Behavioral Health Integration Team E-Consultations
May 31st, 2022 | Behavioral Health•NewsAHP’s Behavioral Health Integration Team (BHIT) is available to provide e-consultations to clinicians in our network. Providers and care managers can submit an email request for consultation to the BHIT to discuss patients with behavioral health concerns for which multidisciplinary input is needed. E-consultations can assist with diagnostic clarification, medications and other treatment recommendations or concerns for patients with social/behavioral determinants impacting their care. However, the BHIT does not consult directly with the patient. Requests are sent via email to [email protected]. Please do not send any PHI over unsecured email.
To best maximize the service, referring clinicians should:
- Formulate your question(s) as clearly as possible. Broad questions may require a phone call for clarification.
- The consultant does not have access to the patient’s medical record so please include any relevant information, including:
- Medication names and doses
- PHQ-9/GAD-7 scores, when available
- Substance use, if present
- Chronic medical problems; diabetes, hepatic or renal disease, neurological problems, etc. which may contribute to the psychiatric presentation.
- Include what you have considered as options; e.g., “I was thinking of increasing the dose, but I am not sure if that would be safe vs. changing to another medication.”
Unfortunately, BHIT is not able to assist practices with identifying behavioral health specialists accepting referrals due to the extreme shortage of these clinicians in our region.
For more information about the BHIT or E-Consultation service, please reach out to Dr. George Nasra, Medical Director for Behavioral Health.
