Quality Improvement in Behavioral Health


Book Description

This innovative volume presents a cogent case for quality improvement (QI) in behavioral healthcare as ethical practice, solid science, and good business. Divided between foundational concepts, key QI tools and methods, and emerging applications, it offers guidelines for raising care standards while addressing ongoing issues of treatment validity, staffing and training, costs and funding, and integration with medical systems. Expert contributors review the implications and potential of QI in diverse areas such as treatment of entrenched mental disorders, in correctional facilities, and within the professional context of the American Psychological Association. The insights, examples, and strategies featured will increase in value as behavioral health becomes more prominent in integrated care and vital to large-scale health goals. Included in the coverage: Behavioral health conditions: direct treatment costs and indirect social costs. /liliQuality improvement and clinical psychological science. · Process mapping to improve quality in behavioral health service delivery. · Checklists for quality improvement and evaluation in behavioral health. · Creating a quality improvement system for an integrated care program: the why, what, and how to measure. · Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT): improving the outcome of psychotherapy one person at a time. Quality Improvement i n Behavioral Healthcare gives health psychologists, public health professionals, and health administrators a real-world framework for maintaining quality services in a rapidly evolving health landscape.




The Behavioral Health Specialist in Primary Care


Book Description

Patients with chronic conditions often need psychosocial support and brief counseling to help them make the lifestyle and behavioral changes required to prevent disease complications. This innovative text, with contributions from respected clinicians and researchers in all arenas of behavioral health, provides comprehensive training for all health professionals including those in medicine, nursing, social work, mental health, and clinical and health psychology who desire targeted evidence-based training in Behavioral Health skills . Rich case examples drawn from typical patient presentations demonstrate the relationship between physical and psychological health and the complexity of behavior change in chronic illness. This text is a timely, relevant and practical resource for all members of the primary care team. It prepares team members to work in the model of patient-centered integrated care in accordance with the recommendations of the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) medical home standards for identifying patient needs and providing coordinated and comprehensive patient care. It focuses on knowledge and skills needed for working with the most common chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, chronic pain, cardiovascular conditions, sleep disorders, geriatric conditions, cancer-related conditions, and substance abuse. It includes chapters on epidemiological trends in chronic illness and systems medicine. Theories of health behavior and behavior change and evidence-based interventions provide a foundation for skill development, followed by detailed coverage of the requirements for behavioral management of specific chronic conditions. Sample referrals and consultation notes provide concrete examples of how the behavioral health specialist might respond to a referral. . Key Features: Provides comprehensive graduate-level training for the role of Behavioral Health Specialist Describes the health promotion and counseling skills needed to function as part of an integrated health team Focuses on proficiencies needed for working with common chronic conditions Addresses the psychosocial components of primary care disorders Includes case examples demonstrating the relationship between physical and psychological health and the complexity of behavior change in chronic illness




Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions


Book Description

Each year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second highest for all men. Effective treatments exist, but services are frequently fragmented and, as with general health care, there are barriers that prevent many from receiving these treatments as designed or at all. The consequences of this are seriousâ€"for these individuals and their families; their employers and the workforce; for the nation's economy; as well as the education, welfare, and justice systems. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions examines the distinctive characteristics of health care for mental and substance-use conditions, including payment, benefit coverage, and regulatory issues, as well as health care organization and delivery issues. This new volume in the Quality Chasm series puts forth an agenda for improving the quality of this care based on this analysis. Patients and their families, primary health care providers, specialty mental health and substance-use treatment providers, health care organizations, health plans, purchasers of group health care, and all involved in health care for mental and substanceâ€"use conditions will benefit from this guide to achieving better care.




Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care


Book Description

This timely new edition of Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care brings the reader up to speed with the changing aspects of primary care service delivery in response to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), the Triple-Aim health approach, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Drawing on research evidence and years of experience, the authors provide practical information and guidance for behavioral health care practitioners who wish to work more effectively in the fast-paced setting of primary care, and provide detailed advice for addressing common health problems such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression, weight issues, sleep problems, cardiovascular disorders, pain disorders, sexual problems, and more. New to this edition are chapters on population health and the PCMH; children, adolescents, and parenting; couples; managing suicide risk; and shared medical appointments. This paperback edition was previously published in hardcover in 2017.




Primary Care


Book Description

Ask for a definition of primary care, and you are likely to hear as many answers as there are health care professionals in your survey. Primary Care fills this gap with a detailed definition already adopted by professional organizations and praised at recent conferences. This volume makes recommendations for improving primary care, building its organization, financing, infrastructure, and knowledge baseâ€"as well as developing a way of thinking and acting for primary care clinicians. Are there enough primary care doctors? Are they merely gatekeepers? Is the traditional relationship between patient and doctor outmoded? The committee draws conclusions about these and other controversies in a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion that covers: The scope of primary care. Its philosophical underpinnings. Its value to the patient and the community. Its impact on cost, access, and quality. This volume discusses the needs of special populations, the role of the capitation method of payment, and more. Recommendations are offered for achieving a more multidisciplinary education for primary care clinicians. Research priorities are identified. Primary Care provides a forward-thinking view of primary care as it should be practiced in the new integrated health care delivery systemsâ€"important to health care clinicians and those who train and employ them, policymakers at all levels, health care managers, payers, and interested individuals.




Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services


Book Description

Approximately 4 million U.S. service members took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Shortly after troops started returning from their deployments, some active-duty service members and veterans began experiencing mental health problems. Given the stressors associated with war, it is not surprising that some service members developed such mental health conditions as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance use disorder. Subsequent epidemiologic studies conducted on military and veteran populations that served in the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq provided scientific evidence that those who fought were in fact being diagnosed with mental illnesses and experiencing mental healthâ€"related outcomesâ€"in particular, suicideâ€"at a higher rate than the general population. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn. It includes an analysis of not only the quality and capacity of mental health care services within the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also barriers faced by patients in utilizing those services.




Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders


Book Description

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.




Integrated Care


Book Description

An integrated, collaborative model for more comprehensivepatient care Creating Effective Mental and Primary Health Care Teamsprovides the practical information, skills, and clinical approachesneeded to implement an integrated collaborative care program andsupport the members of the care team as they learn this new,evidence-based, legislatively mandated care delivery system. Uniquein presenting information specifically designed to be used in anintegrated, collaborative care workflow, this book providesspecific guidance for each member of the team. Care managers,consulting psychiatrists, primary care providers, andadministrators alike can finally get on the same page in regard topatient care by referring to the same resource and employing acommon framework. Written by recognized experts with broadresearch, clinical, implementation, and training experience, thisbook provides a complete solution to the problem of fragmentedcare. Escalating costs and federal legislation expanding access tohealthcare are forcing the industry to transition to a new model ofhealth care delivery. This book provides guidance on navigating thechanges as a team to provide the best possible patient care. Integrate physical and behavioral care Use evidence-based treatments for both Exploit leading-edge technology for patient management Support each member of the collaborative care team Strong evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of a collaborativecare approach for delivering mental health care to patients in aprimary care setting. The field is rapidly growing, but fewresources are available and working models are limited. This bookprovides a roadmap for transitioning from traditional methods ofhealth care to the new integrated model. Providers ready to move tothe next level of care will find Creating Effective Mental andPrimary Health Care Teams an invaluable resource.




Behavioral Healthcare and Technology


Book Description

This book defines the state of scientific research focused on the development, experimental evaluation, and effective implementation of technology-based (web, mobile) therapeutic tools targeting behavioral health. Written by an expert interdisciplinary group of authors, Behavioral Healthcare and Technology defines the opportunity for science-based technology to transform models of behavioral healthcare.




American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines


Book Description

The aim of the American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline series is to improve patient care. Guidelines provide a comprehensive synthesis of all available information relevant to the clinical topic. Practice guidelines can be vehicles for educating psychiatrists, other medical and mental health professionals, and the general public about appropriate and inappropriate treatments. The series also will identify those areas in which critical information is lacking and in which research could be expected to improve clinical decisions. The Practice Guidelines are also designed to help those charged with overseeing the utilization and reimbursement of psychiatric services to develop more scientifically based and clinically sensitive criteria.