Policies, Procedures, and paperwork

Video Transcription

[MUSIC PLAYING] Hey, want to learn more about starting and running a private practice? Why, you've come to the right place. In this lesson, we'll prepare you to be able to understand the importance and scope of policies and procedures for private practice. Snooze fest, I know.

So these are not the sexy parts of running a private practice, but like all of these lessons, our goal is to prepare you for the behind-the-scenes functioning of a private practice. So nap time-- so actually, some interesting stuff here, so stay tuned. Specifics of this lesson are as follows-- policies and procedures for risk management, client policies and procedures, office policy and procedures, preparing policies and procedures, conveying policies and procedures for risk management.

The purpose of most policies and procedures is to have an outlined process for handling day-to-day operations, as well as any problems that may arise. These help protect the business, the counselor, and the client. They are also driven by counselor experiences, federal and state mandates and laws, and clients' wishes. It's essential for risk-management purposes that every client and employee or contract worker sign a document acknowledging receipt of the policies and procedures. It's also common to have these in a manual and available for clients, office staff, and anyone else who may need to investigate a situation.

The following are examples of domains where policies and procedures will need to be created specifically related to the client. Policies and procedures will need to be created regarding-- agreement to counseling services; signed consent; acknowledgment of mandatory forms, such as HIPAA and counselor confidentiality and office policies; credit cards on file; agreement to bill insurance; acknowledgment of circumstance of counselor disclosure to Protect Health Information, better known as PHI. The following are also further areas in need of policies and procedures.

So I'm going to list several office areas that will require policies and procedures. As you read through these, think how you might write the policies and procedures for each. It won't be complicated, but each will certainly require consideration so you're prepared before you hang that shingle.

So what should these policies and procedures look like? Well, some are only a sentence or paragraph, while others can be an entire page. Policies and procedures are often collected in a single document to easily share with clients. Here's my suggestion-- scan the internet for policies and procedure manuals in mental and behavioral health, as well as other professions, in order to become familiar with standard procedures. Now keep in mind that these are living documents, meaning that some policies can change over time.

A bit more complex is creating an employee policies and procedure manual, which will require consultation with an attorney or accountant in order to confirm that the business policies and procedures are up to date on federal and state employment laws. So here are some links to examples on some general policies and procedure documents.

So how these documents are conveyed is important for both the counselor and the client. Policies and procedures can be shared in person, online on the counselor's website, sent to the client via email or post, or placed in an office waiting room. Note that counselors may use several or all of the following methods to ensure that the client has understood how your well-oiled machine functions.

So acknowledgment of policies and procedures should occur via written signature from the client. Now I include this information as a part of my initial intake packet. In fact, I knock out just about everything in the intake packet, including all of the following-- a brief biopsychosocial; two short assessments to capture previous and current therapy goals; a level I cross-cutting measure from the DSM-5, along with policies and procedures regarding court fees, late and cancellation policies, confidentiality, insurance billing and out-of-pocket fees, record access, emergency contact, and most all else that we've covered here in this lesson.

Signature papers should be saved and uploaded to the EHR client file. Now ensuring that the client receives policies and procedures and acknowledges an understanding of them is critical for ethical practice.

So here's what we covered in this lesson-- first, policies and procedures for risk management; client policies and procedures; office policies and procedures; preparing policies and procedures; conveying policies and procedures.

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