What Does a Behavioral Health Consultant Do

What Does a Behavioral Health Consultant Do?

If you are a provider in the behavioral health industry, no doubt you are interested in improving your operation and its financial health. The challenge is to find the time to address compliance updates and regulatory changes, and to acquire the know-how to properly conduct these measures. This is where a consultant in the behavioral health space can become a valuable partner with your organization. So, what does a behavioral health consultant do exactly? Read on to learn all about this excellent source of support.

Review and Assess Various Operational Systems

A behavioral health consultant is an industry expert who has a deep understanding of the intricate landscape of regulatory compliance. By conducting an objective, unbiased overview of your facility, the consultant can clearly identify any problem areas that may need attention. Once an assessment has been performed, the behavioral health consultant can provide a targeted plan to improve those particular areas of weakness. The goal of the consultant is to tighten up any loose ends, such as noncompliance, permitting, accreditation, and billing, that may be adversely affecting overall organizational health. Regulatory compliance is a necessary legal requirement designed to ensure mental health and addiction recovery services are provided in safe, clean, well-managed facilities. This is what a behavioral health consultant can do for an organization.

Behavioral Health Consultants Provide Customized Solutions

When a provider is seeking ways to streamline their operation, clarify their vision, update compliance, and increase revenues, it needs a plan of action. Not a boilerplate one-size-fits-all plan of action, but a plan that is customized to its unique organization. What does a behavioral health consultant do? He or she creates a plan that will maximize the strengths of the organization while targeting the needed improvements. Using their years of expertise, they review the various components of the organization, identify the problems, and offer actionable solutions. The assessment examines the following areas:

1. Provides Guidance for Regulatory Changes. State and federal regulatory requirements are always being revised and updated. A consultant is tasked with ensuring regulatory compliance in the following areas:
   • Human resources
   • Administrative structure
   • Patient and staff safety planning
   • Staff training
   • Financial Planning
2. Helps Update Program Policies and Procedures. The consulting team helps the behavioral health provider with program development. This encompasses the treatment programming, by fine-tuning the curriculum, as well as updating the employee policies and procedures.
3. Provides Accreditation Support. A behavioral health consultant oversees the often complex and tedious guidelines and requirements involved in applying for accreditation. The consultant will assist with the following accreditation agencies:
   • The Joint Commission
   • Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
   • Council on Accreditation
4. Improves Data Security. HIPAA compliance is integral to the behavioral health space and must be taken seriously. Patients must feel confident that their personal health data is safe and secure. The Office for Civil Rights enforces HIPAA and assesses fines for noncompliance and violations. To improve HIPAA compliance, a consultant will address these areas:
   • Review all departments to assess any areas of noncompliance
   • Guides provider to make timely corrections in areas of noncompliance
   • Offers guidance for updated employee training on HIPAA
5. Insurance Company Credentialing. Securing a spot on an insurance network’s provider list can greatly increase revenue streams. The behavioral health consultant guides the company through the insurance credentialing process:
   • Help in gathering documentation
   • Selecting the best insurance companies for the region
   • Completing the applications
   • Re-apply if rejected
6. Improves Organizational Health. A behavioral health provider’s organizational health is integral to its success. The behavioral health consultant reviews the following realms of a company’s behavioral health:
   • Having a clear vision and mission statement
   • Ensuring leadership team members are provided clear strategic goals and achievable performance benchmarks
   • An open and trusting workplace culture
   • Strong, supportive leadership
   • Staff training on implementing compliance updates
   • Clearly articulated performance-based outcomes for employees to strive toward
   • Technology systems that are updated and provide adequate capacity
7. Addresses Billing Compliance. The behavioral health consultant works with the provider to review billing practices to ensure they are complying with industry regulations. This improves company compliance and avoids delays in reimbursements by:
   • Conducting thorough billing audits
   • Identifying areas of noncompliance
   • Optimizing processes to ensure financial compliance
   • Maximizing revenue within regulatory guidelines
8. Offers Continuous Support. A consultant can contract with the provider to offer ongoing support. This type of proactive approach improves compliance in all realms, which strengthens the overall organizational health of the behavioral health provider.
   • Support includes:
     • Setting up outcome measurement systems to obtain data tracking and performance improvements
     • Make timely compliance adjustments as needed
     • Improve staff training programs
     • Improve the financial health of the organization

Why Your Facility Will Benefit from a Behavioral Health Consultant

The fast-paced nature of the behavioral health landscape makes it difficult to stay on top of the ever-evolving compliance and regulatory requirements, which seem to become more complex each year. The potential fines or penalties for noncompliance can harm an organization’s reputation and bottom line. By partnering with a behavioral health consultant, the risk of noncompliance is eliminated. A consultant can play a vital role in keeping your facility updated in all areas of compliance, taking this time-consuming task off the shoulders of staff. As a result, valuable time and resources can be diverted toward improving the program curriculum and elevating the patient experience. Circa Behavioral Healthcare Solutions offers behavioral health consulting services that ensure your organization reaches the next level of excellence. If you are wondering, “What does a behavioral health consultant do?” please reach out to us today for the details. Contact us at (888) 458-6619.