TiPS Program starts Spring 2025

Penn State Health’s Perinatal Telephonic Psychiatric Services program will launch in spring 2025. Until then, our team of expert reproductive psychiatrists and addiction medicine physicians is offering free educational lectures at your practice. Topics include co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression and suicide risk assessment, among others. For more information, call 717-531-1130.
 

About our program

Penn State Health Psychiatry and Behavioral Health offers remote guidance through the Perinatal Behavioral Health Consultation and Access Program (Perinatal TiPS) to providers who treat the perinatal population in Pennsylvania’s Northeastern and Lehigh/Capital regions. Our team of reproductive psychiatrists and addiction medicine physicians provides perinatal telephonic psychiatric services (behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) consultation) to obstetrics, family medicine, psychiatric, pediatric and other community health care providers. These services help when managing patients with perinatal depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, SUDs, etc.

Services Provided

1. Telephonic consultation - Our program offers payor blind provider-to-provider telephonic consultation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a 30-minute response time. We also have an addiction medicine specialist with perinatal experience available for consultations focused on SUD or medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). For patients who require psychiatric evaluation, we offer both telemedicine and in-person consultations with a reproductive psychiatrist or addiction medicine expert. Our focus is improving access to behavioral health treatment during the perinatal period, especially for patients with complex mental health conditions and SUDs.
2. Care coordination - We help patients connect with providers in their local community for ongoing care and support. Care coordinators keep the referring health care provider or other practice personnel informed of the referral status and the outcome of the follow-up efforts so the referring provider can ensure their patients are receiving the care they need.
3. Therapy - We offer short-term or bridge therapy sessions to perinatal patients to assist with emotional well-being, coping strategies and supportive reassurance while they are connected to therapy services in the community.
4. Educational Lectures - We provide educational lecture training to providers and professionals in the perinatal field. Potential topics include postpartum depression/peripartum mood and anxiety disorders, screening and treatment of bipolar disorder, management of insomnia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in pregnancy, perinatal SUD, and treating co-occurring psychiatric diagnosis for perinatal patients with SUD.

What to expect

• The MD Network operator will briefly speak with you and request your name and the name of your practice. If the referral is related to a specific patient, we will ask for basic demographic information (name, date of birth, insurance type, etc.). You will then immediately be connected to a Perinatal TiPS clinical coordinator.
• The Perinatal TiPS clinical coordinator will assess the referral and discuss what options are available to assist you, including speaking with one of our psychiatrists.
• If you choose to speak with a psychiatrist, they can help identify the best resource to address the current concern. They can also provide direct guidance on the assessment and management of a wide array of behavioral health issues. Our psychiatrists are available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday or you can schedule a callback at the time most convenient for you.

Treatment of mental health and substance use disorders in the perinatal population resources

• Management of Peripartum Depression (PDF)
• Screening and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder (PDF)
• Do’s and Don’ts in Pregnancy and Postpartum (PDF)
• Management of Insomnia in Pregnancy (PDF)
• ADHD in Pregnancy and Postpartum (PDF)
• Treatment of Comorbid Mental Health and SUD Conditions During Pregnancy (PDF)
• Zuranolone for Postpartum Depression (PDF)
• Suicide Risk Assessment (PDF)
• Postpartum Psychosis (PDF)

Families should not change any medication based on these presentations. Talk to your provider if you have questions.

*The information presented on this website is for general use only and is not intended to provide personal advice or substitute for the advice of a qualified professional.