Who can bill
Billing for CPT Code 90791 can be performed by the following licensed mental health professionals:
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW)
Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC)
Licensed Mental Counselors (LMHC)
Licensed Marriage Family Therapists (LMFT)
Clinical Psychologists (PhD or PsyD)
Psychiatrists (MD)
If you have a different license, odds are high you are not eligible to perform a diagnostic evaluation, and as such you are not able to specify a mental health diagnosis for that client.
CPT Code 90791 Coding Requirements
The following services are required, according to Medicare, to complete an initial mental health evaluation for a new client seeking mental health services:
Elicitation of a complete medical and psychiatric history
Mental status examination
Evaluation of the patient’s ability and capacity to respond to treatment
Initial plan of treatment
Reported once per day
Not reported same day as E/M service performed by the same provider
Covered at the onset