
Texas Telepsychiatry Service Providers
At innovaTel, we believe that everyone deserves timely access to mental healthcare. We also believe that telepsychiatry is the most effective way to achieve this in underserved areas. Telepsychiatry is an effective solution to increasing access to care that is able to move past obstacles that facilities encounter when there’s a shortage of mental health clinicians.
innovaTel Telepsychiatry is a nation-wide telepsychiatry company that is proudly clinician owned and operated. We understand your challenges with clinician shortages because of our roots in community mental health care centers. Our goal is to provide long-term solutions to facilities, not just locum tenens. Our network of professionals includes psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers. We utilize this network, by contracting clinician hours via telemedicine technology to our partners across the country.
Mental Health Statistics for Texas
Mental Health America ranked Texas 38th for “prevalence of mental illness”. States with scores 39-51 are considered to have a high prevalence of mental illness and lower access to care. With Texas being just on the cusp of a higher ranking, this makes it a priority area for timely access to mental health care. According to HRSA, there are 419 areas in Texas that are considered medically underserved in mental health care alone. Texas is ranked 51 for overall access to care, making it the state with the least access to care for its population. These rankings are made up of nine measures, looking at statistics for children, adults, insured and uninsured; as well as mental health workforce availability.
Telepsychiatry Reimbursement and State Regulations in Texas
Each state is different when it comes to telehealth regulations and reimbursement. When you partner with innovaTel, we can help you understand and operate within the rules and regulations in Texas. According to the Center for Connected Health Policy, Texas Medicaid reimburses for “live video telemedicine” and in some cases, they will provide reimbursement for “store-and-forward” or remote patient monitoring.
Site Eligibility for Medicaid in Texas
In order to be eligible to be reimbursed by Medicaid in Texas, the patient must be located in a designated medical site, a state mental health facility or a state-supported living center. A patient can receive telepsychiatry treatment in a school setting as long as a health professional is present, the clinician is an authorized health care provider under Medicaid and if consent is provided by a legal guardian.
Parity Laws in Texas
Texas law prohibits a health benefit plan from not providing equal coverage for telepsychiatry services. By law, plans cannot exclude coverage for service solely because it is provided as a telemedicine service. However, plans are not required to provide coverage for “synchronous or asynchronous” audio interaction such as audio-only telephone or email communication.
Benefits of Telepsychiatry
The benefits of implementing telepsychiatry in underserved areas such as Texas are powerful. innovaTel Telepsychiatry partners are able to increase access to care in their area with the time they saved by partnering with us, as well as being able to move past barriers such as location and lack of resources. The following are just a few ways your Texas facility can benefit from an innovaTel partnership.
Shorten Wait Times
When using telepsychiatry at your facility you’re able to eliminate the long wait times associated with specialized providers or the time it can take for clinicians to travel between facilities. At innovaTel, we promise to have the clinician of your choice ready and on-time for every session.
When we provide our partner facilities with additional clinicians through telepsychiatry, their schedules open up and more patients can be seen.
Continuity of Care
Losing a clinician can be incredibly disruptive to your organization and your patients. That’s why innovaTel spends the time necessary on the front end getting to know your clinic as best as possible, allowing us to present to you highly qualified clinicians for your team to interview and choose from.
Contracts That Fit Your Needs
Partnering with innovaTel telepsychiatry at your facility also allows you to contract for the exact coverage that you need. If your facility doesn’t need a full-time clinician, your facility doesn’t have to pay for one. Receiving more coverage in a way that fits your budget.
Implementing Telepsychiatry in Texas
We want your facility to succeed and feel confident operating a telepsychiatry program, which is why we offer a comprehensive onboarding and implementation process to all of our partners. innovaTel telepsychiatry experts understand the challenges that Texas clinics face, which is why we take the time necessary to provide onboarding and continued support throughout the duration of your contract.
Our network of clinicians consists of board-certified or board-eligible psychiatrists, psychiatric certified nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers. Our providers are licensed across the country and many have unique sub-specialty training.
innovaTel Telepsychiatry in Texas
To learn more about the services we provide in Texas and how an innovaTel partnership can benefit your facility, contact us at info@innovaTel.com. innovaTel Telepsychiatry is committed to improving access to care in the state of Texas and across the country.
Sources:
- About innovaTel Nationwide Telepsychiatry Company. (2019, December 1). Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://innovatel.com/why-partner-with-innovatel-telepsychiatry/about_innovatel_telepsychiatry/
- Current State Laws & Reimbursement Policies. (n.d.-b). Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.cchpca.org
- Home Page | CCHP Website. (2019, December 17). Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.cchpca.org/
- Mental Health in America – Access to Care Data | Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://mhanational.org/issues/mental-health-america-access-care-data
- Overall Ranking | Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://mhanational.org/issues/ranking-states
- Story Map Series. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://data.hrsa.gov/maps/fact-sheet-maps/