Ask for a definition of primary care, and you are likely to hear as many answers as there are health care professionals in your survey. Primary Care fills this gap with a detailed definition already adopted by professional organizations and praised at recent conferences. This volume makes recommendations for improving primary care, building its organization, financing, infrastructure, and knowledge baseâ€"as well as developing a way of thinking and acting for primary care clinicians. Are there enough primary care doctors? Are they merely gatekeepers? Is the traditional relationship between patient and doctor outmoded? The committee draws conclusions about these and other controversies in a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion that covers: The scope of primary care. Its philosophical underpinnings. Its value to the patient and the community. Its impact on cost, access, and quality. This volume discusses the needs of special populations, the role of the capitation method of payment, and more. Recommendations are offered for achieving a more multidisciplinary education for primary care clinicians. Research priorities are identified. Primary Care provides a forward-thinking view of primary care as it should be practiced in the new integrated health care delivery systemsâ€"important to health care clinicians and those who train and employ them, policymakers at all levels, health care managers, payers, and interested individuals.

Bringing together treatment and referral advice from existing guidelines, this text aims to improve access to services and recognition of common mental health disorders in adults and provide advice on the principles that need to be adopted to develop appropriate referral and local care pathways.

"A helpful primer on collaboration for a wide range of therapists who are considering working closely with primary care physicians. This practical book will help!"--William J. Doherty, PhD, Dept. of Family and Social Sciences, University of Minnesota This book provides detailed, concrete, and practical information on successful collaborations between physicians and mental health service providers. The authors draw on their experience in working with physicians on referrals in a variety of clinical settings and specialties. Mental health professionals will find important basic skills such as how to present their credentials to medical providers; negotiate through the referral process; follow through after a referral; and report back to physicians on cases. Here is a guidebook for clinical psychologists, family therapists, social workers, and others who want to establish more effective collaborations with medical colleagues.

Integrated Care in Psychiatry: Redefining the Role of Mental Health Professionals in the Medical Setting is a landmark title in the field, offering a clear, detailed, and cohesive call by leading experts for coordinated care for patients with concurrent psychiatric and medical conditions. The renowned editors and authors argue that what is slowly occurring, and greatly needed at a faster pace, is nothing less than a sea change in the way that psychiatric care will be delivered. The current, mostly segregated, medical and psychiatric model of care has led to the development of competing medical and psychiatric subcultures that have resulted in a lack of dialog among health providers, administrators, and payers – and thus in less than optimal patient outcomes. To remedy this problem, the book offers a practical, insightful road map to achieving the central tenet of health reform – truly coordinated, patient-centered care where the care experience for the patient, the medical care itself, and the cost outcomes improve as the system changes from fee-for-service to population-based health. An invaluable reference for all clinicians, policy makers, payers, administrators, and others interested in the debate surrounding healthcare systems, Integrated Care in Psychiatry: Redefining the Role of Mental Health Professionals in the Medical Setting is a major contribution to the literature and a gold standard resource.

Each year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second highest for all men. Effective treatments exist, but services are frequently fragmented and, as with general health care, there are barriers that prevent many from receiving these treatments as designed or at all. The consequences of this are seriousâ€"for these individuals and their families; their employers and the workforce; for the nation's economy; as well as the education, welfare, and justice systems. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions examines the distinctive characteristics of health care for mental and substance-use conditions, including payment, benefit coverage, and regulatory issues, as well as health care organization and delivery issues. This new volume in the Quality Chasm series puts forth an agenda for improving the quality of this care based on this analysis. Patients and their families, primary health care providers, specialty mental health and substance-use treatment providers, health care organizations, health plans, purchasers of group health care, and all involved in health care for mental and substanceâ€"use conditions will benefit from this guide to achieving better care.

What to do when treatment becomes trauma Of increasing concern to all health professionals is the mental and emotional trauma that can result from adverse medical experiences ranging from life-threatening events to even routine medical procedures. This groundbreaking book is the first to conceptualize the psychological aspects of medical trauma and provide mental health and health care professionals with models they can use to intervene when treatment becomes trauma. The book delivers systems-level strategies for supporting patients and their families who experience distress in the medical setting or as a result of life-threatening or life-altering diagnoses and procedures. Reflecting the growing trend toward interprofessional practice and training in health care and initiatives toward patient-centered care, the book also describes models that promote the seamless integration of mental health professionals into the health care team. The book reflects the PPACA mandate to integrate mental health services into health care in order to both ensure the psychological and emotional well-being of patients and to provide support and guidance to health care professionals. Using an inclusive model of medical trauma, the book examines the effects and complexity of the trauma experience within the medical setting; addresses patient, medical staff, and procedural risk factors regarding specific level 1, 2, and 3 traumas; discusses the effects of environment and medical staff interactions; and covers intervention and prevention. The book also highlights examples of health care systems and organizations that have successfully applied innovative ideas for treating the whole person. Extensive case studies addressing the three levels of medical trauma illustrate its effects and how they could have been better managed. Key Features: Addresses psychological trauma resulting from adverse medical experiences—the first book to do so Provides effective models for addressing trauma in health care based on maternal health protocols from NCSWH Includes effective new models, protocols, and best practices for all mental health and health care professionals Presents extensive case examples of levels 1, 2, and three medical trauma Disseminates valuable resources and screening and measurement tools

This brief explores how the “person” of the therapist is developed when training and working in medical settings. It highlights important and often unspoken topics such as the personal, professional, cultural, ethical, and competency dilemmas new clinicians regularly face. The brief also addresses how personal experience with illness, death, cultural differences, and stigma may impact professionals in everyday practice. Topics featured in this Brief include: Helpful tips and tricks for new professionals entering a medical setting for the first time. Working with patients who suffer from chronic and terminal illnesses. Sociocultural norms and values that are often present in a medical setting. A new framework for identifying and treating professional burnout. How to handle ethical situations in medical organizations. Self of the Therapist in Medical Settings is a must-have resource for clinicians, professionals, supervisors, and faculty working in medical settings.

Drawing on the authors’ experience in developing and implementing global mental health programs in crisis and development settings, A Guide to Global Mental Health Practice: Seeing the Unseen is designed for mental health, public health, and primary care professionals new to this emerging area. The guide is organized topically and divided into four sections that move from organizing and delivering global mental health services to clinical practice, and from various settings and populations likely to be encountered to special issues unique to global work. Case studies based around a central scene are threaded throughout the book to convey what global mental health work actually involves. Mental health professionals of all backgrounds, including social workers, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists, and psychiatrists, as well as public health professionals and community level medical professionals and mental health advocates will benefit from this engaging primer. It is the book for anyone committed to addressing mental health issues in a low resource or crisis-hit setting, whether international or domestic.

How can professionals maintain or improve the quality of care they provide when pressured by payers to reduce the cost of care? Clinicians today face the challenge of providing optimal care in an environment where costs drive clinical practice. But high quality, not cost, remains the goal of professionals. By arming themselves with measurable results, clinicians can improve the processes of delivering mental health care and translate those improvements into better outcomes for patients and their families. In this timely guide, the editors have gathered the work of 49 distinguished contributors and crafted a valuable resource for overcoming the extraordinary challenge of delivering high quality mental health care. This groundbreaking book is divided into three sections: The challenges today's clinicians face in providing optimal mental health care -- Beginning with a review of the report to then-President Clinton from the Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry, subsequent chapters discuss professional ethics and managed care, how Wall Street investors are changing the practice of medicine, problems faced by managed care, and changes needed in medical education to ensure that physicians are well prepared to practice medicine in the 21st century. Proven techniques for quality measurement -- Measuring quality of care presents significant conceptual and methodological problems. These chapters review quality measurement methods and describe support by the federal government to improve these methods. Also addressed are how consumers are joining the quality of care measurement movement and how one large urban county mental health program is advancing quality measurement. Fourteen case reports of quality improvement projects -- These chapters detail principles and techniques that can be replicated or tailored to fulfill the requirements of a variety of clinical settings, ranging from the national health service in Great Britain to a small geriatric unit in a large hospital. The work showcased here was done by clinicians or administrators who, concerned about the quality of care in their own settings, used data to test for themselves whether their interventions resulted in improved care. Even if managed care disappeared, we would still need to question, examine, and improve the quality of patient care -- with clinicians taking the lead, because only they can appreciate the subtle nuances that maintain or improve quality standards, and only they can make substantive changes in their clinical settings. As both a broad conceptual framework for considering the quality of mental health care and as a practical field guide to real-life techniques for measuring the quality of care, this volume will prove exceptionally valuable for mental health care professionals, administrators, and policymakers as well as for consumers and consumer advocates, researchers, students, and public health professionals.