Pediatric Behavioral Health Management Program

About half of all pediatric office visits involve behavioral, psychosocial and/or educational concerns. Primary care physicians who want to refer children with mental health needs often can’t quickly access pediatric subspecialty mental health care.¹ A growing number of pediatricians are caring for these children without psychiatric support.

With this in mind, we created the Pediatric Behavioral Health Management Program, a collaborative pediatrician–child psychiatrist approach to support pediatricians in the diagnosis and treatment of mood and behavior problems.

The program is open to participating pediatricians treating any Aetna member 5 to 18 years of age who has Aetna medical and behavioral health benefits, and offers:

• reimbursement for pediatric screenings and telephone consultations, and
• facilitated access to a child psychiatrist.

Program details

• Watch a brief presentation  about the Pediatric Behavioral Health Management Program. 
• View details about the program, reimbursement and billing.  (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Contact us to learn more
If you’re a pediatrician or psychiatrist who would like to participate in the program, or if you have questions, e-mail us.

Additional resources

Pediatric Symptom Checklist
The Pediatric Symptom Checklist is an example of a brief behavioral screening questionnaire. Learn more about using and scoring the Pediatric Symptom Checklist.

Resources for providers

• National Institute of Mental Health
• American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - For Primary Care
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Resources for your patients

• National Institute of Mental Health
• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - For Families
• National Alliance on Mental Illness

¹Rushton J, Bruckman D, Kelleher K. Primary care referral of children with psychosocial problems. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Jun 2002;156(6):592-598.