New patients

All prospective new patients should be aware that I only rarely prescribe benzodiazepines (e.g., xanax/alprazolam, ativan/lorazepam, klonopin/clonazepam, valium/diazepam, etc.).

If you are considering becoming a new patient of mine and are on one of these drugs, you should understand that I will try to get you off of them as quickly as possible, as I generally consider them to be harmful.

They are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (death from all causes):

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33295972/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26590022/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24647164/

An increased risk of cancer:

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33019585/

An increased risk of dementia:

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26016483/

An increased risk of car accidents:

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21247221/

An increased risk of hip fractures:

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28448593/

When I am accepting new patients, I accept the following insurance policies:

• Anthem Blue Cross (California)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (Texas)
• Cigna (California and Texas)
• UnitedHealthcare/Optum/Oscar (California and Texas)
• Ventura County Healthcare Plan (California)

I do not accept:

• Blue Shield of California
• Aetna
• Healthnet
• Magellan
• Medi-Cal
• Medicare

If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, we may take your insurance. Please call us at 805-380-5022, so we can check for you.

If you would like to consider becoming a new patient, please submit the following form or call us at 805-380-5022.