Providing Telemental Health and Substance Abuse Services to recipients in the privacy of their home requires a special set of Policy & Procedures. Typically, Home-Based Telemental Health and Substance Abuse Services are provided to recipients without the benefit of clinical staff immediately available to them in an emergency, as would be the case in a clinic or office setting. This makes it critically important to have a set of Policy & Procedures in place that facilitates the creation of a supportive environment for recipients receiving Home-Based Telemental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Fifth Avenue Medical Associates LLC (FAMA) has Policy & Procedures specifically designed to provide mental health and substance abuse services to recipiants in the privacy of their home. FAMA's Home-Based Telemental Health and Substance Abuse Services are derived from best practices in Telemedicine as promulgated by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), by OMH Part 596 Title 14 NYCRR and by the November 2019 OMH Telemental Health Services Guidance for Local Providers.
FAMA's Policy & Procedures guide the creation of a supportive environment. For FAMA, a supportive environment should consist of family, friends or caregivers sufficiently trained to come to the aid of the recipient in case of an unforeseen emergency, ensuring their safety. FAMA's Policy & Procedures provide guidance on selecting an appropriate support person and on developing orientation and training materials for recipients and their support person. FAMA's Policy & Procedures provide guidance on obtaining contact information to local mental health programs, hospital’s emergency rooms and local EMS units that can be reached and utilized to support recipients in an emergency. It provides guidance on screening recipients for suicidal thoughts and attempts, adverse reactions to video monitors and uncontrolled impulsive behavior. Screening results are used to determine the level of support needed. FAMA’s Policy & Procedures include guidance on how to ensure a recipient’s home is free of weapons that are easily accessible to them, while taking into account the central place weapons have in the home of some recipients.
FAMA’s Policy & Procedure also includes guidance on how to establish a private space for recipients during a televideo session. It includes guidance on how to set up alternative means of communicating with recipients in the event the televideo connection is interrupted or deemed unsuitable for the recipient. It also includes guidance on how to allow other people or objects of comfort (pets, dolls, toys, etc.) participate in the televideo session.
Consistent with FAMA's Policy & Procedures are FAMA's boiler-plate forms for participating in home-based Telemental Health and Substance Abuse sessions. They include boiler-plate consent forms, boiler-plate intake forms, and boiler-plate forms for obtaining, using and releasing recipients' medical records.
FAMA's Home-Based Telemental Health Services included HIPAA Policy & Procedures that govern the access to and distribution of Protected Health Information (PHI). It also lays out the necessary steps that need to be taken when PHI is breached (HIPAA Privacy & Breach Notification Rules).
Finally, FAMA's Home-Based Telemenatal Health Services supports solo practitioners with as few as 1 clinician and support-staff as well as hospitals, outpatient clinics and group practices with as many as 30 or more clinicians and support-staff. And it gives these practitioners and healthcare providers branding capacity, allowing them to place their logo or other signage prominently on FAMA's Telemental Health display.
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