Psychiatric Codes

Can non-mental health professionals bill psychotherapy or other psych codes? I heard that the new 2013 codes were notlimited to mental health professionals.

re: Psychiatric Codes

Question: How can a non-mental health provider (and I question what provider you are speaking about), perform psychotherapy--which requires special training?

re: Psychiatric Codes

Thank you for your help. I am thinking of a physician-a PCP or internist. It would appear to me historically anyway, that psychotherapy services coukld be provided by physicians, traditionally psychiatrists within the scope of practice or with appropriate training-i.e. psych residency and board certification. I attended a conference reently where there was a lively discussion regarding the new psych codes(not necessarily ust psychotherapy) which could be billed by pcps. The American Society of Family Practitioners has answers to a question about how to bill a psychotherapy service---which seems to imply that the service could be provided by a family medicine md.

re: Psychiatric Codes

CPT® is neutral about what specialty physicians can bill what codes. For example, they don't say only radiologists can bill radiology codes or only pathologists bill lab codes.

All clinicians must operate within their scope of practice.

In a hospital, they have to be credentialed for the service performed.

Some insurance companies limit what specialty physicians can bill codes, which might be the case for psychotherapy codes.

I don't think most FPs have psychotherapy training, but that's my opinion.