in-person interview (normally about three hours)

reviewing the background medical records, counseling notes, court documents, or other essential items for your case (varies; some cases have a few dozen pages of records while other cases have several thousand pages of documents)

answering emails about your case

producing an FAA-compliant report, generally 25-45 pages (flat rate fee of 6 hours)

returning your telephone calls, if you ask for me to call you or my subsequent questions cannot be addressed by email

telephoning character references offered on your behalf

Health insurance plans generally cover medical costs related to the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions, in the context of a physician-to-patient relationship.

In an aviation psychiatric evaluation, the evaluation serves a regulatory purpose. A physician-to-patient relationship is not established.

Physician-to-patient relationships require advocacy from the physician in the interest of your well-being.

Regulatory evaluations require neutrality, not advocacy, with the opinions applied against a law, regulation, or contract.

In a doctor-to-patient relationship, your physician uses what is called a CPT code to define the type of assessment and its complexity. There is no standardized CPT code for a forensic evaluation since you do not receive treatment from your aviation psychiatrist.

Medical billing requires an ICD-10 Diagnosis, whereas a regulatory assessment for the FAA does not make an ICD-10 interpretation. FAA evaluations used the Code of Federal Regulations Title 14 CFR 67.107/67.207/67.307 and other regulations instead of ICD-10 guidelines.

How the Retainer is Used and Refunded

The reservation retainer fee is a four-hour retainer to be applied towards the initial costs in your case.

A second four-hour retainer will be due in the office at or before the time of your appointment. The second retainer is considered fully earned at the instant we start your appointment by signing a disclosure agreement.

The hourly fee applies to all time spent in the case; this includes the interview, reading your records, writing the report, and all other time spent on your behalf.

You cannot do a payment plan for a forensic assessment. If a client interprets a report as unfavorable, some clients could block or ignore the final balance due.

This hypothetical scenario creates a situation where the psychiatrist is more likely, consciously or unconsciously, to act favorably for the client to ensure the agreed-upon compensation. This appearance of bias downgrades the evaluator from neutral to partisan

My payments processor, Square, charges the vendor (me) credit card transaction fees even on refunds/cancellations.

After subtracting cancellation fees, the balance is 100% refundable for any reason up to ten exact 24-hour days from your appointment.

After subtracting cancellation fees, the balance is 75% refundable, and considered 25% earned, for any reason at less than exactly ten 24-hour days but more than seven exact 24-hour days from your appointment,

After subtracting cancellation fees, the balance is 50% refundable, and considered 50% earned, if the appointment is canceled at less than exactly seven 24-hour days, but more than three exact 24-hour days.

Any cancellation at less than 72 hours results in forfeiture of the fee and the retainer has been considered fully earned.

Appointments can be canceled by either calling me or emailing me; you cannot text to cancel or change an appointment. The timestamp for the cancellation will be the date and time I have received the email or received your incoming phone call, not the time you sent it.

An appointment cannot be canceled and refunded for a weather emergency or a canceled flight, it can be rescheduled once within 28 days. Special rules apply to a weather or flight cancellations and those will be sent under separate cover if you request a cancellation under these terms.

Not showing up for a weather emergency, a canceled flight, or sickness without discussing it with Dr. Kirk before your appointment will result in forfeiture of the fee.

An appointment cannot be canceled and refunded for your sickness; the appointment can be rescheduled one time within 42 days of your late cancellation. Special rules apply to a sickness cancellation and those will be sent under separate cover if you request a sickness cancellation.

Appointments can be canceled by either calling me or emailing me; you cannot text to cancel or change an appointment.

This discussion applies only if I did your first evaluation. If a different psychiatrist did your first evaluation, the evaluation might be a follow-up visit for you but it would count as the first evaluation for me.

For a pilot flying with a Special Issuance Authorization for a mental health, alcohol, or drug issue, the FAA may require that the pilot have periodic evaluations to maintain certification.

If I did your initial evaluation, followup assessments cost less. We can focus on what’s happened since your last assessment.

There is also usually less paperwork to review, whether that is from your doctor, therapist, AME, employer, or the FAA.

Finally, the written report is shorter because I would have already documented a comprehensive history in my first report. As a rough estimate, a followup evaluation usually takes only about 1/3 as much time as a full initial evaluation.