Centralized scheduling enables HBI’s Intake Department to match members with the appropriate clinician on the initial call. Members can call HBI (Toll-free) 1-800-441-4483 and speak to an Intake Specialist who will obtain and determine the patient’s:
- Demographic information
- Preliminary clinical information to identify high-risk & special needs cases
- Benefits and eligibility
- High-risk / special need
- Immediate access
- Assign therapist & case manager
- Establish level of care services
- Triage to the appropriate service provider or facility
- Expedite to case management
- Proper referral & follow-up
- Need for Referral to:
- Network providers
- County agencies
- School coordinator
- Medical services
- Appointment availability and setting for providers who make their schedule accessible to our Intake Department
As an HBI Network Provider, we may refer patients to your office through one or more of the following methods:
- By our Intake Department.
Referrals coming from our Intake Department are for clients that have never been seen at HBI therefore no file has been created for them. Our Intake Staff gives them your contact information and directs the patient/client to contact your office to set up the appointment for an initial evaluation. - By one of HBI Rapid Assessment Clinicians.
Referrals made by one of our Rapid Assessment Clinicians are for clients who have attended our Rapid Assessment where they are interviewed by one of our licensed clinicians to determine the services they need. This screening process is not in lieu of a full initial evaluation but merely to determine the urgency of the patient’s needs and services they may require. Our Rapid Assessment Clinician gives them your contact information and directs the patient/client to contact your office to set up an appointment for a more thorough evaluation. - By one of our Therapists.
This is for patients/clients who are already being seen or have been seen at HBI for one or more full sessions. An HBI therapist might decide, for whatever reason, that the patient/client needs to be referred to another clinician. The HBI clinician gives them your contact information and directs the patient/client to contact your office to set up an appointment
In any of the cases above, the initial evaluation session is automatically authorized, verification of eligibility is already done for you by our Intake Department and tagged with our UM Department as referred patients. However, there may be a lag of time before you actually see the patient and changes in their benefits may have occurred. Therefore, providers must always check the patient’s eligibility and benefits prior to their appointment.
Referrals for Medication Evaluation and Management
Although not specifically required by some commercial and even the public sector health plans, HBI advocates for a more holistic treatment approach for all the members/patients we serve. We have observed that a significant number of recipients requesting psychiatric medication but not psychotherapy treatment. We live in a society where drugs, whether prescribed or not, seem to be preferred as remedy in order to deal with life’s daily challenges (i.e., emotional, behavioral) but the underlying problems still remain.
HBI is committed to helping our patients to gain better understanding of their behavioral health benefits by providing a “therapeutic community” – involving providers, family support, school teachers and community agencies. We urge our network providers to be a part of this therapeutic community by utilizing care coordination services through Treatment Referrals.
- Therapists/Counselors referring their patients for medication evaluation and management can submit a treatment referral to HBI. HBI will then process the referral for authorization and forward the information to the psychiatrist so they can contact the patient for an appointment. This process helps coordinate treatment and allows psychiatrists to focus on patient care.
In case the therapist/counselor does not have a specific psychiatrist to refer the patient to, HBI can make the referral based on the patient’s preference (i.e. geographic location, language, etc.) and coordinate the referral with the patient.
- To ensure that members are not only getting medication but a coordinated psychotherapy treatment as well, HBI encourages Psychiatrists to confirm if their patient is receiving counseling services. If a member/patient does not have a therapist, please advise that member/patient to contact HBI. Our Intake Staff will assist them to get connected to a qualified clinician based on their preference (i.e. geographic location, language, etc.).