Online Services | Commonwealth Sites | Help | Governor

    2-1-1 is a free three digit telephone number that Virginians can call for resources for counseling services, crisis intervention, volunteer opportunities and other health and human service referrals. Visit the 2-1-1 website.

Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Screening Instruments

This page is for Community Services Boards and all other Medicaid providers (complete list below) who will make use of Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health screening instruments.

Introduction

Welcome to our new resource for information about Screening and Brief Intervention for alcohol and other substance use problems. This site will initially assist you with utilizing Virginia’s new Medicaid substance use screening codes and then later provide you with a broader range of screening information and tools that can be used with clients with substance use and mental health disorders.

Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for persons with substance use disorders, as well as those who are at risk of developing these disorders. Reimbursement for screening and brief intervention is now available through commercial insurance CPT codes, Medicare G codes, and Medicaid HCPCS codes. Virginia was one of 10 states in 2008 that activated these new substance abuse prevention and treatment health codes for screening and brief intervention (SBI) of Medicaid-eligible patients. In Virginia, these codes will reimburse doctors, nurse practitioners, psychiatric clinical nurse specialists, licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners, all MCOs, and mental health/developmental disability agencies.

The purpose of SBI is to help identify patients who may have alcohol and/or other substance use problems. Brief intervention then educates them about their use, alerts them to possible consequences and begins to motivate them to take steps to change behavior. In May 2008, the  Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) released a Special Memo to Providers announcing two new screening codes for use by providers for both Fee-for-Service and Managed Care Medicaid clients (including MEDALLION and FAMIS Plus enrollees). These new codes reimburse providers for structured screening for substance use problems and brief interventions with no prior authorization required. The original memo listed only two approved screening tools; however DMAS has now added a variety of other approved screening tools.

This page will acquaint you with DMAS’ approved adult, adolescent, and perinatal screening tools and provide you with links to these tools. When you follow these links, you will find a short summary about each screening instrument, any training on use, fees for use if the tool is not in the public domain, and the tool itself.

We have also provided the name and contact information for someone at DBHDS who can receive and respond to questions or suggestions you may have about these screening mechanisms. You can find that information on the linked pages below. We know this is a new process and we want to make it as user friendly as possible. Please feel free to email George Banks (George.Banks@dbhds.virginia.gov) if you have any general questions about this page.

We will be improving upon and adding more information to this page in the next few months – including a section of Frequently Asked Questions and a mechanism to provide suggestions. More resources about brief intervention and additional screening tools will become available. Thank you for your interest.

[ top of page ]

DBHDS Recommended List of Screening Instruments

ADULT INSTRUMENTS

Alcohol Only

Drug Only

Alcohol and Drugs

Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Problems

For More Information about Adult Instruments, please contact George Banks (e-mail: George.Banks@dbhds.virginia.gov).

[ top of page ]

PERINATAL INSTRUMENTS

Drug Only

Alcohol Only

Alcohol and Drugs

Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Problems

For More Information about Perinatal Instruments, please contact Martha Kurgans (e-mail: Martha.Kurgans@dbhds.virginia.gov).

[ top of page ]

ADOLESCENT INSTRUMENTS

Drug Only

Alcohol Only

Alcohol and Drugs

Co-Coccurring Substance Use and Mental Health Problems

For More Information about Adolescent Instruments, please contact Malcolm King (e-mail: Malcolm.King@dbhds.virginia.gov).

[ top of page ]

If you have trouble opening a document, you may need to download one of the above free plug-ins (WinZip is a trial version).  For comments or questions concerning this site, please E-mail the Webmaster. Thank you for visiting the DBHDS Web site.  © Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Commonwealth of Virginia 
***Please Note: The department name has changed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services on July 1, 2009 (from the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services).  The department’s new Web site address is www.dbhds.virginia.gov.  The previous Web site address will continue to work for up to a year after July 1, 2009.***
Level A conformance icon, W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0