Promoting the integration of primary and behavioral healthcare in alaska - promoting the integration of primary and behavioral health care (|pipbhca) in alaska aims to improve outcomes in the care…

Promoting the integration of primary and behavioral healthcare in alaska - promoting the integration of primary and behavioral health care (|pipbhca) in alaska aims to improve outcomes in the care of patients with mental health and substance use conditions in the primary care settings through the implementation of the collaborative care model (COCM) in alaska. This grant funding will be administered to three primary care providers/practices in alaska who will work in partnership with the state of alaska to improve the identification and treatment of mental health conditions for alaskans presenting in primary care settings with behavioral health needs. DBH will partner with providers in underserved communities or providers with a significant focus on serving populations facing health disparities. The state will work toward the following goals: goal 1: increase capacity in alaska for implementation of integrated primary care and behavioral health services using the collaborative care model. Objective 1.1- by 9/29/2025 the collaborative care model will be fully established and implemented by three primary care providers in alaska. Objective 1.2- by 09/29/29 each subrecipient primary care provider will increase the number of patients receiving behavioral healthcare services within their practice by 25% compared to their baseline established at program implementation as measured by the registry. Objective 1.3- during year 1-5 of the federally funded project division of behavioral health will coordinate two provider education opportunities for subrecipients, primary care providers and behavioral health professionals statewide to support recruitment efforts that support the collaborative care model (COCM). Goal 2: increase early detection and treatment of behavioral health symptoms in patients presenting in primary care settings. Objective 2.1-by 09/29/29 subrecipient primary care providers will provide screening utilizing the PHQ-9 screening tool through their registry to improve diagnosis, monitoring and tracking of depression symptoms and outcomes in at least 75% of presenting patients. Objective 2.2- by year five subrecipients will improve patient engagement in treatment by 25% through implementation of the collaborative care model based on appointment attendance measured in the patient registry. Objective 2.3- alaska will utilize noms responses annually to measure the individual self-rating of mental health functioning from section a-1 averaging initial, follow up, and discharge to review individual reporting of overall mental health to assess overall outcomes. The geographic region/population for this proposed project represents the full state of alaska, including both urban and rural communities. Access to healthcare is extremely challenging for much of alaska's population due to the state's expansive geography and inclement weather, high vacancy rates for primary care physicians and extremely high shortages of specialized care providers. This lack of specialized training and care within the workforce and in alaska communities creates challenges for primary care physicians to adequately screen and make referrals for alaskans presenting with or at risk for behavioral health conditions. The pipbhca partners will serve one or more of these special populations 1) adults with a serious mental illness (SMI) who have CO-occurring mental illness and physical health conditions or chronic disease; 2) children and adolescents with a serious emotional disturbance (SED) who have a CO-occurring physical health condition; 3) individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD); 4) or individuals with CO-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder (COD). The project aims to serve a total of 150 unduplicated individuals in year one, 200 in year two, 250 in year three, 300 in year four, and 350 in year five with a total of 1, 250 unduplicated individuals by end of year five.