Biography
Biography: April Dobroth
Abstract
Access to mental health services in the United States is severely limited1. The integration of mental health services into the primary care setting is in close alignment with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) triple aim to increase patient satisfaction and access to care, improved health of communities, and decrease per capita costs of care2. The purpose of this project was to examine the efficacy of a model of care that fully integrated mental health services into the primary care milieu. Efficacy of this model of care was examined using the IHI triple aim2. Patient satisfaction was measured utilizing the CollaboRATE tool with positive ratings ranging from 9.86-9.91/maximum 10.03. Improved population health was measured by the number of calls received and handled by the mental health crisis team. Reduction in the per capita cost of care was analyzed by comparing the number of crisis calls handled through the integrated model of care to local emergency room visits involving a mental health diagnosis. Over the course of the study, 44 crisis calls were diverted from the local emergency room through the program. The average cost of an emergency room visit for patients with a psychiatric diagnosis in Montezuma County Colorado was found to be $14,863 per visit. A cost savings of $653,972 for the 44 visits handled through the integrated model of care was realized4. Further studies are needed to effectively evaluate the integrated model of care over a period of several years and in a variety of clinical settings.