Telehealth (also known as telemedicine) is playing an ever increasing roll in the reimbursement process.  Internet services continue to expand and many insurance payers/providers are now covering (paying for) telehealth services.  Telepsychiatry (providing behavioral health services in a telehealth environment) has been highly successful because video conferencing makes providing psych services as realitvely simply and inexpensive process.

The Resources section below includes links to documents which give further instructions and guidelines on providing psychotherapy services in a telehealth environment.

Telehealth began as a way for rural areas with limited access to health care to be able to get the services they need.  As internet access becomes faster and the cost of providing telemedicine services decreases due to equipment and service cost decreases, this expansion not only allows patients to receive better access, it also allows providers to reach an new market.

As with all new technologies, guidelines and quality of care are extremely important.  In 1998, The American Psychiatric Association board approved some guidelines on quality of care as it relates to providing telemedicine.  The entire document may be downloaded from the resources section below:

Effective January 1, 2009, Medicare further expanded telehealth services by adding three new follow-up inpatient consultation codes. G0406-limited, G0407-intermediate, and G0408-complex.  The initial consultation may be in person or via telehealth.  To read more about Inpatient Telehealth Consultations, see the resources below.

When billing G0406-G0408, you may not use additional Evaluation and Management codes.  They must also be billed with the appropriate modifiers.  You must also meet the "Originating sites" qualifications when billing Medicare.  Modifiers and more are in the Behavioral Health MultiBook.

Resources

Behavioral Health MultiBook - includes procedure codes for billing telehealth psychiatric services in addition to summarized guidelines for using these codes.

Telepsychiatry Via Videoconferencing RESOURCE DOCUMENT by the American Psychiatric Association

Medicare Expansion of Telehealth Services Article by CMS.

CMS Telehealth Services Fact Sheet - Behavioral Health MultiBook subscriber access only.

 for a FREE lookup of behavioral health diagnosis and supply codes

Telepsych services procedure codes for billing and much more!