Personalized Psychiatry / FAQ’s
To create the kind of practice I want for patients, I operate a full-service, personalized psychiatry practice, as opposed to an insurance-driven one. This allows me to focus on quality over quantity and on personalized service and accessibility over volume. I have fewer patients than an insurance-driven practice, which means I have more time for you. I am an OUT OF NETWORK for all private insurance providers. This allows me to charge prices that are commensurate with the quality of the services that I believe I provide. It also frees me from having to adhere to many of the "quality control" measures (more like "cost cutting" and "care rationing" measures) that insurance companies impose on their in-network providers. Some private insurance companies will pay a percentage of the charges for out of network physicians. I recommend that you find out about your insurance coverage for out of network providers prior to seeing me.
FAQ’s
What does "Board Certified" mean?
Doctors do not have to be Board certified to practice medicine. They simply need to have completed the necessary requirements to hold a medical license in the state where they practice.
The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) was established so that patients would be assured that their physician meets the highest criteria within their specialty. Physicians who are Board certified are referred to as "Diplomates." The Board requires Diplomates to retest at regular intervals through the Maintenance of Certification Program.
What does "Double Board Certified" mean?
Be aware that many psychiatrists may state that they treat children and adolescents but, yet they have not completed any additional training in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, therefore they are not permitted to sit for the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Boards.
Dr. Tzuang has completed the two part written and oral Board exams (voluntarily paying for travel costs to San Antonio and Atlanta to be peer evaluated) in both Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry over the course of a 2-year span following his 2-year subspecialty fellowship at Stanford and 3 year residency training at San Mateo County.
Ask any psychiatrist you are considering whether or not they are Board certified in their specialty and if they have completed the Maintenance of Certification exam recently. You may be surprised.
Why is Maintenance of Certification important?
As of October 1, 1994 the ABPN began issuing time limited Board certification. Any doctor who completed the Boards after that date must retest every ten years and participate in continuing education. However, Diplomates prior to the policy change were able to "grandfather" themselves out of the requirements.
Patients should be aware that if their psychiatrist was Board certified before 1994 they might not be practicing medicine in the most current standard as they are not required to fulfill any continuing education requirements as a Board certified psychiatrist like Dr. Tzuang to maintain his board certifications.