I’ve been in private practice for about 20 years and have run into a recurring problem many times when it comes to information that I receive before intake assessments.

Although some sources have been great, some have been quite poor. Recently I received a referral from a third party with only the client’s name and phone number (the phone number turned out to be wrong).

I’ve chatted with colleagues but can’t find any real consensus on what a “best practices” model would include for information to guide us in preparing for an assessment or first meeting with a client.

A few things clearly would be helpful:Referral question or reason for referralnDemographic info (with virtual and telephonic sessions we need demographic info to be able to verify we are talking to the referred client)

Contact infonBilling infonMental health hx (if available)

etcnHopefully you’ve across they issue before and can direct me to a good source for guidance.

Hi,To answer your question, the NSRP standards don’t outline the requirements that a third-party referrer would need to follow to send the initial contact information to the psychologist. We have found most practices have their own referral process they follow to ensure that they follow up and obtain the necessary information in order to make a determination that the referral will be suitable for what the practice could offer.

Certainly, if the referrer does not even provide the correct contact information then that would be problematic. Some practices are using different platforms to collect referral information, so in such cases the potential client is referred to the platform to complete their own details or the healthcare professional may do so on their behalf. The NSRP does not endorse any particular platform but there are several out there. As well, some practices have even had their own custom referral forms built. This would be a secure part of the website that collects the basic information required by the practice.

You might also find it helpful to reach out to APNS to see if this is something the APSN Private Practice Committee may have come across as well.