I code for all the mental health providers in my practice. There is one in particular who seems to end up having cases where the patient was abused in the past. Unfortunately one of these patients is a still a child. When I brought the idea to code for the abuse that the patient mentioned in the report. I was met with, my manager and her manager coming to talk to me about why I had even asked about it, and why I even need to read their progress notes. I explained the situation and legality of it. I tried to explain this to the provider when I sent the claim back to her as well. After that big attack toward me for trying to help her patient, and the provider.

The providers response was basically that she is not treating the patient for it. Which I would think is just not true. How can someone go thorough that, and have it not be a part of why they are depressed or anxious? Also considering that it is in the progress note, that seemed to convey that it happened in the past. Past victims often always become victims again, especially when they are not taught anything to prevent it from happening again. Which according to the provider she isn’t doing by stating that she is not doing treatment based on that. Also if she is basically sweeping this under the rug, she believes she is protecting the patient, which she isn’t. She is protecting the person that did this. If it were to happen again, and there is no evidence that the patient was being treated for it, and if she won’t stand up for her patient, then it’s possible to not be believed.

Also since this happened, according to her manager she got really upset at the fact that I read any of the mental health providers notes. Which I have to do because well, they are not very good at coding really at all. I had to fight to get them to even put the amount of time spent with the patient in their progress notes. Also it seems that this provider has responded by putting next to nothing in her notes, and consistently still not providing the time spent. I feel like because I brought this up that she thinks I’m a creep or something. I don’t know what to do. Because I feel like maybe she doesn’t even know that when abuse is even suspected it needs to be reported to authorities. It’s like I feel that if there was someone that came to see her because they are being abused, she wouldn’t report it and that’s a crime.

I think I am going to talk to her manager because it’s just silly that she’s acting like this. I’m trying to help her and her patient, and shes just like no.