SPRAVATO (esketamine) · for Union, NJ
SPRAVATO near Union, NJ: plan the ride home first
Labyrinth gives SPRAVATO in its Cranford office, five miles from Union. After every treatment you stay at least two hours and someone else drives you home, so for most Union patients the hard part is not the nasal spray. It is the schedule and the ride.
Labyrinth Psychiatry Group · Published · Hours and plans as approved for the practice’s SPRAVATO page · Clinical review of this page by Dr. Salvatore G. Savatta pending
The ride
Who drives you home to Union, twelve times?
SPRAVATO is a nasal spray you take in the office under direct supervision. You may feel disconnected, dizzy or sleepy for a while afterwards, so the FDA label rules out driving until the next day, after a night of restful sleep. Every visit needs a driver.
From Union’s municipal building the office is 5.3 miles away, about 12 minutes without traffic. A driver who drops you off, goes home and comes back covers about 21.2 miles; one who waits stays for the full observation. See the route on OpenStreetMap.
| Weeks | Visits (FDA label) | Rides you need |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 4 | Two visits a week | 8 rides home |
| Weeks 5 to 8 | One visit a week | 4 rides home |
| Week 9 onward | Weekly or every two weeks, at the least frequent schedule that keeps you well | One per visit |
Fitting it around work
Treatment hours, including two evenings and Saturday.
- Monday
- 9 AM to 5 PM
- Tuesday
- 9 AM to 7:30 PM
- Wednesday
- 9 AM to 5 PM
- Thursday
- 9 AM to 7:30 PM
- Friday
- 9 AM to 5 PM
- Saturday
- 8 AM to 4 PM
If your driver works weekdays, the Tuesday and Thursday evening hours or a Saturday slot may be the easiest to keep for the twice-weekly first month. Ask the office which times are open when it calls you back.
The visit
What the two hours in the office look like.
- Before you arrive. No food for at least 2 hours and no liquids for at least 30 minutes beforehand. Use any steroid or decongestant nasal spray at least 1 hour before.
- Blood pressure first. It is checked before the dose; if it is too high, treatment may wait for another day.
- The doses. You spray the medicine yourself while a clinician watches, with a 5-minute rest between devices.
- Observation. At least 2 hours. Blood pressure is checked again about 40 minutes after the dose, and the team watches your breathing and oxygen level.
- Leaving. When the clinician decides you are stable, your driver takes you home.
Who oversees it
Prescribed and followed by the psychiatric team that evaluated you.
SPRAVATO is only given through an FDA-required safety program called the SPRAVATO REMS, in certified healthcare settings. At Labyrinth it starts with a psychiatric evaluation and continues inside the same practice that offers medication management, psychotherapy and TMS. Labyrinth Psychiatry Group is physician-owned and physician-managed.
After the first four weeks, the FDA label calls for a review of how well it is working before you decide together whether to continue. SPRAVATO can be given on its own or with an oral antidepressant, whichever is right for you.
Insurance
Plans the practice takes for SPRAVATO.
- Aetna (commercial)
- Cigna (commercial)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield (commercial)
- UnitedHealthcare (commercial)
- UnitedHealthcare Medicare
- UnitedHealthcare Oxford
Not a guarantee of coverage; ask the office about your own plan.
Before the first visit
What the office does, and what you bring.
The office staff handle the insurance approval. It usually takes 1 to 4 weeks from the first call to the first treatment, depending on your insurer. Bring a list of every antidepressant you have tried, with the dose and why it stopped. Through the manufacturer’s SPRAVATO withMe program, eligible patients with commercial insurance may pay as little as $10 per treatment for the medicine; it does not cover the observation part of the visit.
Union SPRAVATO questions
What Union residents ask before starting.
Where can I get SPRAVATO near Union, NJ?
Labyrinth Psychiatry Group gives SPRAVATO at 11 Commerce Drive, Lobby Floor, Cranford, NJ 07016, 5.3 miles from Union’s municipal building. Our new Edison office is opening soon, and we are already scheduling patients there for the new year. Call 908-336-1187 or send a request to start with an evaluation.
Can I drive home to Union after SPRAVATO?
No. You need someone to drive you, and you should not drive or operate machinery until the next day, after a night of restful sleep.
Does Labyrinth have evening or weekend SPRAVATO hours?
Yes. Treatment hours run until 7:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 8 AM to 4 PM on Saturdays. Monday, Wednesday and Friday hours are 9 AM to 5 PM.
How long does it take to start SPRAVATO?
Usually 1 to 4 weeks from your first call to your first treatment, depending on your insurance company. The office staff handle the insurance approval (prior authorization) for you.
Which insurance plans does Labyrinth take for SPRAVATO?
Aetna (commercial), Cigna (commercial), Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield (commercial), UnitedHealthcare (commercial), UnitedHealthcare Medicare, UnitedHealthcare Oxford. Ask the office to confirm your own plan and what you would pay before the first treatment.
Can a family member wait with me during the 2 hours?
Ask the office when it calls you back. Either way, the person who drives you home needs to be ready when the clinician says you can leave.
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