Category: Coordination of Care

The need to bring high-quality treatment and management of depression, anxiety, and other common behavioral health conditions into primary care has been well documented, but for small to medium-size practices the complex models that are the standard for integrating medical and behavioral care are often beyond their resources. An innovative new framework, developed with support from a UHF grant, delineates a series of steps in eight key areas, or domains, that providers can take to move toward integration, allowing them to progress at a manageable pace in each of the areas independently, rather than attempting an all-or-nothing approach.

Click here to view the framework from United Hospital Fund.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule provides consumers with important privacy rights and protections with respect to their health information,
including important controls over how their health information is used and disclosed by health plans and health care providers. Ensuring strong privacy protections is critical to maintaining individuals’ trust in their health care providers and willingness to obtain needed health care services, and these protections are especially important where very sensitive information is concerned, such as mental health information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule recognizes circumstances arise where health information may need to be shared to ensure the patient receives the best treatment and for other important purposes, such as for the health and safety of the patient or others. The Rule is carefully balanced to allow uses and disclosures of information—including mental health information—for treatment and these other purposes with appropriate protections.

Click here to access the full guide.

Questions  Is combining an internet support group (ISG) with a care manager–guided computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) program better at treating depression and anxiety than CCBT alone and better than primary care physicians’ usual care for these conditions?

Findings  Among 704 patients randomized to CCBT+ISG, CCBT alone, or their primary care physicians’ usual care, patients in the CCBT+ISG and CCBT alone cohorts reported similar improvements in mental health–related quality of life, mood, and anxiety symptoms, while patients in the CCBT alone cohort reported greater improvements in mood and anxiety than usual care.

Meaning  Providing moderated access to ISG provided no measurable benefit at treating depression and anxiety over care manager–supported CCBT; however, care manager–supported CCBT was more effective than primary care physicians’ usual care for these conditions.

Click here to access the full study from JAMA Network.