Team Newsletter
February 2025
Hi Team, welcome to February!
Please take the time (up to 30 minutes admin time) to read the newsletter.
In lieu of our February team meeting this month we will have an inservice with Simone at Wellspring on 2/12 at 11 am. Therapists can email newsletter questions to Kellie or Cierra.
February 2025 Newsletter
We have finalized our contract with Hills Insurance and are working diligently to confirm new authorizations for our families that have transitioned from Meritage to Hills Insurance. Theresa will continue to notify you as those are received and update your Fusion accordingly when progress reports are due.
Hills Insurance Processes:
- Hills Insurance Billing Presets:
- Hills Evaluation presets:
- OT Evaluation – HPMG/TCN, 97530-Therapeutic Activities OR HPMG/TCN and 97535-Therapeutic Activities – HPMG/TCN.
- Select the one the client is authorized for.
- Report Write up:
- OT Eval Report – HPMG/TCN.
- This is linked to 97166-Moderate Complexity OT Evaluation – HPMG/TCN and 97530:OT Timekeeping Provider Use only.
- Put quantity 1 for 97166
- Put up to 90 minutes for 97530.
- This is linked to 97166-Moderate Complexity OT Evaluation – HPMG/TCN and 97530:OT Timekeeping Provider Use only.
- Hills Evaluation presets:
- HPMG/TCN/Meritage Guidelines:
- Please use Fusion to write Hills and Meritage evaluations and progress reports.
- Please check in with Kellie or Cierra if you have any questions or would like report examples.
- 2 sessions can’t be billed on the same day for HPMG/TCN.
- If a client is authorized for 2x weekly therapy sessions have to be held on separate days.
- Therapy make ups can not be held on the same day as a regular session.
- Evaluation report write ups are billed at 90 minutes per the billing codes above
- Progress report write ups are billed at 60 minutes per the billing codes above
- Speech sessions under HPMG/TCN are 30 min sessions but the therapist will bill 45 minutes with case management time.
- If you receive a “pop up” with a billing error asking you to submit “0” minutes for a Hills or TCN client, please delete any irrelevant billing codes not on their authorization and/or communicated to you by Theresa so you may submit charges.
- Please use Fusion to write Hills and Meritage evaluations and progress reports.
- Fusion Schedule Reminder:
- In an effort to maximize our insurance client’s authorizations and visits, we are encouraging all therapists to please extend make up options to our insurance families as scheduling allows given cancellations within your schedule.
- If you have any cancellations within a week’s notice that you would like to try and fill with a client who has insurance make ups, please:
- Gray block the time in your schedule “Schedule Insurance Make Up”
- Send an email to Emily & Isabelle letting them know you have time available and the insurance client(s) you’d like them to offer a make up time to.
- If an insurance client confirms your make up time, Emily or Isabelle will add it to your Fusion schedule at least 24-48 hours before the session.
- If the cancellation you’re filling with an insurance makeup is due to a late cancellation by a private pay family outside our cancellation window, you may continue billing for both the late cancellation and the insurance makeup in accordance with our policies.
- Please continue to add gray blocks to your Fusion schedule for any available openings or evaluation availability to support efficient and expedited scheduling between admin and our families.
- Engaging, Connecting, and Growing as a Team:
- Here’s why we encourage having cameras on during our team meetings and in-services:
- Improved communication: Nonverbal cues are a big part of how we communicate. Seeing each other’s facial expressions and body language helps us understand each other better and avoid miscommunications.
- Increased engagement: It’s easier to stay focused and present when we can see our colleagues. This leads to more productive meetings for both the speaker / facilitator and participants
- Stronger team connection: Seeing each other face-to-face, even virtually, helps us build rapport and feel more connected as a team, which is always our goal!
- Google Meet has fun features for different backgrounds and filters and we encourage everyone to pick a theme if you’re joining virtually to add some extra fun to our team meets.
- Of course, we understand that there may be times when having your camera on isn’t feasible. If you have a situation where you need to keep your camera off, please just let us know ahead of time.
- Here’s why we encourage having cameras on during our team meetings and in-services:
- 2025 Summer Camp Intensives
- Our summer camps are live on our website and we have opened sign ups to the community. When evaluating new clients, please be sure to provide an appropriate camp recommendation to the family in your post-eval email home and in the report write up.
- Camp information can be found here
- Case Reminders
- Please let Cierra or Kellie know if you’re behind on emails home (aka monthly check ins with your families) so they can help support you.
- When a client requests to stop therapy per parent request please be sure to:
- Notify your department director of the update
- As part of your documentation on the last day of therapy please be sure to include the reason in the “Subjective” portion why the child is pausing therapy. For example: “Last session today. Parents requested to pause therapy due scheduling conflicts and satisfaction with Ben’s progress at this point.”
**Any new clinician books will be in the conference room bookshelf. New games can be found in our game cabinets on the treatment floor.
- LessonPix Updated Login
- Username: emily.obrien
- Password: LittleHands!
- We will be using Google Meet for parent consultations, team meetings, and telehealth sessions moving forward. Here is a tutorial on using the platform.
- Idiopathic Toe Walking Resource (thank you for sharing, Kristen!)
