BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION CLINICIAN

Description

SUMMARY:

The Behavioral Health Integration Clinician (BHIC) functions as a core member of a collaborative care team that involves the patient and his/her family (when appropriate), the patients’ primary care provider, nursing, patient navigators, case managers and other non-clinical support staff. The BHIC provides consultation/assessment and bio-psychosocial evaluations on an urgent basis, support and linkage services, advocacy, education, brief interventions, counseling, and information in order to ensure adequacy of health care, increase access of services, enhance physical and psychological well-being and facilitate patient self-care. Medical providers typically refer patients via warm hand-off. The patients referred are often at high risk due to medical diagnoses, frequent users of the hospital emergency rooms; and/or have behavioral health/mental health, social or environmental concerns that impede their overall health. The responsibility of the BHIC is to provide triage, assessment, a brief intervention, and disposition of care. 

GENERAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical Care

• Provides Behavioral Health services in the primary care setting such as the following: initial assessment, crisis intervention, psychoeducation and/or short term (1-3 sessions) intervention for both primary care patients and patients seeking treatment as walk-ins. Performs assessments to include identification and evaluation of complex risk factors, and assigns diagnoses when appropriate. 
• Develops and implements short term interventions. Triage patients’ needs and arranges appropriate services for patients either with the clinic’s Behavioral Health outpatient team or at an affiliated hospitals and clinics.  
• Responds to same day visits, warm hand offs, consultation, or crisis related interventions.  
• Provides consultation to health center medical staff, affiliated programs and/or the community as requested. Plans and conducts formal didactic teaching and in-service education programs for primary care and behavioral health staff. 
• Trains and orients clinical staff and/or students within area of responsibility. 
• Respond, log, and track all incoming BH referrals and process accordingly for initial visits and follow-up to assess level of readiness to commit or engage in long term treatment.
• Respond to urgent or emergent crisis as requested by the medical staff (51-A or Section 12). 
• Assess the need for referral to specialty care including health center based or offsite programs and will help the patient and their family access these resources as appropriate.
• Assigns cases following review of case, insurance verification, and short term treatment as needed.  
• Identifies, develops, evaluates, and recommends new interventions as appropriate. 
• Use Motivational Enhancement to help the patient understand his or her issues, find motivation for change, set realistic goals, and identify any barriers to achieving those goals.
• Records assessments and interventions in patient medical records according to established clinical documentation standards.  
• Participates in Quality Assurance Performance Improvement projects within program area as needed.

Case Management/Care Coordination

• The BHI Clinician will check insurance for appropriate case-assignment.
• BHI clinician will be responsible for case assignment following review of case, insurance verification, and short term treatment.  
• Provide patient with external community resources pertaining to BH services beyond the scope of practice at DotHouse Health.  
• Work collaboratively with OBOT team to coordinate services for patients requesting SUD services. 
• Prepare patient reports, correspondence, referrals and other materials for community agencies, schools, legal proceedings and others as needed.  
• Provide clinical case management, outreach, follow up, and linkages to services as indicated for patients’ care plans.
• Document telephone contacts via EMR (EPIC). 
• Maintain and complete all appropriate clinical paperwork and documentation in compliance with Behavioral Health Department policies and procedures, including use of the EMR with DSM 5coding.
• Attend Behavioral Health team meetings, routine staff meetings, and other team meetings for integrated care.
• Assist BH Director with tracking treatment response and monitoring patients (in person or by telephone) for changes in clinical symptoms and treatment side effects or complications.
• Perform other duties as required by the position or as assigned by the Behavioral Health Team Lead. 

Requirements

Education: Master’s level Social work or Counseling/Psychology degree.

Experience:

1. Minimum of one to two years relevant clinical experience. 
2. Excellent working knowledge of behavioral health and evidence based treatments for medical and mental health conditions 
3. Ability to work through brief patient contacts as well as to make quick and accurate clinical assessment of mental and behavioral conditions. 
4. Should be comfortable with pace of primary care, working with interdisciplinary team-based care and have strong communication skills. 
5. Good knowledge of psychopathology and psychopharmacology. 
6. Ability to design and implement clinical pathways and protocols for treatment of selected chronic conditions. 
7. Experience in working with diverse culture preferred.
8. Values cultural diversity and other individual differences in the workforce, ensuring that the organization builds on these differences.
9. Language and cultural diversity (Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, French, or Spanish) preferred.

Certification/Licensure: Licensed preferred: LCSW, LICSW, LMHC, and/or LMFT. Current, valid, and unrestricted licensure to practice in MA.

Software/Hardware: Must be proficient and have a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, etc.), and EMR experience preferred.