NC-PAL is designed to help primary care providers (PCPs) address the mental and behavioral health concerns of children, adolescents, young adults up to age 21, pregnant patients, and patients who have recently given birth.
Provider-to-provider consultation is a free service. NC-PAL will not bill you or your patients for telephone consultation. Calling NC-PAL does not establish a physician / patient relationship with an individual patient.
Behavioral Health Providers
Join our internal database for mental and behavioral health providers!
Current Programs
To access the programs, call (919) 681-2909
NC-PAL is not an emergency/crisis line. If you are in need of emergency services, please call 911 or go directly to your nearest emergency department.
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NC-PAL Child Psychiatry
Press 1 to contact the NC-PAL Child Psychiatry team for questions about children and adolescents.
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NC-PAL Perinatal Psychiatry
Press 2 to contact the NC-PAL Perinatal Psychiatry team for questions about patients who are pregnant or or patients who are up to one year postpartum. (Available through the Maternal Mental Health MATTERS program.)
Getting Enrolled
Note: You are not required to use NC-PAL once you have enrolled. However, our satisfaction surveys show that callers find NC-PAL services to be helpful and informative!
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Eligibility
Primary care providers in the state of North Carolina are invited to enroll in NC-PAL. This includes physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Practice Staff
Practice staff are welcome to call NC-PAL on behalf of primary care providers. Behavioral Health Consultants will work with practice staff to identify local mental health resources, but we request that consultations with a member of our psychiatry team be completed by the primary care provider.
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How to Enroll
Providers will be asked to sign a Provider Agreement form that outlines NC-PAL services and roles. To enroll, simply fill out the form.
The Consultation Process
A Behavioral Health Consultant will answer your phone call and determine your enrollment status.
You may enroll online or over the phone. Once your enrollment status is determined, the BHC will request information about your reason for calling and patient demographics.
1: If you are calling to identify resources, the BHC can help you find local resources and determine the appropriate types of behavioral health services that will best suit your patient’s needs.
2: If you are calling about medication management or diagnostic clarity, the BHC will page the NC-PAL mental health specialist on call. The NC-PAL specialist will call you back within 30 minutes or at a time that is convenient for you.
After Your Consultation
You will also receive a satisfaction survey via email. You are not required to complete the satisfaction survey, but this data is extremely helpful to the program and ensures that we are meeting providers’ needs.
Medical Records
We put a telephone encounter note in the patient's medical record after each NC-PAL consultation. We will forward or fax you the NC-PAL note for your own records once your consultation is complete.
Where is the note? If you are calling about a pediatric patient, the note will be in the Duke Epic system, and if you are calling about a perinatal patient, the note may be in the Duke or UNC Epic system.
What if my patient hasn't been seen at Duke or UNC? If your patient hasn't been seen at Duke or UNC, we will create a medical record for them.
More Info
Direct Patient Contact
NC-PAL does not work directly with patients or their families. Calling NC-PAL does not establish a physician / patient relationship with an individual patient. Providers who contact NC-PAL are responsible for providing direct care to their patients.
Families can benefit from NC-PAL when their primary care provider uses the program and can speak to their primary care provider about enrolling or contacting NC-PAL. More information is available on our For Families page.
Behavioral Health Providers
NC-PAL is primarily focused on serving primary care practices and their providers to address mental health in the primary care setting. Behavioral health providers may also call and enroll in NC-PAL for guidance with resource support.
If you are interested in being listed in our internal mental and behavioral health provider database please complete this short form.
Education
NC-PAL offers a range of educational opportunities for providers and practices. We offer virtual trainings and didactic lectures on a variety of behavioral health topics. For more information, check out the Resources tab!