Telehealth/Telemedicine Services (OKHCA Only)

Telehealth/Telemedicine Services (OKHCA Only)

The Oklahoma Healthcare Authority has specific guidelines for providing remote/telehealth services. The services break into two basic types, and for ease of reference this article refers to them as Telemedicine and Telephonic. Starting March 16th, 2020 the OKHCA has greatly reduced the requirements on these services in order to help providers address the COVID19 national emergency. Providers are encouraged to create internal policies and procedures regarding the use of telehealth during a national/state emergency so that all staff understand its appropriate use during this time. What information we have on other payers is available here.

Documentation in the client’s record should either reference the provider’s internal policy or otherwise indicate why telehealth was utilized if the service was not reimbursed via telehealth prior to March 16, 2020. These services may be utilized in instances when the SoonerCare member does not have access to telehealth equipment, the service is necessary to the health and safety of the member, and the service can safely and effectively be provided over the telephone.

Telephonic Services

For the COVID19 national emergency the OKHCA allowed the use of telephonic services for use by outpatient behavioral health starting March 30th and extending through the end of the crisis.

Code
Rate
Name
98966
$12.67
Consultation - Telephone 05-10 Min
98967
$24.75
Consultation - Telephone 11-20 Min
98968
$36.52
Consultation - Telephone 21-30 Min


Telemedicine Services

Telemedince services are like normal services except the service is provided via video conference instead of being face to face, and in particular the rates are the same.  During the COVID19 national emergency the OKHCA has lifted all restrictions on the "secure video" component, which means you can use any video solutions or even no video solution at all. In ChartCaddy telemedicine services have "Telemedicine" in their names.
  1. In ChartCaddy you need to add telemedicine services to your client service plans. We have a way to mass update all your active client plans to add telemedicine services, so if you want us to do that for your organization please let us know. There really isn't an issue adding new services except you may want to remove them when the extension is due if you don't want them for a client.
  2. The best information we have is that the OKHCA will not require a new signature page after adding telemedicine services, but we still recommend that you have the client sign a new signature page as soon as you can just in case. In general, the OKHCA has indicated that digital, faxed, and mailed signature pages are acceptable. An email or voice acknowledgement may be acceptable depending on accrediting entities. In all cases it should be clear in internal policies what form of signature is acceptable in which situations.
  3. For child clients the parent or guardian needs to sign a telemedicine consent form before receiving telemedicine services. One is available at http://www.nontrivial.net/telemedicine-consent.pdf.
  4. The main difficulty concerning providing telemedicine services with the OKHCA is knowing which secure video communication solutions are acceptable. The good news is that, at least during a national/state emergency, the HIPAA compliant requirement for secure video communications is being relaxed so you don't have to worry about it. We believe the expectation is that you try to use an approved video solutions but if push comes to shove you can just provide the services over the phone during the crisis.  The two solutions we have heard that people are actually using are Signal (https://signal.org/) and doxy.me (https://doxy.me/). The following link may provide more guidance: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/notification-enforcement-discretion-telehealth/index.html.
  5. The ODMHSAS services of Outreach, Wellness Skills Development, and Prevention/Support Type Activities can be reported telephonically using the regular (non-telemedicine) services.


More Information

  1. OKHCA FAQs: https://www.ok.gov/odmhsas/COVID-19_Provider_FAQs.html
  2. For SoonerCare member Behavioral Health Services Reimbursable Via Telemedicine: https://www.okhca.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=23895&libID=22877 and www.okhca.org/behavioral-health
  3. For ODMHSAS Clients and Contract Source Behavioral Health Services Reimbursable Via Telemedicine: http://www.odmhsas.org/picis/BillingInfo/arc_Billing_info.htm
  4. For CCBHCs and Health Homes, please follow your code sheets.
  5. For additional information on Telehealth, please visit https://www.okhca.org/providers.aspx?id=10014
  6. For 42 C.F.R. Part 2 Guidance from, please use this SAMHSA: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/covid-19-42-cfr-part-2-guidance-03192020.pdf
  7. For any questions regarding billing or SoonerCare member reimbursement, please call the OHCA Provider Helpline at 1-800-522-0114.
  8. For any questions regarding prior authorizations or ODMHSAS Client reimbursement, please call or email the PICIS helpdesk at 405-248-9326 or gethelp@odmhsas.org.