When reaching out to mental health and substance use disorder programs in your area:

• Know the population(s) they serve and adapt the outreach/presentation accordingly.

• Offer basic education about bleeding disorders, including treatment options (e.g., prophylaxis vs. on-demand; infusion vs. injection). This can help dispel concerns that patients with bleeding disorders are too medically complex to be managed.

• Ask whether they accept patients who use infusion or injection medication. Some facilities have exclusion criteria that prevents access for people who require these types of medications. Clarifying this in advance helps avoid denials later.

• Learn about their insurance contracts. Understanding which payors each facility works with ensures you can match patients to appropriate programs.

Educational meetings with behavioral health facilities.

Many facilities will only give you 30 minutes so the presentation needs to be clear, concise, and leave lots of time for questions. Here are slides that BD SUMHAC has successfully used to educate behavioral health facility staff. They contain suggested talking points in the speakers’ notes section of each slide.

Here is a script for a introductory phone call to request an educational meeting with a facility.

“Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I’m [your title/role] at [treatment center/organization]. I work with patients who have bleeding disorders and often support their behavioral health needs.

I’m reaching out because patients with bleeding disorders are sometimes denied admission to behavioral health facilities, even though their conditions are stable, well-managed, and safe to support in this setting. With a clear treatment plan, these patients typically require little additional support from facility staff.

I’d like to set up a short meeting with someone at your facility to provide a little information about bleeding disorders and answer any questions that you might have. 

Who would be the best person to speak with about this? 

Would you be open to scheduling a brief meeting in the next few weeks—either at your facility or virtually, whichever is easiest for you?

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to working together.”

Send the following to the facility:

• Educational one-pager for behavioral health facilities: This informative document provides resources and information for managing BD in a facility environment.

• Request to Connect: Supporting Patients with Bleeding Disorders in Behavioral Health Settings: Personalize this draft email to request an educational meeting with a behavioral health facility. The goal of this outreach is to introduce yourself, share basic information about bleeding disorders, and begin building a relationship that can help reduce barriers to future admissions.