Sarasota, Florida
Medication Management in Sarasota
Sarasota's mental health gap hides behind its postcard: retirees managing grief, health scares, and the quiet depression that can follow both; caregivers running on fumes for a spouse or parent; and an arts and hospitality workforce whose season leaves no daylight for appointments. The area's psychiatric supply was never built for any of them, and the waits show it. Psychiatric medication deserves an owner, not an autopilot. shrinkMD provides board certified medication management to Sarasota by secure video, with follow up that happens on schedule and decisions driven by measured results.
Medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, board certified psychiatrist · Published June 7, 2026 · Last reviewed July 7, 2026 · Editorial policy
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Why shrinkMD
Care built around Sarasota
Video care fits each of those lives: a caregiver seen from the kitchen during nap hours, a retiree spared the Tamiami drive, a stage manager booked between matinee and evening call. Appointments within days, anywhere from Lakewood Ranch to Siesta Key.
We treat caregiver burnout and late life depression as the serious clinical conditions they are, not afterthoughts. No insurance billing keeps everything private; superbills, HSA, and FSA cover the practical side.
What's included
Stewardship, visit by visit
Good prescribing is a feedback loop. At each visit your clinician reviews your validated symptom scores, your side effects, and your sleep, then adjusts a single variable so cause and effect stay readable. While starting or changing medication that loop runs every two to four weeks; once you're doing well it relaxes to every one to three months.
Your full trial history, names, doses, durations, responses, lives in your chart from day one, so failed experiments never get repeated. Prescriptions go electronically to your pharmacy, monitoring labs are arranged through your local clinic when a medication requires them, and your primary care doctor stays in the loop with your permission. No controlled substances, stated plainly before you ever book.
Keep exploring
Care and next steps in Sarasota
Frequently asked questions
Good questions, clear answers
Is depression after a health diagnosis just normal aging?
No. Low mood that settles in after illness or loss is common and very treatable, and treating it improves the medical outcomes too. It deserves care, not resignation.
Can you schedule around the arts season?
Yes, season and off season rhythms are normal planning inputs here, and 15 to 30 minute video follow ups fit between calls.
Do you prescribe stimulants or benzodiazepines?
No, anywhere. We're upfront about it before you book, and skilled with the non controlled options the evidence supports.
How do labs work with a telehealth practice?
We coordinate orders through your local clinic or lab, lithium levels, metabolic panels, thyroid checks, and review results together. Telehealth changes the visit, not the monitoring standard.
Can you take over prescriptions from my previous provider?
Usually yes, for non controlled medications, after an evaluation and records review. Switching shouldn't mean starting over or missing a refill.
About Sarasota
Sarasota is home to about 57,000 residents. It's a Gulf-coast retirement destination anchored by the Sarasota Memorial health system. Our patients here range across retirees, older adults, and hospital staff.
Serving Sarasota
Care should reach every corner of Sarasota. As a Gulf-coast arts city on Sarasota Bay, Sarasota stretches from Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Bayfront Park, and St. Armands Circle, and shrinkMD brings board-certified telepsychiatry to all of it by secure video, with the same psychiatrist over time.
What it costs
Transparent, published pricing
Our self-pay prices are the same in every state where we practice. No insurance billing, and no surprise statement later.
| Service | Self-pay price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Initial evaluation | From $295 | A full 50 to 60 minute evaluation, diagnosis, and written plan. |
| Follow-up visits | $110 to $215 | Per visit, depending on length and complexity. Member rates are lower. |
| Membership (optional) | $49 per month | Priority scheduling, member rates, and the Unstuck and QuitScrolling apps. First month free. |
Your care team
Who you will see
Your care is delivered by shrinkMD clinicians, and you keep the same one over time. You meet by secure video with a clinician licensed in your state.
- Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, founder and board certified psychiatrist (ABPN), dual board certified in psychiatry and in sports and performance psychiatry.
- Matthew George, PMHNP-BC, ANP-BC, dual board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner with more than two decades of clinical experience.
Learn more
More from a trusted source: Mental health medications - MedlinePlus.
Nearby areas
Medication Management in nearby Florida cities
Your next step in The Shrink Network
You are here: shrinkMD, the clinical care layer of The Shrink Network.
Each site in the network has one job. No matter where you enter, we help you find the next step that makes sense.
Get clinical care with shrinkMD
Want to understand more first?
Start medication management in Sarasota
Call 1-877-747-4656 now, appointments are available as soon as availability allows for Sarasota residents, by secure video from home.
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