behavioral health authorization number
bh_auth_nbrDefinition
ISO-11179 Definition
A reference number assigned by a payer or managed behavioral health organization when prior authorization is granted for a specific course of behavioral health treatment, including authorized visit counts, level of care, and date ranges. This number must appear on subsequent claims for the authorized services to be considered for payment without additional medical necessity review.
Standard Abbreviation
bh_auth_nbr
Category
Production DDL — FACT_BH_ENCOUNTER
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE FACT_BH_ENCOUNTER (
bh_enctr_key INTEGER NOT NULL -- surrogate key,
enctr_id VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL -- encounter identifier,
mbr_id VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL -- member identifier,
prvdr_npi VARCHAR(10) -- rendering provider NPI,
enctr_dt DATE NOT NULL -- encounter date,
svc_type_cd VARCHAR(20) -- service type code,
diag_cd VARCHAR(7) -- primary diagnosis code,
diag_cd_2 VARCHAR(7) -- secondary diagnosis code,
bh_cond_cd VARCHAR(20) -- behavioral health condition,
lvl_of_care_cd VARCHAR(20) -- level of care code,
session_cnt INTEGER -- session count,
auth_nbr VARCHAR(30) -- authorization number,
fac_type_cd VARCHAR(20) -- facility type code,
paid_amt DECIMAL(12,2) -- paid amount,
rec_creat_dt TIMESTAMP NOT NULL -- record created date
);
Standard Snowflake DDL for the canonical behavioral table. Convert to BigQuery or Databricks →
Why This Term Matters
Healthcare data terminology is foundational for any data engineer working in this industry. Precise understanding of standard terms enables accurate schema design, reduces downstream data quality issues, and ensures pipelines meet the regulatory and interoperability requirements imposed by HIPAA, HL7 FHIR, and CMS reporting frameworks. Without this foundation, even technically well-built pipelines produce data that fails validation when it reaches payers or regulators.
Related Content
Related Definitions
Looking for more healthcare terms?
Browse our complete library of 100,000+ standardized healthcare data terms
Browse All Terms