Evaluation Process

How are Patients Referred to the Amen Clinics?

Patients are referred to us by a variety of methods including by their private physicians, mental health professionals, web sites they have visited and by their own attendance at lectures and seminars given by Dr. Daniel Amen. Other times they have seen written literature by Dr. Amen or one of our staff members. And, although hundreds of physicians from around the world refer patients to us, we are proud to say that our largest referral source by far remains word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied former patients and family members.

What if I Don’t Have a Doctor to Refer Me?

Patients or parents of children who are self-referred to the Amen Clinics must first speak to the Amen Clinic Intake Coordinator. The Intake Coordinator is trained and supervised by Dr. Amen. The Intake Coordinator assists with the completion of the intake form which is reviewed by the physicians assistant. Sometimes a phone consultation with a clinic physician is recommended before an evaluation is scheduled or scans are ordered and other times, referral to professionals outside the Amen Clinics is deemed more appropriate for a particular situation.

Comprehensive, Specialized Intake

New patients go through a comprehensive intake process. The intake process includes completion of a written set of questionnaires, a detailed clinical interview with a historian, brain scans and an evaluation with a physician to discuss the finding of the scans. Together, the physician and person or family seeking help will then develop a plan for further diagnostic work-up or treatment.

The cost of a complete evaluation is $3,375.00 (includes concentration and baseline scans). The patients will need to allow 4 days of appointments, with each appointment running approximately 1-2 hours/day. For patients outside of California, a phone consultation is advised with one of the physician staff to determine if the Clinic is the appropriate place for an evaluation. A consultation by phone will cost $175.00 per half hour.

Offering Expert Diagnosis

The clinics uses a variety of diagnostic procedures to help us reach a deep understanding of our patient’s needs. Clinical history, questionnaires, tests of attention and mood are a standard part of the intake process. In addition, in complex cases or when an underlying neurological problem is suspected the doctor may order additional testing.

The clinic is well known for Dr. Amen’s work in brain SPECT imaging, a nuclear medicine study which evaluates blood flow and brain metabolism. Dr. Amen is one of only a handful of physicians worldwide who is both board certified in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry and licensed in nuclear brain imaging.

Treatments Utilized by the Clinic

Various treatment modalities are utilized by clinicians in the Clinic, including education, medication, psychotherapy, parent training, couples counseling, family therapy, hypnosis, EMDR and biofeedback. The treatments recommended depend on the individual’s or family’s need and circumstances.

Follow Up Visits

The Amen Clinics do follow up treatment for patients who live nearby or who can travel to the clinics on a regular basis.

Patient follow-up varies with individual’s need and situation. The time frame of follow-up visits ranges from once a week to every couple of months, depending on the clinical situation. Some patients, due to insurance coverage, distance or who were referred to us for an opinion by other professionals, continue their treatment elsewhere. When other professionals become involved, the patient may request a copy of the records generated by this Clinic.

Family Discount

1st member of the family pays full price and then a 10% discount for each additional family members being scanned.

Reading SPECT Studies Performed In Other Facilities

For technical and quality control reasons we prefer to do our own scans. However, many people ask us to read SPECT studies performed at other facilities. In order for us to do that, the outside study must be performed with one of the following camera systems only:

• Picker Prism 3000 camera (S or XP models). This is the same system used at the Amen clinics. Ideally, the camera should be fitted with LEHR-fan beam collimators. These are preferred over parallel hole collimators or LEUHR collimators. If the center has only parallel hole collimators, the outside imaging center must contact our technologist for information on how to proceed.
• Picker Axis camera
• Picker Prism 2000 camera

The study must be performed with Tc99m-Ceretec (HMPAO) and NOT Tc99m-Neurolite (ECD). These two tracers behave very differently in the brain. Our reference data is based on HMPAO studies. Meeting these criteria ensures compatibility with our data base. The scans should be acquired with the Step-and-Shoot method and not RAS (Rapid Acquisition Sequence), or other continuous acquisition methods. A minimum of 8 million counts total per scan are required (see reference chart), 10 million counts are ideal.

Next, you will need to contact our Newport Beach office at 949-266-3700 to arrange for payment of Dr. Amen’s reading fee of $400.00 per scan and provide an authorization for the Release of Information regarding your scans to your doctor. Then your scan data must be loaded onto a 2.3 GB Optical Disk (not a CD-ROM or DVD disk). We require raw data only and only the cameras listed above are compatible with our process. DICOM images are not acceptable.

The Optical Disk should be sent to our Newport Beach Office (4019 Westerly Place, Suite 100, Newport Beach, CA 92660).

While Optical Disk is the preferred transfer method, we have other options available (the outside imaging facility should contact our Imaging or Research directors prior to performing the scan for further details). Dr. Amen will then be able to read your scans and provide your treating physician with a second opinion on the scan reading.