Question:
I was told that my psych eval would consist of 3 visits. Is that normal?

When I called my insurance company they said it would consist of 3 different visits. Is that the normal proceedure? Has anyone had to deal with QualChoice POS before and their psych eval? How long did it take to get the approval?    — melkihm (posted on June 19, 2004)

June 19, 2004
It is normal to have 3 (one-hour) visits. My therapist asked a lot of family-history type questions, which actually took up most of the time. Other types of questions they ask is why you want to have the surgery,what you've done to lose weight in the past, and how prepared you feel you are to change your life. Hope this helps-Denise
   — Denise L.

June 19, 2004
Yes three visits are normal. I think my dr wanted four visits. There was a first consult type of visit. Then she wanted me to come in two times to take tests. I was able to do the two tests in one day. The next visit is the one where they tell you if they will recomened the surgery or not.
   — Cameron Van Winkle

June 19, 2004
At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the psych eval is only *one* visit. I've never heard of it being more than one.
   — John Rushton

June 19, 2004
Mine was 2 appointments, both at my presurgical appts. The Wish Center where I had my surgery has a psychologist on staff at their office so I did not have to go to another doctor's office. Now, my husband's was psych evaluation was only one visit for his open RNY. We all have to remember that each insurance company and doctors have different proceedures for qualifying their patients and it is NORMAL for them. Frankly, I do not have anything to hide and I would have welcomed talking more about my obese background to help me understand why I was the way I was. Good luck. Open RNY 5/7/03 260(highest)/241/150/130, Dr Rosen, Wish Center Downers Grove IL
   — ChristineB

June 20, 2004
Mine was only 1 visit and it only lasted 1 hour and a couple of mins, all the waiting included.. GOOD LUCK Deb
   — Debbie R.

June 20, 2004
Unfortunately the norm isn't 3 visits but it sounds like your insurance is trying to be absolutely sure you are ready for the necessary changes. Losing lots of weight is a wonderful thing but it will not fix everything wrong in a persons life. I found that out the very hard way. After losing 200 lbs, the old fashioned way, back in 94/95 a severe depression surfaced, which was undoubtedly there before, and trashed everything. It took a good 4-5 years before my depression was under excellent control and regaining all 200 lbs over 8 years for me to be ready for WLS. It was a horrible process but one I truly believe I needed to endure to bring me to my life today. Even with controlled depression and regular counseling and monitoring by my psychiatrist, I have had some tough times going through the WLS process. Fortunately the flare-ups were short lived and then I was back on track. I am a huge believe of required counseling before and for at least 6-12 months after WLS. No one can begin to foresee what will all come along and having a great support system in place will help you weather the tough times.
   — zoedogcbr