sleep and safety, then a plan.

Prescriptions are sent electronically to the pharmacy you choose. Lab orders, if needed, can go to a draw site near your home. If the connection drops, your clinician will try to reach you on the phone number in your chart so the visit can continue.

Our clinicians are licensed in New York, so you must be physically in New York State at the time of each video visit. Where you live is less important than where you are sitting: a Rockland resident traveling in Florida cannot be seen that week, while a college student from out of state who is at school in Albany can. If you will be away, let the front desk know and we can reschedule or move the visit to the office.

Telepsychiatry works well for medication management follow-ups, for patients with mobility limits or long commutes, for parents juggling childcare, and for anyone who finds it easier to talk from home. It is less suitable during a crisis. If you are in danger right now, call or text 988 or call 911.

Your initial evaluation can be in person or by video, depending on clinical need. A video psychiatric evaluation is often fine; your clinician may recommend an office visit if they need to check vital signs, weight or movement side effects, if symptoms are severe, or if the history is complicated enough that sitting in the same room helps.

Controlled substances, such as stimulants for ADHD or certain sleep and anxiety medications, follow federal and New York telehealth prescribing rules. The Drug Enforcement Administration has set special conditions for prescribing controlled medications by telemedicine, and those rules have been revised and extended over time. New York also requires prescribers to check the state prescription monitoring registry (I-STOP). Depending on the medication and the rules in effect at the time, an in-person visit may be required. We will tell you up front.

TMS therapy is, by its nature, in person only and is delivered at our New City office. A TMS consultation can start by video.

• A smartphone, tablet or computer with a working camera and microphone
• A reasonably steady internet or cellular connection; Wi-Fi is better than one bar of LTE
• A current browser (Chrome, Safari or Edge) kept up to date
• A private spot where you can talk freely; a parked car works for many people
• Your medication bottles nearby, in case your clinician asks about doses

Log in five minutes early so a browser update or a muted microphone does not eat into your time. Keep a short list of what you want to cover, especially new side effects or changes in sleep, and have your pharmacy's name and address handy. If talking at home is hard because family members are nearby, say so; your clinician can ask yes-or-no questions or suggest moving the next visit to the office.

Video visits run on a secure telehealth platform built for healthcare, not on a consumer social app. The same privacy rules that protect your records in the office apply online, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services explains in its guidance on health information privacy. On your side, use headphones if others are nearby, avoid public Wi-Fi when you can, and close the browser tab when the visit ends.

Most telepsychiatry patients live within reach of an office, which makes it easy to mix video and in-person care. Our New City office anchors Rockland County and nearby Westchester and Putnam. Our Middletown office serves Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. By video, we see patients statewide, including the five boroughs, Long Island and the Capital Region.

Video visits are scheduled within the same office hours, which include evenings until 7 PM on Monday and Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Most plans we accept cover telehealth; see insurance for details.