Practice Parameters for Telehealth-Implementation of Applied Behavior Analysis

Continuity of Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Original Webinar Date:  March 31, 2020

Webinar Duration: 2 hours

Short Title:  CASP Telehealth Task Force: Practice Parameters

CEU Offered: 2.0 Total Learning CEUs (including 1.0 in Ethics)

CE Instructors:

  • Joy Pollard PhD. BCBA-D
  • Jenna Minton, Esq.


Abstract: Dr. Joy Pollard (Chair) and Jenna Minton from the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) Telehealth Task Force will discuss the recently released Parameters for Telehealth- Implementation of Applied Behavior Analysis: Continuity of Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This CASP document was produced in response to the impact of stay-at-home and social distancing orders on the delivery of medically necessary ABA services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

This 2-hour webinar will provide an in-depth discussion of the ethical administration of telehealth. Providers will learn how to evaluate the benefits and risks of implementing different telehealth service delivery models, via synchronous and asynchronous modalities. We will review tools to assist providers in determining whether a patient and their caregivers can participate productively in one of the models for telehealth ABA services, including considerations of patient and caregiver characteristics, technological requirements, and monitoring effectiveness. Providers will also receive service-specific guidance (i.e., application of CPT Adaptive Behavior codes for services delivered via telehealth) along with case examples for different telehealth applications.

Learning Objectives:

Objective #1: Providers will be able to evaluate the risks and benefits of implementing different telehealth service delivery models, via synchronous and asynchronous modalities to ensure ethical and quality care is maintained.

Objective #2: Providers will be able to assess patient characteristics and their individualized treatment plans to determine the appropriateness of telehealth models for a patient.

Objective #3: Providers will provided with tools to learn how to assess the caregiver's ability to participate in sessions and technological requirements for a telehealth session.

Objective #4: Providers will identify strategies to modify treatment goals and objectives, protocols, environment, stimuli, and teaching procedures to effectively implement ABA sessions via telehealth.

Instructor(s)

Esq Jenna Minton

Jenna W. Minton, Esq. is the President of Proactive Strategies (formerly Minton Healthcare Strategies). Proactive Strategies specializes in guiding clients through Medicare and Medicaid regulatory processes. Specifically, Jenna focuses on the development of CPT Codes. Jenna also assists in valuing medical services through the AMA Relative Update Committee. From 2016 through the end of March 2019, Jenna guided and contributed substantially to the efforts of the ABA coding work group, including the development of the 2019 ABA CPT code set and generation of subsequent educational materials aimed at their implementation. Jenna also serves as the Director of Operations at Residential Options, Inc. (ROI). She oversees audit, contracting, and reimbursement issues for ROI which employs almost 350 people and services around 300 clients with ASD or a developmental disabilities. Jenna is licensed to practice law in Maryland and is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association.

Ph.D., BCBA-D Joy Pollard

Dr. Joy Pollard is the Co-founder and CEO of Clinical Operations at Behavior Change Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in Disability Disciplines, with a Specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis and her clinical experience has spanned across the home, clinical, school, and residential home settings. Dr. Pollard serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, where she provides clinical supervision and collaborates on research focused on children with ASD and neurogenetic syndromes. Her research and clinical practice have focused extensively on practitioner capacity building initiatives and pioneering telehealth applications to increase access to medically necessary ABA treatment for individuals living in rural and geographically isolated areas. Her scholarly publications include articles on ethical considerations in the design and implementation of telehealth service delivery models and she has served as a subject matter expert for the Telehealth Guidelines by the Council for Autism Service Providers (CASP).