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West Virginia Part B Carrier
Exam: Psychiatric

Content & Documentation Requirements
Level of Exam
Perform and Document
Problem Focused One to five elements identified by a bullet.
Expanded Problem Focused At least six elements identified by a bullet.
Detailed At least nine elements identified by a bullet.
Comprehensive
  • Perform all elements identified by a bullet
  • Document every element in a box with a shaded border
  • Document at least one element in each box with an unshaded border

System/Body Area
Elements of Examination
Constitutional


*All elements must be documented.
  • Measurement of any three of the following seven vital signs:
    • Sitting or standing blood pressure
    • Supine blood pressure
    • Pulse rate and regularity
    • Respiration
    • Temperature
    • Height
    • Weight (may be measured and recorded by ancillary staff)
  • General appearance of patient (e.g., development, nutrition, body habitus, deformities, attention to grooming)
Musculoskeletal
  • Assessment of muscle strength and tone (e.g., flaccid, cog wheel, spastic) with notation of any atrophy and abnormal movements
  • Examination of gait and station
Psychiatric


*All elements must be documented.
  • Description of speech including: rate, volume, articulation, coherence, and spontaneity with notation of abnormalities (e.g., perseveration, paucity of language)
  • Description of thought processes including: rate of thoughts, content of thoughts (e.g., logical vs. illogical, tangential), abstract reasoning, and computation
  • Description of associations (e.g., loose, tangential, circumstantial, intact)
  • Description of abnormal or psychotic thoughts including: hallucinations, delusions, preoccupation with violence, homicidal or suicidal ideation, and obsessions
  • Description of the patient’s judgment (e.g., concerning everyday activities and social situations) and insight (e.g., concerning psychiatric condition)
Complete mental status examination including:
  • Orientation to time, place and person
  • Recent and remote memory
  • Attention span and concentration
  • Language (e.g., naming objects, repeating phrases)
  • Fund of knowledge (e.g., awareness of current events, past history, vocabulary)
  • Mood and affect (e.g., depression, anxiety, agitation, hypomania, lability)

 

last updated on 09/25/2009
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