Section R9-10-115. Behavioral Health Paraprofessionals; Behav- ioral Health Technicians

If a health care institution is a behavioral health facility or is autho- rized by the Department to provide behavioral health services, an administrator shall ensure that:

1.        Policies and procedures are established, documented, and implemented that:

a.         Delineate the services a behavioral health parapro- fessional is allowed to provide at or for the health care institution;

b.        Cover supervision of a behavioral health paraprofes- sional including documentation of supervision;

c.         Establish the qualifications for a behavioral health professional providing supervision to a behavioral health paraprofessional;

d.        Delineate the services a behavioral health technician is allowed to provide at or for the health care institu- tion;

e.         Cover clinical oversight for a behavioral health tech- nician, including documentation of clinical over- sight;

f.         Establish the qualifications for a behavioral health professional providing clinical oversight to a behav- ioral health technician;

g.        Delineate the methods used to provide clinical over- sight including when clinical oversight is provided on an individual basis or in a group setting;

h.        Establish the process by which information pertain- ing to services provided by a behavioral health tech- nician is provided to the behavioral health professional who is responsible for the clinical over- sight of the behavioral health technician;

2.        A behavioral health paraprofessional receives supervision according to policies and procedures;

3.        Clinical oversight is provided to a behavioral health tech- nician to ensure that patient needs are met based on, for each behavioral health technician:

a.         The scope and extent of the services provided,

b.        The acuity of the patients receiving services, and

c.         The number of patients receiving services;

4.        A behavioral health technician receives clinical oversight at least once during each two week period, if the behav- ioral health technician provides services related to patient care at the health care institution during the two week period;

5.        When clinical oversight is provided electronically:

a.         The clinical oversight is provided verbally with direct and immediate interaction between the behav- ioral health professional providing and the behav- ioral health technician receiving the clinical oversight,

b.        A secure connection is used, and

c.         The identities of the behavioral health professional providing and the behavioral health technician receiving the clinical oversight are verified before clinical oversight is provided; and

6.        A behavioral health professional provides supervision to a behavioral health paraprofessional or clinical oversight to behavioral health technician within the behavioral health professional’s scope of practice established in the applicable licensing requirements under A.R.S. Title 32.

Historical Note

Adopted effective February 4, 1981 (Supp. 81-1).

Amended by final rulemaking 16 A.A.R. 688, effective November 1, 2010 (Supp. 10-2). Section repealed; new Section made by exempt rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 2015,

effective October 1, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). Section R9-10- 115 renumbered to Section R9-10-116; new Section R9- 10-115 renumbered from R9-10-114 and amended by exempt rulemaking at 20 A.A.R. 1409, pursuant to Laws 2013, Ch. 10, § 13; effective July 1, 2014 (Supp. 14-2).