Reimbursement Of Mental Health Services In Primary Care Settings

In 2005¿06 a study identified the barriers to, and solutions for RMHS. This study was divided into two parts. The first part is a White Paper background report which identifies the barriers to successful provision of RMHS. The second part convened a Expert Forum who reviewed the White Paper, and suggested actions to reduce those barriers. This Final Report incorporates their deliberations and addresses the following: Describes the purpose and rationale of the project; Outlines the project¿s tasks; Details findings from the White Paper; Summarizes the June 2006 Expert Forum discussion; and Provides suggested actions to the Fed. gov¿t. on steps to overcome existing or perceived barriers to RMHS. Illustrations. This is a print on demand report.

Implementing these practical and largely achievable suggestions will improve access to timely and targeted mental health services in primary care settings. Program and clinical experts agree that the early prevention and treatment of mental disorders will result in decreases in individual suffering, family burden, and medical costs. This project provided an important opportunity to review policy and service-delivery change mechanisms aimed at improving the reimbursement of mental health services in primary care settings. By using knowledge from a variety of individuals and settings and combining empirical research with qualitative interviews and the Expert Forum proceedings, this project identified areas where Federal agencies, states, provider organizations, and commissioner associations can clarify, collaborate, educate, and provide support to improve the reimbursement of and access to mental health services in primary care settings.

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.

Contributed by experts who’ve developed integrative healthcare initiatives with strengths in the areas of policy and principles, organizational systems, or clinical practice. These contributors will illustrate the concepts and describe the nuts and bolts of their integration initiatives. In the conclusion of each section, the editors will construct a template to systematically evaluate these essential elements. This template will organize the information to help stakeholders compare and contrast the strengths, resources, limitations and challenges of how each model meets the vision of integrative healthcare. In the concluding section the information in the preceding sections connects to provide a coherent synopsis of the common themes and practices, from the macro to micro levels of care, which foster successful integration of the medical and psychosocial systems.

The second edition Handbook of Psychological Assessment in Primary Care Settings offers an overview of the application of psychological screening and assessment instruments in primary care settings. This indispensable reference addresses current psychological assessment needs and practices in primary care settings to inform psychologists, behavioral health clinicians, and primary care providers the clinical benefits that can result from utilizing psychological assessment and other behavioral health care services in primary care settings.