Transcript Slide 1
Strengthening Relationships
Between Primary Care and
Behavioral Health
Mary Jean Mork, LCSW
Neil Korsen, MD, MSc
April 17, 2009
Outline of Presentation
Who are we and where do we come
from? – Our model
The importance of team
The Culture Clash challenge
Communication
Levels of Integration
How to improve
Where are you?
Objectives
Attendees will:
1. Be able to identify their level of
integration
2. Describe steps they can take to
increase their level of integration
3. Articulate components of effective
communication for integrated
practice
Mental Health Integration in Maine
MaineHealth Members and
Affiliates
PenBay
MaineGeneral
Stephens Memorial
St. Andrew’s
St. Mary’s
Miles Memorial
Spring Harbor
Maine Medical
Center
Midcoast
SMMC
Primary Care and Mental Health
Primary Care
• Multi-site Practices •
• Hospital-owned
Practices
• Residency Practice •
• Solo Private
Practice
•
• FQHC look-alike
• Rural Health Clinics •
Mental Health
Medical Center
Outpatient
Psychiatry
Hospital-owned
Behavioral Health
Community Mental
Health Centers
Consumer Case
Management Agency
Primary Care Medical Home
Specialty
Mental
Health
Standardized
Assessment &
Risk Stratification
Support for
Behavioral
Change
Mental Health
Treatment &
Consultation
Care Management
Community Resources
e.g., NAMI
Team building
Our integrated faculty team
Medical Director – Family Physician
Program Managers
LCSW
Educator with health science background
Psychiatrists
Child
Adult
Administrative Professional
Mental Health Integration:
Team Roles
Mental Health
Specialist
Diagnose, Treat
Primary Care Provider
Support Staff
Screen, Diagnose, Treat
Care Manager
Follow up,
Family Adherence
Patient Education
Patient and Family
Psychiatrist
Or APRN
Consult, Train
NAMI
Community
Resources
Family
Support
Who needs to build relationships?
Program staff (with each other)
Program staff and participating organizations
Primary care and mental health
administrators
Primary care team, mental health provider,
care manager
The foundation of teamwork is interpersonal
relationships
Relationship building:
MHI faculty role
Get people together – learning
sessions, conference calls, site visits,
listserve
Facilitate the conversation
Listen
Provide knowledge and tools
Be encouraging
Never give up!
Relationships with Patients:
The Benefit of Integration and
Collaboration?
Patients who:
Experience their life problems as “medical”
Have not been socialized to the concept of
“emotional distress” or to the idea of
therapy
Feel blamed by a referral to Mental Health
Feel abandoned by a referral to Mental
Health
Patients dealing with behavioral or
emotional aspects of medical conditions
High risk populations
People with chronic illnesses or chronic
pain
People with a disability
Kids with school, sleep or behavior
problems
People with persistent somatic complaints
and negative medical work-up
Patients in Integrated Care compared to
Specialty Mental Health
More likely to be first mental
health contact
Less psychologically “sick”
Less likely to define themselves as
impaired
Require fewer visits
Primary Care and Mental Health:
The Culture Clash Challenge
Mental Health
Specialist in
Primary Care:
How about those
differences?
Mental Health Specialist in Primary Care:
Other Differences
Primary Care
Mental Health
Pace
15 minute appointment
50 minute sessions
Setting
An exam room
A living room
Language
Diagnosis, medical
terminology, complaints
Assessment, mental health
terminology, issues
Hierarchy
Clear – Dr. in charge
Diffuse – Administrator in
charge with med director
Flow
Flexible patient flow
Scheduled client flow
Levels of Integration
Improving Relationships at
Every Level
Levels of Integration
Level of
Integration
Attributes
Minimal
Collaboration
I
Separate site & systems
Minimal communication
Basic
Collaboration
from a distance
II
Active referral linkages
Some regular communication
Basic
Collaboration
on site
III
Shared site; separate systems
Regular communication
Collaborative
Care
partly integrated
IV
Shared site; some shared systems
Coordinated treatment plans
Regular communication
Fully Integrated
System
V
Shared site, vision, systems
Shared treatment plans
Regular team meetings
Modified from Doherty, McDaniel, and Baird - 1996
What is your level of integration?
What is keeping you from getting
to the next level?
Is there one thing you could do
soon, that would enable you to get
to the next level?
Level One:
Starting to Connect
Ask your clients about their
primary care/mental health
provider and get a release
Identify patients who could use
better coordination – contact
their providers
Contact key providers in your
area
Those treating your most complex
clients
Those treating a group of your
patients
Level Two:
Building on Basic Collaboration
Garner invitation to staff
meeting
Identify clear processes
and expectations around
communication
What should they expect
to get from you?
What do you need to hear
from them?
How can you share
information better?
Level Three:
Sharing More than Space
Set up regular times to “meet”
Clarify expectations around
communication & treatment
coordination
Begin to “share” processes, e.g.,
scheduling
Work out record-sharing
Define team relationships
Level Four:
Increase the Integration
Clarify team mission and roles
Formalize team expectations –
when to meet, what to share,
etc.
Set up streamlined processes
for communication and
treatment coordination
Develop ways to learn from
each other
Celebrate successes
Level Five:
Maintaining & Continuously
Improving
Set up formal and informal
learning opportunities
Maximize use of staff
meetings, case conferences,
huddles, and hand-offs
Always work on improving
relationships – both within
the team and the larger
community
Remember that the patient is
the focus of the work
Communication between Physician
and MHP
Information Exchange between
Providers
At any level
Confidentiality fosters splitting
Blanket information release with the goal of
enhancing collaborative care
In a Co-located – Integrated Practice
“Curbside consultations”
Behavioral health rounds
Take the clinician conversation into the
exam room
Use words that do not require a physical or
psychosocial definition of the problem
When might the MHP be useful?
Think SSRI:
Situation
Skill-set
Relationship
Indicators or outcomes
Certificate Program in Primary Care and Behavioral Health. Department of Family
Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Alexander
Blount, EdD, Director
Example
“I’d like to have my colleague, Ms. Peterson,
work with us to help you figure out ways to
reduce your stress in the evenings. She has a
great deal of experience helping parents come
up with bedtime routines. I think that if your
kids went to bed better, you would be less
stressed, and your headaches might be reduced.
What do you think?”
Successful Communication with
Primary Care
Note specific information from the
patient/client that might effect
treatment
Describe the specific indicators and
how they have changed
Share what the patient/client reports
as meaningful
Discuss how the Physician and
Mental Health Clinician can work
together on the treatment
Example
“I met with Ms. Brown and she agrees
that she gets as “wound up” as her kids
at night. We came up with some calming
bedtime activities for the whole family
and she agreed to try this for two weeks
and report back to us on whether her
headaches are reduced with her “winding
down” routines. She also agreed to take
her medication as prescribed during this
time.”
Partnership Development
Partnership development
Describe your mh/pc partnership
when you began mental health
integration – how did it feel?
Use 1-2 word descriptions
Beginning Stage - quotes
Part I
Disconnected
Skeptical
Impatient
Optimistic
Hopeful
Eager
Fortunate
Partnership development
Describe your mental health/primary
care partnership at 3-6 months how did it feel?
Use 1-2 word descriptions
Middle Stage - quotes
Matching faces to names
More comfortable
Continuing the work
Still learning
Frustrated (e.g., over credentialing)
Challenged by the details
Impressed with the accomplishments
Part II
Partnership development
Describe your mental health/primary
care partnership now (12-18
months) – how does it feel?
Use 1-2 word descriptions
Mature Stage - quotes
Comfortable
In sync
Efficient
Work is rewarding
Model is sustainable
Very excited and
impressed
Mission driven as
a team
Not yet done
Helpful to people
being served
Crucial – can’t live
without it
Fragile
Fred and Eleanor