WHAT’S IN YOUR RECORDS? WHAT INSURANCE PLANS WANT TO SEE (by Barbara Griswold, LMFT, March 7, 2016)
I frequently hear from therapists who feel they were never taught to keep good client records. What do the plans expect? I’m going to tell you, but don’t panic if your records are a tad less detailed — I’d wager few of us meet these requirements. However, we should all should start moving to meet these criteria, as one never knows when a records review might be requested, whether you are in-network or out-of-network for insurance plans. In addition, good records may be necessary to support client disability, worker’s compensation, or legal actions, or to defend you in an ethics complaint.While each health plan has their own list of what they expect in provider documentation, typically required elements (like the ones below, from Blue Cross of California) are modeled after the documentation requirements from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services: