Resources
PeriPAN FAQs
General PeriPAN Information
What is the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network?
PeriPAN is a trusted state-funded program for clinicians who treat pregnant and postpartum mothers with mental health concerns. PeriPAN offers clinician-to-clinician consultations related to specific patients or general questions, care coordination, and training to build your capacity and assist with identifying and treating mental health issues in your perinatal patients.
Why do I need PeriPAN?
Maternal mental health conditions affect 1 in 5 perinatal women and are the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related death in the United States. Women who get treatment can and do recover, and collaborative care is best practice. PeriPAN is here to offer support, education, and rapid peer consultation to help you expand your capacity and provide the standard of care your perinatal patients need.
How can I enroll in PeriPAN?
Clinicians or clinic administrators can call 888-901-2726 and enroll within 5 minutes. Clinic administrators can enroll multiple clinicians.
Who should call PeriPAN?
PeriPAN is available to clinicians who screen or provide care to women in the prenatal, perinatal,
birthing, and postpartum period, such as:
• OB/GYNs
• Pediatricians
• Family Practice Clinicians
• Psychiatrists
• Psychologists
• Midwives
• Other Primary Care Physicians
• Nurses and Other Clinicians
What can I use PeriPAN for?
PeriPAN provides the following support:
• Real-time patient care consultation from a reproductive mental health clinician.
• Vetted and patient-specific resources and referrals within one business day.
• Free CMEs and other learning opportunities.
How does PeriPAN work?
• Call PeriPAN at 888-901-2726 when you have a mental health question about a patient.
• You will speak directly with a mental health clinician to assess and address your query, or we will call you back within 5 minutes.
• If you have a screening, diagnostic, or medication question, a reproductive psychiatrist will return your call within 30 minutes—or you can schedule
a call back at a time you prefer.
• If you have a referral or resource question, a mental health specialist can assist you and provide you with a vetted list within one business day.
• If you want to learn more about treating mental health among perinatal patients, you can participate in one of our frequent and free CMEs.
How can I keep up with current PeriPAN program offerings, CMEs, and mental health news?
PeriPAN regularly offers free CMEs, Project ECHO collaborative learning opportunities, and mental and behavioral health news and resources for clinicians. This includes free 0.5-hour or 1-hour ethics CMEs for your team. Go to TXPeriPAN.org to learn more.
Who provides PeriPAN services?
PeriPAN is a team of 12 academic health-related institutions across Texas working together to provide peer- to-peer telehealth consultations to clinicians. Dedicated reproductive mental health professionals are ready to support you, so you can better support the mental health needs of your patients.
Cost and Billing
How much does PeriPAN cost to use?
PeriPAN services are at no cost. This is a clinician-to-clinician service and does not require patient insurance or a fee. The PeriPAN team may inquire about patient insurance to better align referrals with your patient’s needs.
Can I bill my time for reimbursement when I use PeriPAN?
Yes. Calling PeriPAN is justification to document increased time or complexity-based coding.
Can I refer my patient to PeriPAN for direct mental health services?
PeriPAN is a clinician-to-clinician consultation service and does not offer ongoing direct mental health care to patients. During a clinician-to-clinician consultation, you and the reproductive psychiatrist may decide that a one-time direct assessment of the patient will assist in diagnostic clarification and/or treatment planning. PeriPAN will provide this onetime assessment, and you will remain the ongoing health care clinician for the patient.
Contacting PeriPAN
How do I contact PeriPAN?
Call 888-901-2726 and follow the prompt for direct routing to your regional team for psychiatry consultation, referrals, and resources. You can also use the contact form on our website to reach the Texas PeriPAN team: TXPeriPAN.org
What times can I call PeriPAN for help?
PeriPAN staff are live on the phones Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., except for institutional holidays (e.g., Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.). There is also a secure voicemail system where you can always leave a message outside of these times and receive a call back during regular business hours the next business day.
Note that PeriPAN is not a crisis line. If your patient is in crisis, call 988 instead.
What information do you need from me when I call?
The reason for the call, the patient’s name or initials, date of birth, race, ethnicity, insurance information (if applicable), medical/patient record number (so that PeriPAN staff can reference the call if you call again on the same patient), and the zip code of where the patient lives (so that staff can look for referrals closest to the patient’s home). PeriPAN staff will also need a good contact number and email/fax number for sending any referrals/resources you need.
