Quality measures don’t match patient-reported outcomes in inpatient behavioral health

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At psychiatric hospitals and other inpatient behavioral health facilities, good performance on routine quality measures does not necessarily lead to improvement in symptoms and other patient self-reported outcomes (SROs), reports a study in the November/December issue of the Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ), the peer-reviewed journal of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ). “[O]ur analyses suggest…

Consider Mental Health Equity on World Mental Health Day

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COVID-19 exacted a toll on health citizens’ mental health, worsening a public health challenge that was already acute before the pandemic. It’s World Mental Health Day, an event marked by global and local stakeholders across the mental health ecosystem. On the global front, the World Health Organization (WHO) describes the universal phenomenon and burden of mental…

The impact of value-based mental health care on racial and ethnic disparities

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Despite high demand, access to quality and affordable mental health care remains a challenge for many Americans. Less than half of those with mental health illness receive care and only about 10 percent of those with substance use disorders receive treatment, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. For people of color,…

Payer Survey Finds Opportunities for Renewed Focus on Mental Health

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In 2019, more than 1 in 5 US adults experienced mental illness, with 5.2% experiencing serious mental illness. In 2020, the percentage of uninsured adults with mental illness increased to 10.5%, and 57% of all US adults experiencing a mental illness received no treatment. Existing issues with the fractured mental health care system in the…

How value-based care can support the growing mental and behavioral health need

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Health plans in the United States are increasingly shifting away from traditional fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement toward value-based care (VBC) models, which incent the quality of care as opposed to quantity. Although the promise of high-quality, cost-effective care is alluring, the adoption of and engagement in these programs has proven challenging for both plans and providers…