MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH PROGRAM IN MANAGED CARE

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DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract): As organized systems of care move towards becoming the predominant form of health delivery system in the U.S., managed care organizations are attempting to measure and improve health outcomes per unit cost ("value"). This agenda, characteristic of today's managed care organization, is due in large part to the demands of the marketplace which expects reorganization of the health care system in order to maximize benefit at the lowest possible cost. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) proposes to develop a research infrastructure building program (RISP) of mental health services and clinical research in the context of managed care which complements and extends an existing and highly developed process of clinical quality management and improvement cycles. The proposed work will accelerate and facilitate a continuously emerging mental health infrastructure within this large health maintenance organization. It is likely that processes of skill-building and formation of multidisciplinary research groups "invented" or developed at HPHC will be applicable to other managed care organizations. Specific aims of the proposed RISP are to develop multidisciplinary groups of mental health researchers that will: (1) study the organization, process and outcomes of care for mental illness in primary care. This group will be represented by core individuals from within the different divisions of HPHC, researchers from academic organizations with a solid track record in mental health research and educational training, and representatives from the public sector who are increasingly important actors in defining and evaluating mental health care for their clients; (2) explore mechanisms to link primary care providers to mental health specialists in order to improve access to and outcomes of care for common and expensive mental illnesses such as depression with or without substance abuse; (3) examine experiments in the re-organization of mental health care delivery within staff and medical groups components of HPHC to improve patient and provider satisfaction and care ("hybrid models"); (4) examine patient factors associated with access and particularly patient-directed interventions aimed at facilitating entry into traditional health and mental health programs, (5) and, finally to study the special needs of publicly-insured members, especially Medicaid populations which are characterized by disproportionately high levels of serious and chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia and major affective disorders.