What is CPT® 90846?
CPT® 90846 is used to report family psychotherapy services provided without the patient present, typically to address family dynamics or relational issues that impact the patient’s mental health. The standard session length associated with this code is approximately 50 minutes.
When to Use CPT® 90846
This code should be used when:
- The therapist conducts a psychotherapy session with one or more family members, but the identified patient is not present.
- The purpose of the session is to improve family functioning, enhance support systems, or address patterns of interaction that influence the patient’s mental health.
- The session is therapeutic, not for crisis intervention or strictly educational purposes.
Common scenarios include:
- Counseling parents of a child with behavioral or emotional disorders
- Guiding spouses on communication strategies to support a partner with depression
- Working with families coping with a member’s chronic illness or substance use disorder
Key Billing Requirements
- Session Length: Typically 50 minutes
- Focus: Mental health of the identified patient, even though they are not present
- Documentation Must Include:
- Clinical rationale for family involvement
- Therapeutic goals and interventions used
- Family members present and their role in treatment
- Progress toward treatment plan objectives
Why It Matters
Family therapy plays a critical role in supporting patient outcomes by addressing systemic issues that individual therapy alone cannot resolve. Correctly coding sessions like 90846 ensures accurate reimbursement for these specialized services.
How OptiMantra Supports Behavioral Health Providers
OptiMantra makes documenting and billing for family therapy sessions seamless by offering:
- Pre-built templates for psychotherapy codes, including 90846 and related codes like 90847 (with patient present)
- Integrated scheduling and telehealth to accommodate virtual family sessions
- Manual coding selection supported by integrated billing tools
- Streamlined superbill generation and claims submission to ensure timely payment
By using OptiMantra, behavioral health professionals can focus on delivering effective care while the platform handles compliance, coding accuracy, and billing efficiency.
Try OptiMantra for free here!
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