Nuts and Bolts of ACO Financial and Operational Success
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) calls for the creation of accountable care organizations (ACOs) as a more cost-effective way of paying for healthcare. In order to succeed, ACOs will have to establish actuarial cost and utilization targets and use medical management to achieve those targets. This process of benchmarking and managing toward targets requires a delicate balance of actuarial and clinical know-how." -Provided by Milliman, Inc.
Read MoreReport Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Services and Outcomes Now Available
SBIRT Colorado has released a document summarizing the services delivered and outcomes realized from the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) project through February 2010. The document provides a number of helpful links, charts and statistics, and updates on important efforts to improve the healthcare of Coloradans by making screening for alcohol and substance use a routine practice.
Click here to visit the CBHC Library and read the SBIRT Services and Outcomes February 2010 Report.
Read MorePopular Drugs May Help Only Severe Depression
This article by Benedict Carey in the New York Times presents recent findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association discussing the effects of some widely prescribed anti-depression drugs. The study found that the effect of these drugs on mild to moderate depression may only be as effective as placebo pills.
Click here to read about the implications of the study.
Read MoreCan Accountable Care Organizations Improve the Value of Health Care by Solving the Cost and Quality Quanderies?
Kelly Devers and Robert Berenson of the Urban Institute have completed a policy brief supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examining Accountable Care Organizations in the United States. Critical questions still exist about how ACOs should be structured, but their approach to addressing coordination of care issues and improving fragmented health care delivery systems is earning the attention of policymakers.
Click here to read the complete study
Read MoreResource Center for Primary Care and Behavioral Health Collaboration Now Available Online
The National Council for Community Behavioral Health recently introduced an online Resource Center for Primary Care and Behavioral Health Collaboration at www.TheNationalCouncil.org/ResourceCenter.
The Online Resouce Center Includes:
- Resources and guidelines for working with FQHCs
- Integrated care models and screening tools
- Report on "Person-centered Healthcare Homes for Persons with Serious Mental Illness"
- National Council Magazine on behavioral health and primary care collaboration, includes best practices and stories "From the Field"
- An updated version of the National Council’s acclaimed Four Quadrant Model, a population-based planning framework for the clinical integration of health services.
Visit the Resource Center at www.TheNationalCouncil.org/ResourceCenter
Read MoreSPQM Statewide Database a CMS Promising Practice
"Outcome data in the treatment of mental health and substance use are scarce, making quality improvement difficult. This report describes how Medicaid claims data can be combined with service-level data to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of services provided in community mental health centers (CMHCs). It describes how CMHCs in three States have used a particular system, Service Process Quality Management (SPQM), to improve quality and achieve cost savings." -Edward Kako, PhD of Acumen, LLC, for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
National Council News
- Providers Demonstrate Value of Public Mental Health July 26, 2010
- Topical Index July 26, 2010
- Advocating for Behavioral Health IT July 26, 2010
- Mental Health Hit Hard By State Budget Cuts July 26, 2010
SAMHSA News
- Quick Guide for Mental Health Professionals Based on TIP 42; Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons With Co-Occurring Disorders July 28, 2010
- Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 2007 Discharges from Substance Abuse Treatment Services (S-51) July 28, 2010
- The TEDS Report July 1, 2010: Homeless Young Adult Treatment Admissions July 28, 2010
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