Provider Education and Resources

• Crisis Services
• Adult Services Continuum
  • Adult Services Companion Guide
• Child and Adolescent Services Continuum
• Evidence-based Practice and Innovation Center (EPIC)

Technology-Based Services

Telehealth

CBH supports Telehealth services as a valuable adjunct to on-site psychiatry services for behavioral health providers. Telehealth is defined by CBH as assessment, therapy, and/or medication management services provided by a psychiatrist via telecommunications technology that allows for face-to-face interactions (e.g. videoconferencing). All providers considering the use of Telehealth must adhere to the requirements listed in Commonwealth’s Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) Bulletin 14-01: OMHSAS Guidelines for the Approval of Telepsych Services in HealthChoices and Bulletin 20-02: Guidelines for the Use of Telehealth Technology in the Delivery of Behavioral Health Services.

In addition to meeting OMHSAS guidelines for Telehealth, CBH requires the following of Telehealth providers:

• Prior approval from OMHSAS before implementation and billing
• An on-site psychiatrist, as Telehealth must supplement, not replace, on-site psychiatry and oversight
• Availability of a Mental Health Professional (MHP) to participate in Telehealth sessions, preferably the member’s primary therapist to ensure care coordination and appropriate crisis intervention.

CBH may, after prior approval/review, reimburse Telehealth for the following outpatient mental health services:

• Psychiatric evaluations
• Medication management
• Psychiatric consultations
• Individual therapy provided by a psychiatrist
• Collateral therapy provided by a psychiatrist
• Family/group therapy provided by a psychiatrist

If your organization is interested in implementing Telehealth, please review OMHSAS Bulletins 14-01 and 20-02, and contact your provider representative for further information.

E-Prescribing

CBH supports e-prescribing as a tool to promote safe and efficient prescribing for our members. As indicated by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), e-prescribing allows prescribers to send accurate, error-free, and understandable prescriptions directly to a pharmacy; it is an important element in improving the quality of member care and reducing medication errors.

Additional benefits may include:

• Automated clinical decision making
  E-Prescribing prompts prescribers to completely fill out the dose, route, strength, and frequency.
• Increased efficiency in the medication reconciliation process through notification of allergies, drug interactions, duplicate therapies, and other clinical alerts
  Physicians can obtain information regarding an individual’s documented allergies and previously and currently prescribed drugs; they will receive clinical alerts if a newly prescribed drug has the potential for negative reactions or interactions.
• Tracks individual fulfillment of prescriptions
  Unlike handwritten prescriptions, e-prescribing allows physicians to verify whether individuals fill prescriptions.
• Reduces the number of lost prescriptions
  E-Prescribing eliminates the possibility of lost paper prescriptions.