Open AccessSustaining the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM): Billing Newly Available CoCM CPT Codes in an Academic Primary Care System
Author(s) -
Andrew D. Carlo,
Lauren Drake,
Anna Ratzliff,
Denise Chang,
Jürgen Unützer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychiatric services
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.517
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1557-9700
pISSN - 1075-2730
DOI - 10.1176/appi.ps.201900581
Subject(s) - current procedural terminology , primary care , workflow , terminology , sustainability , service (business) , nursing , medicine , computer science , business , family medicine , database , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , marketing , biology
Novel Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes specific to the collaborative care model (CoCM) offer advantages over traditional billing options, but their uptake may require considerable billing and clinical workflow adjustments. This column presents a case study addressing the challenges of using these codes within the University of Washington Neighborhood Clinics (UWNC), an academically affiliated primary care clinic system in western Washington State. The UWNC experience thus far demonstrates that CoCM CPT codes can successfully be used in a large academic primary care system to help move this evidence-based service model toward financial sustainability.