Webinar: Peer Specialist Documentation

Title: Peer Specialist Documentation: How to Provide Effective Documentation while Maintaining Our Peer Support Ethics and Values

Presenter: Amy Pierce, CPS – Via Hope Peer Services Implementation Field Liaison

In this webinar, Via Hope will continue to look at the unique role of Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs) and examine ways that the agencies where CPSs are employed can honor that unique role. When it comes to documentation, there can be a lot of fear and uncertainty from CPSs and their colleagues at the provider agencies where they work. CPSs often wonder how they can document and still honor the role they occupy AND the individuals they work with. Supervisors and quality management staff are at times unsure if it is appropriate to require CPSs to document, and if so, whether it should look different than the documentation of other professionals. CPSs are instructed that their documentation must contain certain elements — and at times those can seem at odds with CPS values and ethics.

The aim of this webinar is to spend some time looking at why documentation is important, as well as exploring the many roles it plays within an organizational structure. We will look at the Texas Administrative Code and identify the basic services Peer Specialists can currently bill for under Medicaid in the state of Texas. Participants will explore ways to honor the fiduciary responsibility to the agency while still honoring the working relationship between the peer specialist and the individual they are serving. We will reference the Texas CPS Code of Ethics and Core Values and consider how they inform CPS documentation practices. Participants should come away with understanding what is similar as well as the distinct differences in documentation between CPSs and clinical providers. This will be interactive experience, giving participants an opportunity to practice writing brief notes. There are many different ways peer support is present in provider organizations and through natural supports—however, this webinar will focus on the role that documentation plays in having peer support as a billable service at provider organizations. Certified Peer Specialists, Supervisors of CPSs, QM/UM staff, and individuals who want to learn more about peer support are invited to participate in this opportunity to encourage the growth of this evolving workforce.

Learning Objectives

• Identify three reasons Certified Peer Specialists working in mental health provider agencies should learn effective documentation practices.
• Identify three ways Certified Peer Specialists can maintain peer support values when providing documentation.
• Identify two practices used when facilitating collaborative documentation

We are unable to offer the recording of this webinar currently (due to technical problems).

To download the slides and other documents offered during the webinar, follow these links:

APS and Participation Skills List

Peer Services Documentation Webinar Slides

Peer Support Texas Administrative Code 2018

Progress Note Template Example