By integrative practitioner staff
University Hospitals of Cleveland has received $1 million in funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is a nonprofit organization that funds and supports patient-centered comparative effectiveness research that provides patients and caregivers with reliable evidence to make better health care decisions. The funds will be used to expand the University Hospitals Collaborative Care model to include all 88 practices within the University of Houston Primary Care Institute. This new telehealth-based model treats individuals with complex psychiatric disorders.
“This funding gives us the opportunity to bring coordinated, timely support for mental health to the settings where patients are already receiving care,” said Mary Gabriel, MD, MA, senior director of behavioral health at the Primary Care Institute for Population Health, UH Cleveland Medical Center. In a press release. “By expanding telepsychiatry within primary care, we can reach people earlier, reduce gaps in treatment, and better support individuals with complex psychiatric conditions.”
Only one-third of people with complex mental disorders receive care from mental health professionals, and others in primary care settings do not receive adequate care. Access to mental health services remains a challenge for many people, with one of the most significant obstacles being a nationwide shortage and unequal geographic distribution of mental health professionals.
“By integrating telepsychiatry into primary care, we can reduce barriers and help more individuals living with complex conditions find a path toward stability and better health,” said Marilyn Miller, MD, MS, chief scientific officer at University of Houston Children’s and Infants. In the press release.
The model integrates mental health services into primary care by adding a behavioral health coordinator—usually a licensed mental health physician—to the existing care team. The expansion will also increase access to screening and treatment for additional conditions, including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. This initiative will focus on implementing findings from PCORI-funded comparative clinical effectiveness research that demonstrated the clinical benefits of two therapeutic approaches delivering telehealth for adults diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar disorder.
