Illinois DocAssist

The Illinois DocAssist program was implemented by HFS in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois, Chicago in an effort to address access and capacity issues related to child psychiatry in the Illinois Medicaid system.  The Illinois DocAssist program provides pediatric psychiatric and behavioral health consultation services to primary care physicians (PCPs) and allied providers enrolled with HFS.  The consultation services are designed to support PCPs serving non-emergent Medicaid-eligible youth with complex behavioral health and pharmaceutical issues. 

Additionally, beginning on January 1, 2015 Illinois DocAssist expanded its services to include consultation and education specific to perinatal behavioral health. The DocAssist team was tasked with the development and maintenance of a medication chart specific to perinatal depression.

• Toll-free consultation hotline (1-866-986-2778) that is staffed by experienced child and adolescent psychiatrists.

• Consultation services for PCPs for youth around issues related to:

1. Mental health;

2. Substance abuse;

3. Trauma-informed care;

4. Pharmaceutical best practices; and,

5. Screening and referral processes.

• Consultation services for PCPs regarding perinatal behavioral health.

• Training and education to direct practice providers related to specific topics in behavioral health.

• DocAssist Website (http://www.psych.uic.edu/docassist/)

• Medication chart specific to perinatal depression (http://www.psych.uic.edu/docassist/Perinatal_Med_Chart_May_2015.pdf)