The following patient brochures produced by the American Psychological Association, Division 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology), may be useful for patients regarding neuropsychological services: Adults; Pediatrics.
If you have any questions regarding services provided or questions regarding a potential referral, please contact Dr. Hill at 208.746.2223.
For your convenience, please find below a list of frequently asked questions and answers.
How can a neuropsychological evaluation add to the care of my patients?
For what type of conditions can a neuropsychological evaluation be helpful?
Why should the evaluation be completed by a neuropsychologist instead of a general psychologist?
How long will the evaluation take?
What documentation will the neuropsychologist need?
When can I expect to receive results from the evaluation?
What kind of information can I expect from the evaluation?
Can my patients pay by insurance?
How can I refer a patient?
Why standardized testing instead of a brief qualitative test?
How can a neuropsychological evaluation add to the care of my patients?
Neuropsychological evaluations can enhance patient care in multiple ways including but not limited to the following:
- Assist with differential diagnosis (e.g., type of dementia, pseudodementia, etc.)
- Make recommendations regarding other potentially useful diagnostic tests (e.g., MRI, PET, sleep study, etc.)
- Monitor response to treatment or recovery from injury (e.g., concussion, traumatic brain injury, stroke)
- Assess candidates for various neurosurgical intervention (e.g., deep brain stimulator placement, surgery for normal pressure hydrocephalous, epilepsy surgery)
- Provide a baseline of functioning to make future comparisons (e.g., identify improvement, decline, stability, or variability across time)
- Make recommendations for rehabilitation services or psychological treatment (e.g., speech or occupational therapy, counseling, etc.)
- Make school/work based recommendations regarding need for accommodations or readiness to return to work or school
- Assist with decisions regarding supervision needs
- Increase understanding of the patients current cognitive and emotional status
- Identify potential influence of psychological functioning on cognitive and physical symptoms
- Evaluation for disability, workers compensation, medical-legal
For what type of conditions can a neuropsychological evaluation be helpful?
Neuropsychological evaluations can be helpful in many different conditions when there is concern for a possible cognitive decline, when a baseline in cognitive functioning is needed, when assistance with differential diagnosis is needed, in order to rule out or in cognitive impairments, in order to identify potential psychological contribution to present symptoms, and to identify further areas of treatment. The following is a list of common conditions for which neuropsychological evaluations are requested:
- Possible memory or cognitive decline
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Head injuries (e.g., concussion, Traumatic Brain Injury)
- Dementia
- Cerebrovascular accidents (e.g., stroke, transient ischemic attack)
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Normal Pressure Hydrocephalous
- Seizure disorders
- Sleep apnea
- Anoxia, hypoxia, carbon monoxide poisoning
- Neoplasms (e.g., brain tumors)
- Infections conditions (e.g., encephalitis, meningitis, HIV, prion diseases)
- Toxic exposure
- Pre-operative evaluations (e.g., deep brain stimulator, normal pressure hydrocephalous, epilepsy)
- Other neurological & general medical conditions
Why should the evaluation be completed by a neuropsychologist instead of a general psychologist?
Neuropsychologists that meet the education and training guidelines set forth by the Houston Conference on Specialty Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology not only have training in neuropsychological test administration and interpretation, but they have specialized academic training in brain structure and function as well as clinical (internship and residency) training with neurological and general medical patients that provides an in-depth understanding of neuropsychological test results given the patients known or possible medical condition. Typically, a neuropsychologists training in neuroscience and brain related functions goes far beyond the training obtained by most clinical psychologist.
How long will the evaluation take?
Evaluations range from 4-8 hours depending on the referral question and the patients endurance. Typically, evaluations are completed in 1 day; however, in some cases evaluations may be conducted across more than one day. The evaluation involves a review of medical records, interview of the patient, administrations of tests, and in most cases discussion or results and recommendations.
What documentation will the neuropsychologist need?
We ask providers to clearly state the referral question in order to ensure that your questions are adequately addressed. Please fax (208-746-2226) a recent history and physical report and/or recent clinic note. If available, please also send neuroimaging report(s) (MRI, CT, PET, SPECT), EEG report(s), and Mini Mental State Examination results
When can I expect to receive results from the evaluation?
We strive to provide high quality, user friendly, and time efficient evaluations. In most cases, reports are sent to the referral source within 1 week (approximately) of testing completion.
What kind of information can I expect from the evaluation?
A report will be produced following the evaluation that will include background and history, test results, impressions, and recommendations. It is our goal to provide comprehensive evaluations that are concise and user friendly with recommendations that are empirically based, practical and derived directly from the patients presenting problems and evaluation findings.
Can my patients pay by insurance?
Patients can pay by cash, charge, or many insurance providers. Insurance providers may vary in their amount of reimbursement and depending on the contract; patients may be responsible for a portion of the bill not covered by the insurance carrier. Providers are asked to obtain preauthorization for the neuropsychological evaluation which includes 1 unit of 96116 (neurobehavioral status examination) and 12 units of 96118 (neuropsychological testing by a licensed psychologist).
How can I refer a patient?
To make a referral, please contact our staff at 208-746-2223. Please fax (208-746-2226) a history and physical report and/or clinic note. If available, please fax neuroimaging report(s), EEG report(s), and Mini Mental State Examination results. If services are to be billed to an insurance provider, please obtain prior authorization for 1 unit of 96116 (neurobehavioral status examination) and 12 units of 96118 (neuropsychological testing by a licensed psychologist). It is necessary to request preauthorization for the codes and units specified above even when preauthorization is not required since different insurance providers have different limits on number of units that can be billed.
Why standardized testing instead of a brief qualitative test?
Standardized tests are administered to all test takers in the same manner using the same instructions, and the same scoring criteria, which allows for direct comparison between the test takers scores and others their same age and in some cases same age, education, gender, and race. This comparison permits neuropsychologists to identify how well a patient is doing at the present time, make direct comparisons of their performance across time, and make comparison with other cognitive functions. Making such comparisons assists with monitoring recovery from an injury or illness, identifying response to treatment, identifying possible areas of brain dysfunction, and identifying factors that may be contributing to their current cognitive difficulties. Qualitative tests can be useful; however, they often do not permit quantitative comparison of the patient’s performance across examinations, the ability to identify their degree of impairment, and the ability to make comparisons to patients with and without various medical conditions.