The Spectrum Center

The Spectrum Center

301 South Boulevard, Suite 126

Edmond, OK 73034

(405) 285-6765 Office (405) 285-5403 Fax

January 2, 2014

To: All Patients and Families

RE: OKHCA regulations

As many of you are well aware, we have weathered numerous changes this last year in what the OKHCA requires for us to provide in order to have services authorized. We are working on getting systems in place that will eliminate or at least minimize placing anyone on hold until approval is obtained. So please bear with us while we work this out!

In the meantime, when your treating clinician advises that it is time for you to return to your PCP, these are the things that we must have in place to provide to the OKHCA:

  • You must relay to the PCP what your concerns are with your child – be specific so the physician can include this in the office visit notes. If your child is having communication difficulties, you need to explain if this is a stuttering problem, if you have a difficult time understanding your child, or if your child seems to be delayed in the number of words he/she uses, etc…. The same goes for any feeding/swallowing difficulties. And if your child is seen for both communication and feeding/swallowing, all concerns must be shared, but we need two separate referrals.
  • The PCP will include these comments in the office visit notes and show that this is what motivates a referral. We also need the referral.
  • The office visit is only required once per year, but we need a new referral every 3 months. This office will take care of that and you only need to let us know if you switch doctors.
  • If your child receives speech therapy in the school system, we need a current copy of his/her IEP each year.
  • We will also ask you to sign a consent form to evaluate or re-evaluate each time.
  • You will most likely receive notification that an authorization has been submitted for approval and if there are any difficulties, you will also be notified that this submission has been cancelled. If this happens and you have any questions, please call this office and speak with me. I check the website frequently and can keep you up-to-date on the status.
  • Please be aware that the OKHCA is launching a new website and has recently made drastic changes to their policies. As a result, the time it takes for these approvals has gone from 2-3 weeks to as much as 8-9 weeks. We cannot do anything to make this happen any faster and it is the same for all speech therapy clinics – believe me, I have tried to expedite the process and it does no good. However, I will “go to bat” for you whenever needed!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. That is part of my job for you here!

Respectfully,

Betsy Kelley, CCC-SLP

Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist

Clinic Coordinator