The Sandbox & Vitality

Mindler UK has been working with Vitality since March 2023 offering access to talking therapy sessions to their members using private health insurance as part of the Adult Mental Health Service. 

From Monday 3rd March 2025, we will be offering our services to Vitality members aged 5 to 17 via The Sandbox      

It has been a very quick turnaround and less than three weeks since we were asked to consider offering our services to members who are under 18. Currently they are working with Nuffield Health who have exited as a partner with Vitality offering mental health services to their members, so we have seen a rise in referrals in our Adult Mental Health Services with Mindler Care and are now able to launch The Sandbox with Vitality for children and young people. 

There is no difference to the service being offered in terms of clinical care, but there are considerations you need to make and some processes to be followed because we are dealing with patients whose access to our service is through their private health insurance

Please use this section to find out all you need to know about working with Vitality clients 

Client Operations Manager - Clare Glascott

Clinical Lead - Boyana Ivanovich

If you have worked in a private setting, you will likely know all about Healthcode and the Private Practice Register

Healthcode is the central system used by all private insurance companies in the UK to submit invoices for completed sessions or treatment carried out by private hosptials, clinics and practitioners. Mindler UK is set up and so once you've completed a session with a Vitality client, we will submit the invoice to Vitality to process against their claim 

All we need from you is to register on the Private Practice Register so that Vitality know you work at Mindler UK and are registered to work with their members 

What is PPR?

The Private Practice Register avoids duplication for practitioners as they only need to update information in one central location, which is also accessed by the Private Medical Insurers and Hospital Providers they work with.  As and when we work with other insurance companies then no further action is needed and Mindler UK will be able to submit invoices for completed sessions with their members, as well 

What do you need to do? 

If you already have a Healthcode account then you will just need to add Vitality to your list of recognised insurers

If you need to create a new account, please follow the instructions below. This is just to add you to the PPR so that you are a recognised psychologist for Vitality who is able to work with their clients. All invoices will be submitted and paid to Mindler (address and bank details below) with the indemnity cover provided to Mindler employees

All you need to do is register so that you are a recognised provider working with Vitality clients on the Mindler platform 

To Register: 

Go to https://www.healthcode.co.uk/the-ppr/

Scroll down to find the heading “Health professionals” 

Click ‘Register now’ 

Complete the registration form

For help with the registration form or if you have any questions, please contact PPR's Customer Services on 0330 900 4900

Please have the following information to hand before you start completing the form. 

• Where applicable details about your current NHS post 

• Practitioners who gained their experience within the military may submit their ASV/AB certification

• Your speciality and the procedures/ treatment you carry out

• Details of any qualifications you have obtained

• Details of any certificates you have achieved including a scanned copy of the certificate

• Mindler’s bank details for receiving insurer payments (see below)

• Mindler’s address for billing and correspondence

• Indemnity Policy Cover

As part of your application, you are required to upload a scanned copy of the following documents:

• NHS reference 

• Any professional certificates you have obtained

• Professional Indemnity 

Notes: 

• Any files you wish to upload must either be in PDF, PNG, JPEG or GIF format and must not exceed 5MB. 

Contact information: 

Please use your own Mindler email address for contact and to verify your account

Please use the following contact information for both billing and correspondence when creating your account with the PPR/Healthcode: 

Mindler UK

24 Old Queen Street

London

SW1H 9HP

Billing information: 

Bank name: Revolut

Account name: Mindler UK 

Sort code: 04-00-75 

Account number: 42691214

Patients will contact Vitality directly to make a telephony claim to access talking therapy sessions with The  Sandbox. They will speak to their dedicated Specialised Care team who will process their claim and provide the client with a one time passcode which will then add when linking their Vitality policy when creating their Sandbox account  

The client will be under 18 and will have their own policy with Vitality, as part of their parent/carer's main policy. The patient will use their own membership no and DOB to validate their policy and link it to their Mindler Sandbox account so that we can submit invoices once the session is completed

Vitality share a csv file with Mindler of all active policies which is updated every 24 hours. This allows their policy details to be 

validated at the point of registration and allows Mindler Sandbox to have visibility of their policy status to ensure ongoing sessions are also covered

Sessions are only available whilst the client's policy is active. If their policy cover ends or they exceed their benefit level, any approved sessions will no longer be available. The client can continue with their treatment on a self-funding basis 

Once the patient has made their claim, they will receive an email from Vitality to confirm the claim has been opened with a one time passcode and a link to the landing page that has been specially created for Vitality members to join The Sandbox. 

The patient will log into The Sandbox landing page and add in their membership no and DOB so that this can be validated against the csv file shared with Mindler of all active policies. They will then be prompted to add the one time passcode. The patient will be a named policyholder with Vitality, so they will add in their own details here so that we can submit invoices for their claim. 

The patient will then submit their therapeutic needs, as usual 

The patient will then add in their parent/guardian’s details for emergency contact and for the billing team to send invoices where there is client liability

Sessions are only available to be booked using Vitality as the payment method when the policy is active. The daily csv file shared by Vitality with Mindler is updated every 24 hours and shows when a policy is active. If the policy status changes and the patient is no longer covered then sessions will no longer be available using Vitality and the client would need to self-fund instead. We will offer Vitality clients a 10% discount off the self-funding price of sessions once their cover ends.

There are three types of policies a Vitality member can have:

• Core Policy - clients are approved to have up to 8 sessions per policy year

• Mental Health Policy - clients are approved to have up to 8 sessions per policy year, but if there is a clinical need for further sessions clinicians can submit a request for approval 

• Everyday Care Health Policy - clients are approved to have up to 8 sessions per policy year and will pay £7 at the time of booking in contribution to their claim 

Mindler does not have visibilty of a client's excess or policy type at the point of registration

As you know, we have always operated with the exclusion criteria shared by Vitality which stipulated that they do not cover direct treatment for conditions including anger management, sleep disorders, psychosexual treatment or drug or alcohol abuse. 

This has now changed! 

All Vitality members can access talking therapy sessions using their policy. Their acceptance terms and any specific medical conditions listed in the "Exclusions - what's not covered" on pages 30-33 of their personal policy terms documents DO NOT APPLY TO THIS BENEFIT.  he remaining plan exclusions do apply and they will not cover treatment that is not helping to improve the condition or is only serving to control the symptoms.  Clients can find out more in their Member Zone account or Care Hub in the Vitality portal

What does this mean?

If a client presents to you with any conditions that were previously in the exclusion list , you will be able to treat them at Mindler. Of course, our own exclusion criteria may apply and Mindler as a Digital Health Platform may not always be a suitable service, so taht would always take priority. 

Treatment Plans and Requests for 17+ sessions

Please be mindful that the client will be able to access up to 8 sessions as parr of the general exclusion criteria. If there is a clinical need for further sessions, these can be submitted via the Treatment Plan for a new total of 5-8 sessions and 9-16 sessions with a more indepth report submitted for 17+ sessions. Although clients are able to access sessions for previously excluded conditions, we can only offer sessions with a view to improving their condition and not for controlling symptoms or managing it. 

Once the session is completed, the billing team will submit the invoice via Healthcode. This is the system used by all the main insurance companies in the UK as a centralised system for private hospitals, clinics and practitioners. Mindler UK has their own account with Healthcode, so will submit the invoices for completed sessions and manage all accounts. 

All clinicians who work with Vitality clients need to be registered with Healthcode, so if you don’t already have an account with them please look to register on the Private Practice Register - insert link here to Mindlink 

We can only invoice Vitality for completed sessions they attend, so if a patient misses a session, cancels within 24 hours or a session is incomplete they may be liable to pay the session fee. However, we recognise the patient is under 18 and so each case will be dealt with on an individual basis.

Although Vitality may approve access to talking therapy sessions, the client will be liable to pay in contribution to their claim if they have an excess on their policy. The Sandbox will submit the invoice once the session is completed and Vitality will return the remittance advising who is liable to pay. The patient will also receive a statement in their Memberzone on the Vitality app with details of the completed session and who is liable to cover. Most clients with a Core policy and Mental Health policy have an excess on their account which can range from £100 to £500, but typically it is around £250. 

Mindler does not have visibility of the client’s policy terms or excess amount, as that can vary depending on their benefit level or any other claims they may have made with Vitality. Although we collect the details of the Vitality member who is under 18, invoices will be liable to be paid by the main policyholder.

We do not send the client one invoice to pay the total amount of excess they have on their policy, as we invoice after each individual session so the client will be liable to pay the session fee in full or part payment until the excess has been paid depending on how many sessions they have. 

Mindler submits the invoice following the completed session and Vitality returns a remittance with details of who is liable to pay. If the client has an excess they will be required to pay in contribution to their claim. The full amount is not paid in one go, but per session. For example, if the client has an excess of £150 they will be sent an invoice to pay £75 for the first session and £75 to pay for the following session with Vitality to then cover the remaining sessions as part of their standard cover.

The Medical Billing Team will send the invoice to the main policyholder via email with details of the session and a link to pay by credit/debit card. If the client does not pay the invoice by the due date then a follow up invoice is sent and if payment has still not been received then a third and final invoice is sent along with a direct email to ask for payment to be made. 

If payment is not made, this invoice will move to “bad debt” The Medical Billing Team will contact the clinician to advise if the client has outstanding invoices that are being managed as part of the credit control process, as further sessions may be limited and not made available as part of the patient’s ongoing treatment

We are very conscious that this service is for under 18s and we will do all we can to ensure that any disruption to their treatment is minimised, so again we will work on an individual basis to ensure that this is treated sensitively and appropriately.

Although Vitality may approve sessions, the client will be liable to pay in contribution to their claim. Clients will have set a fixed excess on their policy with Vitality to pay per claim or per policy year. This is typically £100, £150, £250 or £500. Mindler submits an invoice to Vitality once the session is completed and they return a remittance advising who is liable to pay for the sesion. The client will also receive a statement in their Member Zone account on the Vitality app for all completed sessions we have invoiced Vitality for.

If the client has an excess to pay, Vitality will return the remittance advising the client is liable to pay in contribution to their claim. Mindler will send the client an invoice to pay via Stripe using a credit or debit card. Once the client has paid their full excess, any further sessions will be covered by Vitality for that course of treatment.

If the client's policy renews during the course of treatment, they may be liable to pay the excess again for the new policy year.

If the client's policy changes and their benefit level expires, the client may be liable to pay for their treatment due to cover eligibility. 

If the client fails to pay outstanding invoices, Mindler may not allow any further sessions to be booked until the outstanding invoices are paid in full. The Medical Billing team will inform therapists if clients are not able to book sessions in this scenario.

All patients are approved to have 4 sessions when they register with The Sandbox. Vitality updated their claims process in September 2024 to put the focus on the clinical need of the patient and not the policy type or how many sessions their policy may or may not allow. 

If you feel the patient needs more than 4 sessions then you will complete a Treatment Plan which will be sent to Vitality to review and update the client’s claim.

Vitality members are only eligible for sessions that take place whilst their policy is active. Any sessions scheduled to take place after the policy expires will be cancelled and can be re-booked by the client on a self-funding basis if they wish to continue with therapy. Mindler can only invoice Vitality for completed sessions that are attended by their clients and take place during the active policy year. 

Mindler only works with Vitality, so if the client moves to another insurance company they would need to pay for the session up front as a self-funding client (current price: £105 for 50 minutes) and then send the receipt to be reimbursed. Mindler UK does not invoice any other insurance companies. 

All sessions booked using Vitality insurance will be for 50 minutes. However, we appreciate that sometimes children and young people would benefit from shorter sessions, so there is the option to split this and offer 2 x 25 minute sessions as well. The Medical Billing Team will sort out the invoices for those sessions. 

Sessions can only be booked when the client has available sessions to use. To help avoid sessions having to be cancelled, we ask that you submit requests for further sessions in time so the client's account can be updated to allow further bookings to be made. 

A Vitality client is eligible for a 10% discount off the self-funding session price once their Vitality cover ends

If a client is approved to have 8 sessions per policy year then this can be 8 x 50 minutes or 16 x 25 minures which is also applicable if further sessions are approved depending on the clinical need and their policy type. 

All sessions booked using Vitality insurance will be for 50 minutes. However, we appreciate that sometimes children and young people would benefit from shorter sessions, so there is the option to split this and offer 2 x 25 minute sessions as well. The Medical Billing Team will sort out the invoices for those sessions. 

Sessions can only be booked when the client has available sessions to use. To help avoid sessions having to be cancelled, we ask that you submit requests for further sessions in time so the client's account can be updated to allow further bookings to be made. 

A Vitality client is eligible for a 10% discount off the self-funding session price once their Vitality cover ends

If a client is approved to have 8 sessions per policy year then this can be 8 x 50 minutes or 16 x 25 minures which is also applicable if further sessions are approved depending on the clinical need and their policy type. 

All inital bookings will be made by the care coordination team. The initial assessment will be 50 minutes and bookings thereafter can be 25 minutes or 50 minutes. 

All ongoing bookings will be added by the therapist, as usual

Please ensure that bookings only added to your schedule when the client has Vitality sessions available 

A Vitality client is approved to have 4 x 50 minute (or 8 x 25 minute) sessions when they register. If you feel there is a clinical need for further sessions then this needs to be submitted to Vitality to update their claim

Mindler UK has assumed authority to determine if there is a clinical need for further sessions, so the report completed is reviewed by the Clinical Lead then the details sent to Vitality in the Daily Authorisation Report (DAR) so they can update the client's claim. Vitality then return the DAR to the care coordination team at The Sandbox who will update the client's account for the updated total of sessions. Please allow a minimum of five working days for the DAR to be processed and the client's account updated to the new total number of sessions approved. 

Please note when we request sessions from Vitality, we are referring to 50 minute sessions

Treatment Request No 1 for a new total of 5-8 sessions  (Please send once you have completed session 1 or 2)

• This is very brief where you have recognised that more than 4 sessions is required to complete treatment 

• The following information is required to be submitted to Vitality: 

  • Diagnosis eg stress, anxiety

  • No of recommended sessions: the first request can be submitted for a new total of 5-8 sessions, as that corresponds with how Vitality policies work, but if you feel more than 8 sessions is required then add this in here

  • First Symptom Date - when did the client first start to experience any symptoms? This will help you (and Vitality) detemine if this is a chronic condition or is an issue that can be addressed with a course of treatment 

  • Clinical Rationale - a brief summary of what the sessions will focus on and the desired outcome for the client .Are further sessions likely to be needed eg 9-16?

Treatment Request No 2 for a new total of 9-16 sessions (Please send once you have completed session 5 or 6)

• As above - diagnosis, no of recommended sessions, first symptom date, clinical rationale plus

• Chronic -  based on previous history would this condition be deemed chronic?

• Outcome Measure scores  to indicate level of caseness for the client and the clinician’s treatment plan 

• Summary - any other information you think is appropriate to share in addition to the clinical rationale as part of this client’s treatment plan 

Notes: 

• This information will be sent to Vitality by the care coordination team to update the client's claim. They will then return it to Mindler and if approved, the client's account will be updated with the new number of sessions. If the sessions are approved due to a change in the client's policy cover or status, for example then the care coordination team will send you an email to let you know. 

• We recommend that you send requests for further sessions when you have sessions available, so if it isn't approved the client has a couple of sessions left for you to wrap up their treatment 

General Guidelines: 

• Any information shared on the treatment request should be anonymous and should not make reference to third parties. 

• Clinicians should use “the client” or “the patient” and not the patient's name or initials. 

• Clinicians should not name a patient's family members or friends in the treatment plans. 

• Information should be kept to a need to know basis and adhere to GDPR policy. 

• Share only the information that is relevant to the treatment plan, no more, no less.

• The aim of submitting treatment plans is for Vitality to understand what sessions are being used for as they would with any other healthcare visit. 

• Ensure that the client is aware of what information will be shared and how it will be shared and that they have given their verbal consent. 

• Ensure that you are not requesting sessions for presenting issues that are within Vitality’s exclusion criteria as these may not be approved. These include:

  • Anger management 

  • Learning behavioural or developmental  conditions such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia etc. 

  • Treatment of chronic conditions including  monitoring or management. 

  • Sleep disorders 

  • Drug or alcohol abuse 

  • Psychosexual treatment 

  • Phobias (Vitality will support if they impact day to day life such as Emetophobia which leads to  an eating disorder

 If you need to make a further request where 17 sessions or more are required, then a more detailed request will need to be submitted to Vitality to review. Please advise how many more sessions in total you feel the client will need to complete their treatment.

Please complete the template provided below

Additional session request instructions and template

Please allow a minimum of five working days for the request to be processed by Vitality. The care coordination team will let you know once they have received a response and let you know if the request was approved or rejected.

Given that a therapist would likely need to know if they are able to treat a client presenting with trauma or OCD, Vitality have agreed to a workaround to bypass the Treatment Request Plan process to allow therapists to know from the initial assessment phase if the cilent is covered for the number of sessions required.

Please complete the Treatment Plan Request No 1, as usual and the care coordination team will send it directly to the Mental Health Team to review with details of how many sessions in total you require in order to complete their treatment

If the client has a Core Policy or Everday Care Health Plan, they will only be approved to have up to 8 x 50 minute sessions per policy year and so if this is not approved then the therapist will be able to treat any other presenting issues that may help the client or arrange for a referral to a more appropriate service 

Clients can reschedule a session up to 24 hours before the session start time. However, all requests will be considered on an individual basis and a reschedule request can be accepted within 24 hours subject to availabiity. 

Clients can cancel their sessions up to 24 hours before the session start time free of charge. We can only invoice Vitality for completed sessions the client attends, so if a client cancels within 24 hours, misses a session or does not complete a session they may be liable to pay the session fee. With The Sandbox, we are conscious that we are dealing with under 18s and so we will likely operate a three strike rule where clients are not liable to pay the session fee if they miss, cancel or do not complete three sessions. Any instances after that may result in them being sent an invoice to pay the session fee. 

All communication with Vitality will be carried out by the care coordination team. Any escalations will be dealt with by the Operations Manager Clare Glascott and/or Clinical Lead Boyana Ivanovich. 

To ensure that there is a centralised record of all contact, please ensure that you provide all relevant information to the relevant parties who will send on any requests for further sessions, referrals, risk notifications or queries to Vitality on your behalf

Clients can cancel or reschedule their session up to 24 hours before the session start time. We can only invoice Vitality for completed sessions that the client attends, so if they don't show for the session or cancel within 24 hours then the session is refunded to be used for another time. Sessions cannot be deducted in lieu of a no show or late cancellation invoice.

Vitality wants to know when a customer is not deemed suitable for Mindler. If at any point during assessment or treatment it is decided a Vitality customer is not suitable for further Mindler intervention, the Vitality Mental Health Team is to be informed.

Please submit an update via Juvonno:

• A brief description of what you have already done (e.g. assessment)

• Why the patient is not suitable for Mindler

• If you have any suggestions/ requests for a more suitable intervention to be arranged by Vitality

The timeframe for passing on this information is set as:

• Within 24 hours if the patient’s need is complex/risky

• Within 48 hours for less immediate concerns

The care coordination team will send the update to the Vitality Mental Health Team, so they can update the client's account and reach out them, where appropriate to discuss other options 

Member details can be passed back to Vitality for referral into IPRS for potential face-to-face therapy sessions or they can signpost to NHS or other appropriate services

If you have a client who needs to be referred back to Vitality for access to other services, please add a referral note to the client’s account in Juvonno

• Enter the User ID 

• Recipient - Mental Health Team, Vitality

• Write in your referral request:

• A brief description of what you have already done (e.g. assessment)

• Why another service is more suitable

• What other service/intervention would be more suitable

The timeframe for passing on this information is set as:

• Within 24 hours if the patient’s need is complex/risky

• Within 48 hours for less immediate concerns

The care coordination team will add in the client’s membership number and DOB then send it to Specialised Care Team in Vitality on your behalf

For prompt attention, please send a message in slack (sandbox therapists channel) with the user ID to advise that you have added a referral to be sent to Vitality 

NB: Please do not use any email addresses to contact Vitality directly, as that is not the process at Mindler 

No, this isnt a requirement

This will not be ready for go live with Mindler Sandbox, but we will work on developing one to reflect the process followed in the AMHS.

Clinicians will identify/log against categories for vulnerable customers to understand if any further action is required eg ADHD,

socioeconomic factors and will act accordingly eg adapt therapy approach. There is currently no reporting to Vitailty of vulnerable customers on an individual level due to consent restrictions

This will not be ready for go live with Mindler Sandbox, but we will work on developing one to reflect the process followed in the AMHS.