Coordinating mental health inpatient or residential care

Please adhere to the following when treating members in mental health inpatient or residential settings:

• All services must be preauthorized by the Mental Health Access Center (MHAC) at 206-901-6300 or 1-888-287-2680.
• Authorizations are not provided after-hours, on holidays, or on weekends. In these cases, contact EPRO (Emergency Patient Resources and Options) at 1-800-337-3197 to inform Kaiser Permanente of admission. The MHAC will review on the next business day.
• Throughout the member's stay, we will review their care for appropriateness of placement and participate in discharge planning.
• To arrange follow-up care, contact the MHAC prior to discharge. Follow-up care must be provided within seven days of the discharge date.

If a member needs to transfer from a mental health facility to a medical or surgical facility, you must notify Kaiser Permanente via EPRO at 1-800-337-3197. You must also notify the member's primary care provider.

We reserve the right, upon consultation with a Kaiser Permanente physician, to transfer any member to a Kaiser Permanente facility, as stated in the member's medical coverage agreement. If the member refuses to transfer to one of our facilities, costs incurred during the hospitalization may be the member's sole responsibility.