Glossary
Behavioral Health Glossary
Definitions of key behavioral health terms.
Sarah Carter
•
January 12, 2026
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- 42 CFR Part 2
42 CFR Part 2 is a federal regulation that provides heightened privacy protections for patient records created by federally assisted substance use dis... - AI Clinical Documentation
AI clinical documentation is the use of artificial intelligence technologies, including natural language processing and large language models, to auto... - Behavioral Health
Behavioral health is a broad term encompassing the study and treatment of mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and the behaviors that af... - Claim Denial
A claim denial is a decision by an insurance payer to refuse payment for a submitted healthcare claim, either in whole or in part, due to issues with ... - CPT Codes
CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes are a standardized set of five-digit numeric codes maintained by the American Medical Association that desc... - Discharge Planning
Discharge planning is the clinical process of preparing a patient for transition from one level of behavioral health care to a lower level of care or ... - Dual Diagnosis Treatment
Dual diagnosis treatment is an integrated clinical approach that simultaneously addresses co-occurring mental health disorders and substance use disor... - E-Prescribing (EPCS)
E-prescribing is the electronic generation, transmission, and filling of medical prescriptions, replacing handwritten or faxed prescriptions with secu... - EHR vs EMR: What's the Difference
EHR vs EMR refers to the distinction between Electronic Health Records, which are designed to share patient data across organizations and care setting... - Electronic Health Record (EHR)
An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a digital system for managing patient health information that enables clinicians to document, store, and share co... - Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is a digital version of a patient's paper chart within a single healthcare organization, containing the medical and... - Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)
An Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) is a digital document sent by insurance payers to healthcare providers that explains how claims were adjudicated... - Explanation of Benefits (EOB)
An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) is a document sent by an insurance company to a patient after a healthcare claim has been processed, detailing what s... - Family Therapy
Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that involves members of a patient's family system in the treatment process to improve communication, resolv... - Group Therapy
Group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more licensed clinicians lead a session with multiple patients simultaneously, typically 6 to... - HIPAA
HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federal law enacted in 1996 that establishes national standards for protecting th... - Informed Consent
Informed consent is the legal and ethical process by which a healthcare provider educates a patient about the nature, risks, benefits, and alternative... - Insurance Credentialing
Insurance credentialing is the process by which a healthcare provider applies to and is approved by insurance companies to become an in-network provid... - Intake Assessment
An intake assessment is a comprehensive clinical evaluation conducted at the beginning of behavioral health treatment to gather a patient's psychiatri... - Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
An Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is a structured behavioral health treatment program that provides therapy and support services for 9-20 hours pe... - Medical Detoxification
Medical detoxification is a clinically supervised process of managing acute withdrawal symptoms when a person stops using alcohol or drugs, typically ... - Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based approach to treating substance use disorders that combines FDA-approved medications with coun... - Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
A Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is a structured, day-based behavioral health treatment program that provides 20-30 or more hours of clinical s... - Patient Portal
A patient portal is a secure, web-based application that gives patients electronic access to their health information, appointment scheduling, secure ... - Prior Authorization
Prior authorization is a utilization management process in which a healthcare provider must obtain approval from a patient's insurance company before ... - Progress Note
A progress note is a clinical document written after each patient encounter that records the services provided, the patient's current status, their pr... - Residential Treatment
Residential treatment is a level of behavioral health care in which patients live at a treatment facility full-time while receiving structured therape... - Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)
Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is the financial process that healthcare organizations use to track patient revenue from the initial appointment schedu... - SOAP Note
A SOAP note is a standardized clinical documentation format used by healthcare providers to record patient encounters, organized into four sections: S... - Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a medical condition characterized by the compulsive use of substances despite harmful consequences, involving changes ... - Superbill
A superbill is a detailed billing form used by healthcare providers that lists the services rendered during a patient visit along with the correspondi... - Telehealth
Telehealth is the delivery of healthcare services through digital communication technologies, including live video sessions, phone calls, secure messa... - Treatment Plan
A treatment plan is a structured clinical document that outlines a patient's behavioral health diagnoses, measurable goals, specific therapeutic inter...
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