Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
Date: 08/05/21
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Effective Jan. 1, 2021, Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) became a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for persons with substance use disorders, as well as those at risk of developing these disorders.
Primary care centers, hospital emergency rooms, trauma centers and other community settings provide opportunities for early intervention with at-risk substance users before more severe consequences occur.
Some methods include:
- Screening quickly assesses the severity of substance use and identifies the appropriate level of treatment.
- Brief intervention focuses on increasing insight and awareness regarding substance use and motivation toward behavioral change.
- Referral to treatment provides those identified as needing more extensive treatment with access to specialty care.
As medically necessary, the procedure codes below can be used once per day. Only physicians and physician extenders can render SBIRT services at this time.
CODE | DESCRIPTION |
H0049 | Alcohol and/or drug screening |
H0050 | Alcohol and/or drug screening, brief intervention, per 15 minutes |
Please refer to the provider billing manual and/or follow the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) for billing these codes — especially if you are billing with other evaluation and management codes.