Tenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Death rates from suicide, drug abuse, and chronic liver diseases have increased steadily over the last 15 years. Such behavioral health problems are amenable to prevention and intervention. Because behavioral healthcare (i.e. substance abuse and mental health services) has traditionally been delivered separately from physical healthcare rather than together, the Surgeon General’s report calls for integrating the two types of healthcare. However, surveillance for behavioral health has been hindered by organizational barriers, limitations of existing data sources, and issues related to stigma and confidentiality. A future integration of both process and outcome measures is the ideal standard of quality assessment for any healthcare system, and nationwide studies have found that the quality of behavioral healthcare varies widely. Variations in quality of care have been shown to influence critical clinical outcomes: rates of remission and relapse, severity of symptoms and functioning, and patients’ quality of life. Thus, it is important to advocate integration of measurement-based quality improvement factors into healthcare delivery. The purpose of this study is to explore, at the clinician level, the provider’s role in indirect healthcare delivery looking closely at the link they play between patients and supplemental programs. This study will specifically focus on psychiatric physician and nurse practitioner roles for adult outpatient facilities using semi-structured face-to-face interview methods. The results will provide data that can be coded and used in identifying possible barriers and/or areas of success towards the integration of measurement-based quality improvement factors for behavioral healthcare delivery for county run facilities.