R.I. Blue Cross, Pilot Integrated Behavioral Health Model for Longevity

Participating primary care providers get clinical support from Blue Cross & amp; Blue Shield of Rhode Island to better identify and treat patients with mental health conditions

Blue Cross & amp; Blue Shield of Rhode Island has developed a pilot program designed to make it easier for participants to receive mental health care through collaboration between primary care providers (PCPs) and mental health practitioners.

The pilot includes an alternative payment model that links provider payment to quality and cost effectiveness. The Lifespan Integrated Academic Health System Women’s Medicine Collaborative is the first medical facility in the state to participate in the pilot project.

BCBSRI and Lifespan’s Women’s Medicine Collaborative launched the pilot in April 2021. Participating PCPs receive clinical support from BCBSRI to better identify and treat patients with behavioral health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, who are often treated in primary care settings. / p>

The two-year pilot program will be evaluated on how it improves outcomes for patients, with goals such as:

Real-time access to behavioral health treatment and care management during patient screening. Care that is coordinated between the treating physician and the behavioral health specialist, which improves patient care and promotes better outcomes. A highly collaborative, highly coordinated model that will provide education and support for patients to make informed treatment decisions, leading to better outcomes and patient engagement.

The program will measure “warm” handoffs – the transfer of care between the treating physician and the mental health provider – for patients who are determined by the primary treating physician to have behavioral health needs. The plan is that this transfer of care will be seamless for the patient and include an immediate conversation, virtual or in-person, with the mental health provider. The program will also determine whether patients are taking their antidepressants as prescribed.

“Under the collaborative care model, primary care providers and mental health providers can collaborate on shared care plans that have the same goals of improving access to care and improving outcomes for patients,” said Rena Sheehan, MBA, LICSW, vice president. of clinical integration at BCBSRI, in a statement. “We know that integrated behavioral health and primary care has demonstrated a positive impact on the quadruple aim to improve quality of care, improve population health, reduce per capita health care costs and improve the work life of health care providers. This new pilot program allows us to better capture the components of population health management and care coordination that are critical to successful integrated programs.”