Question 1

Do you accept Medicaid and Medicare for Spravato treatment in Astoria? Do I need prior authorization before starting Spravato?

Accepted Answer

Have your insurance card ready when booking. Share member details through the clinic’s confirmed secure intake process. Check with the clinic and your insurer that the exact plan covers the clinician and requested service. Ask about visit charges, any separately billed tests or medicines, and any referral or authorization requirement. Coverage and your copay or deductible depend on the plan; request a written estimate if paying yourself.

Question 2

Will I have a care manager during treatment?

Accepted Answer

Ask the Spravato service whether it assigns one, who the contact is and what that person coordinates: records, authorization, medication delivery, appointments and follow-up. Also identify the clinician responsible for depression treatment and urgent safety questions. Coordination support does not replace psychiatric care.

Question 3

Can Nao Medical handle psychiatric evaluation and prescribing in Astoria?

Accepted Answer

Ask who evaluates eligibility, signs the Spravato prescription, manages other psychiatric medicines and provides follow-up, and whether an outside psychiatrist remains involved. Confirm the active REMS-certified dosing site and written handoff before changing care.

Question 4

Do I need a ride home after each Spravato session? Can I take Spravato at home? How long are Spravato visits and how often do I come in?

Accepted Answer

Bring antidepressant names, doses, dates, response, adverse effects and relevant hospital records. Clarify whether the proposed treatment is TRD care or the separate acute suicidal MDD indication. Discuss other suitable treatments and continuing therapy.

Spravato is administered through its REMS in a certified healthcare setting. Patients self-administer the nasal spray under direct supervision. Blood pressure is checked before dosing, around 40 minutes afterwards and further as needed. Breathing is monitored, including pulse oximetry, for at least two hours. Release occurs only when the clinician finds the patient stable. Some visits take longer.

TRD treatment is twice weekly for the first four weeks, then weekly in weeks five through eight. From week nine, dosing is weekly or every two weeks according to response. The clinician assesses benefit after the initial four weeks. The acute suicidal MDD regimen is a separate twice-weekly four-week course. Longer use for that indication has not been systematically evaluated.

The boxed warning covers sedation, dissociation, respiratory depression, abuse and misuse, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours associated with antidepressants in younger people. Do not drive, operate machinery or undertake activities requiring full alertness until the next day after a restful sleep. Arrange a ride home even if you feel ready to drive. Blood-pressure elevation can make a session unsuitable. Pregnancy may harm the fetus and breastfeeding is not recommended during treatment. Urgent worsening depression or a suicide crisis needs immediate clinical or emergency care rather than waiting for the next session.

Question 5

Will my blood pressure and side effects be monitored during treatment?

Accepted Answer

Spravato is administered under direct supervision in a REMS-certified healthcare setting. The team checks blood pressure before dosing and again around 40 minutes afterward, with further checks as needed. Monitor breathing, sedation, dissociation and other effects for at least two hours, then assess whether you are clinically stable before discharge. A visit may take longer than two hours. Arrange a ride home and do not drive until the next day after a restful sleep.

Question 6

Is Spravato the same as ketamine infusion?

Accepted Answer

Spravato is the brand name for esketamine nasal spray. Its current US label covers treatment-resistant depression in adults, either on its own or with an oral antidepressant. A separate indication covers depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder who have acute suicidal thoughts or behaviour; that use requires an oral antidepressant. These indications should not be merged into one promise. Spravato has not been shown to prevent suicide or reduce suicidal thoughts or behaviour, and it does not replace hospitalization when that is needed.

Assessment reviews the diagnosis, previous treatments and whether they were taken at an adequate dose and duration. The clinician checks blood pressure, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular history, psychosis, substance-use risks, pregnancy and interacting medicines. Aneurysmal vascular disease, arteriovenous malformation, a history of intracerebral hemorrhage and hypersensitivity are labelled contraindications. Insurer criteria can differ from the clinical label.

Esketamine affects NMDA receptors in the brain. Its antidepressant mechanism is not fully understood. It differs from standard oral antidepressants and from IV ketamine. Feeling dissociated during a session is not a test of whether the depression treatment will work. The clinician judges benefit from symptoms, daily function and safety over time.

The boxed warning covers sedation, dissociation, respiratory depression, abuse and misuse, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours associated with antidepressants in younger people. Do not drive, operate machinery or undertake activities requiring full alertness until the next day after a restful sleep. Arrange a ride home even if you feel ready to drive. Blood-pressure elevation can make a session unsuitable. Pregnancy may harm the fetus and breastfeeding is not recommended during treatment. Urgent worsening depression or a suicide crisis needs immediate clinical or emergency care rather than waiting for the next session.