Instructions for ODHS Caseworkers: Authorizing Psychological Services with MindSights

1. To authorize Comprehensive Psychological Assessments and/or “Best Interests” Assessments, please complete the relevant medical service request form within your branch, which often requires supervisory approval. When requesting such psychological services, please be sure to indicate that the following codes/services are needed:

• • 90791: Psychodiagnostic interview(s) and assessment
  • 96130: Psychological evaluation services, 1^st hour
  • 96131: Psychological evaluation services, each additional hour
  • 96136: Psychological testing services, 1^st 30 minutes
  • 96137: Psychological testing services, each additional 30 minutes
  • 90885: Review and evaluation of clinical/behavioral/psychiatric records
  • 90785: Interactive complexity
  • 99244: Case consultation services

Once reviewed and approved, your branch’s Medical Support Specialist should send valid and complete “729” and “501” forms to MindSights, authorizing us to provide services. Please note that under ODHS and OHA rules, MindSights will not be authorized to provide any assessment services until we receive these forms. Therefore, we will not even begin the scheduling process until we are in receipt of the 729 and 501. So, please do follow-up regularly with your Medical Support Specialist if you have any urgent timelines in play!

For more information, please refer to your agency’s informational guide regarding Administrative Examinations

2. According to information we have received from ODHS Central Office and from the OHA team managing Administrative Examinations, Relational Assessments can no longer be authorized under the Administrative Examinations system. MindSights defines Relational Assessments as hourly services we conceptualize as “psychological services for the assessment of relationship quality, needs and status,” billed at our standard, published rate of $285/hour. Very recently, ODHS leadership have indicated the plan to authorize these services at the rate of $285/hour for up to six hours through an ODHS 501A Form. Nevertheless:

• We are willing to conduct such assessments at our hourly rate with a 501A form authorization for up to 8 hours of services per relationship being assessed;
• We are willing to conduct such an assessment for a flat fee of $1700 per relationship being assessed, if authorized on a 501A form;
• We are willing to consider an alternative authorization/funding arrangement, as long as it is mutually agreed upon and does not violate any of the recent rule/policy edicts from ODHS and OHA.

Please let us know your (and your branch’s) preferences re. the above.

If you or your Medical Support Specialist experience any additional questions or concerns or barriers in this process, please do not hesitate to immediately reach out to your relevant ODHS Central Office representative, Shelly Watts ([email protected]).

If service authorization barriers persist, you will need to escalate those to the OHA staff who create/enforce restrictions on the psychological services that are available to kids in substitute care– Napua Rich ([email protected]) and Shannon Jasper ([email protected]), to problem-solve. They should be able to give you better state-sanctioned guidance than we are able to do!