The integration of behavioral health in pediatric primary care provides endless benefits for the clinic, PCPs, patients and their families. With medical and mental health professionals working in tandem many childhood challenges can be address. At Providence Health & Services, primary care and pediatric clinics screen for ASD in early childhood visits (e.g., 16-30 months) using the Modified- Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT). Further, behavioral health providers (BHP) and PCPs work together to detect symptoms of ASD and refer for evaluations to our specialized Providence Childhood Development Institute (PCDI). While PCDI is a multidisciplinary clinic specializing in autism evaluations, they do not accept patients over 14, and often those who are 12-13 years old age out while on the waitlist for an evaluation. To bridge this gap pediatric behavioral health providers in the Portland metro area have been offering ASD evaluation services for adolescents who have aged out, or are close to aging out, of PCDI. This presentation will review the need for increased training and competency in ASD evaluations, the necessity for these evaluation services in primary care, how Providence Health & Services pediatric BHPs are working to provide this care, and details about the evaluation process used. Specifically, this presentation will provide information regarding the typical session progression for an ASD evaluation in primary care, the assessment battery used, billing and coding information, and descriptive data detailing length of time from referral to feedback session.

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