Front Desk & Intake Quick Reference

Last updated: April 9, 2026

What Your Front Desk Needs to Know. See the full resource:

Benefit Verification Success: Front Desk/Intake Guide

1. Confirm Demographics

Verify the patient's legal name, date of birth, and current address. These must match the insurance database exactly — any mismatch will cause Prior Authorization denials for TMS and Spravato.

2. Insurance Card on File

Confirm the front and back of the insurance card are on file. The back is critical — mental health benefits are often managed by a separate Behavioral Health Carve-Out company, and their authorization phone number and claims address are only printed on the back.

For digital-only cards, have the patient screenshot both sides from their insurance app and upload securely.

3. Secondary Coverage

Ask every patient if they have additional coverage through a spouse, parent, employer, or state program.

  • If the patient has Medicare: Ask if they have a Medicare Advantage plan — it's a completely different payer and your provider may not be credentialed with it.

  • If the patient has Medicaid: Ask if they have any other insurance, since Medicaid must always be billed last.

4. Spravato Patients

Spravato may be covered under a separate Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM). Always ask if the patient has a separate Pharmacy (Rx) card, and if so, capture both sides.

5. Dependent Patients

If the patient is on someone else's plan, you must capture the primary subscriber's:

  • Full legal name

  • Date of birth

  • Mailing address

  • Relationship to the patient

6. Coordination of Benefits

If multiple plans exist, confirm the billing order:

  1. Subscriber's own plan pays before a dependent plan.

  2. Commercial insurance always pays before Medicaid.

  3. Traditional Medicare pays before Medicaid.

Advise the patient to call member services on each card to confirm their COB is up to date.

Intake Checklist — Confirm for Every Patient

☐ Front AND back of insurance card confirmed on file

☐ Back of card checked for a Behavioral Health Carve-Out

☐ Patient asked about secondary coverage

☐ If a dependent — subscriber name, DOB, and address captured

☐ If receiving Spravato — Pharmacy (Rx) card requested