Geriatric Psychiatrist Sarasota
Geriatric psychiatry for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Siesta Key adults 60 and older, by HIPAA-secure telehealth. Real medication review, late-life depression and anxiety expertise, and a lifespan-trained PMHNP. The drive from Sarasota to our Wesley Chapel office is about 90 minutes, so telehealth is the primary mode for Sarasota-area patients.
Geriatric psychiatry that comes to your lanai.
Tell us what is going on. A care coordinator will set up a Florida telehealth visit, walk through your Medicare options, and confirm a real next-available appointment.
Got it. We will be in touch.
A care coordinator will reach out within one business day. If you would rather not wait, call (813) 670-3005.
Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch: a retirement-heavy gulf coast market
Sarasota and the surrounding gulf coast communities (Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis, Venice, and northern Bradenton) make up one of the most retiree-dense markets in the state. Downtown Sarasota's high-rises, the established neighborhoods around Indian Beach, Lido Shores, and Bird Key, the active-adult communities in Lakewood Ranch, and the longstanding Siesta Key and Longboat Key residential bases together account for tens of thousands of adults over 60. The local geriatric psychiatry workforce has never been able to meet that demand on a reasonable timeline.
For most Sarasota patients, the 90-minute drive north to our Wesley Chapel office on I-75 is not realistic for routine visits. Statewide Florida telehealth makes the practical difference. A Sarasota retiree can sit in their study or their lanai, join a 60-minute first visit, and have a real evaluation done without losing a half-day to driving. Coordination with primary care at Sarasota Memorial, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, or any Lakewood Ranch primary care practice happens by direct communication with your written consent.
Why Sarasota families pick Ascend for geriatric psychiatry
Sarasota-area patients and adult children consistently bring up three things. First: access. Most local board-certified geriatric psychiatric providers are quoting three to six months for a first appointment, and Ascend can usually get a Sarasota patient into a real telehealth intake inside one to two weeks. Second: the medication review. The first sixty minutes are spent on the medication list (prescriptions, supplements, over-the-counter, patches), looking for interactions and drugs on the Beers list that should be tapered safely with the primary care physician.
Third: continuity. The patient sees Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC, every visit. With older adults, particularly when adult children are part of the care team, continuity of provider and care plan is what makes the treatment actually work.
How Sarasota telehealth visits work
The care coordinator does a 5-minute tech check by phone before the first appointment so the technology is not a surprise on visit day. Most Sarasota patients join from a tablet or a laptop in a quiet room; some prefer a smartphone or an iPad. The visit runs in a HIPAA-secure video room. We send appointment reminders by both email and phone.
Adult children, spouses, and home health aides are welcome on the call with the patient's permission. We coordinate with Sarasota-area primary care physicians (at Sarasota Memorial, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, or any Lakewood Ranch primary care practice) on any medication changes. We also do voice-only follow-ups for established patients when video is genuinely not workable. We work with Medicare-eligible patients on a self-pay basis and provide a superbill that many patients submit for partial reimbursement. We do not currently bill Medicare directly for psychiatric services.
Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC
Board-certified Florida-licensed psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Lifespan-trained, which means her formal training covers child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric psychiatric care. She sees patients in person at our Wesley Chapel office and across Florida via HIPAA-secure telehealth.
Margot believes the first visit is for listening. Sixty minutes, the medication list out on the table, the family in the room when it helps. The treatment plan comes from what she actually learns about you, not from what fits a template.
Read Margot's full bioFrequently Asked Questions
Do you have a physical office in Sarasota?
Not at this time. We serve Sarasota and the surrounding gulf coast communities via statewide Florida telehealth. The drive from Sarasota to our Wesley Chapel office is about 90 minutes north on I-75, which makes telehealth the right primary mode for almost every Sarasota patient.
Do you accept Medicare for Sarasota telehealth visits?
We work with Medicare-eligible patients on a self-pay basis and provide a superbill that many patients submit to Medicare for partial reimbursement. We do not currently bill Medicare directly for psychiatric services. Call (813) 670-3005 and we will walk through your specific reimbursement path before the first visit.
Will you coordinate with my primary care doctor at Sarasota Memorial or Doctors Hospital?
Yes. Coordination with Sarasota-area primary care physicians is routine. With your written consent, we communicate directly about medication changes, lab work, and any new diagnoses.
My mother lives in a Lakewood Ranch retirement community. Will telehealth work from there?
Yes. We work with several Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota assisted-living and independent-living communities whose staff set up telehealth visits in a common-area video room or in the resident's own apartment. A family member or aide can be present with the patient's consent.
How quickly can a Sarasota patient get seen?
Typically one to two weeks for a new telehealth intake. That is meaningfully faster than the three-to-six-month wait that has become standard at most Sarasota-area psychiatric practices.
What if my father refuses to use a computer?
We can do voice-only follow-up visits for established patients when video is not workable. Many older adults also do well when an adult child sets up the tablet and joins the call with them, which removes the technology question entirely.
Real psychiatric care, for the years that matter.
Same-week intake, real 60-minute first visits, and the same provider every time. Call us or send the form at the top of the page; a care coordinator will get back to you within one business day.