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Health Home Information Resource Center
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States developing health home models for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic conditions can visit the new Health Home Information Resource Center on Medicaid.gov to access one-on-one technical assistance, peer-learning opportunities, and other resource materials. Health home technical assistance activities are provided by Mathematica Policy Research and the Center for Health Care Strategies with support from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. More |
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Another recently unveiled resource, the
was created to assist states in developing, enhancing, implementing, and evaluating Medicaid managed care programs. In collaboration with Mathematica Policy Research, the Center for Health Care Strategies, Manatt Health Solutions, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will provide one-on-one technical assistance to states on a variety of topics.
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Thirty seven behavioral health organizations across the U.S. have been chosen to participate in the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare's 2013 Trauma-informed Behavioral Healthcare Learning Community.
Launched in April, the learning community offers individual and group coaching by renowned national trauma experts, webinars, networking opportunities, and exclusive tools and resources.
New York participants are: Citizen Advocates,
Malone, NY
Lakeview Mental Health,
Geneva, NY
PEOPLE, Inc,
Poughkeepsie, NY
Contact the National Council's Consulting Manager, Daisy Wheeler, at 202.684.7457 or DaisyW@thenationalcouncil.org for additional information. |
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New Tools to Educate Consumers and Providers
about HIPAA Privacy and Security
 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has developed an array of new tools to educate consumers and health care providers about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. Read |
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Last Chance to Apply for Community Health Prize
The deadline is fast approaching to apply for the 2013-2014
RWJF Roadmaps to Health Prize, which honors outstanding community efforts that help people live healthier lives.
Prize-winning communities will receive a $25,000 cash prize, be connected to a network of other local health leaders, and have their stories shared broadly to inspire a culture of health across the country.
Phase I applications are due May 23, 2013 at 3 p.m. ET.
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WEBINARS:
Two national behavioral health leaders-Ron Manderscheid, Ph.D., and Harvey Rosenthal-will discuss healthcare reform in terms of financing and funding, increases in the recovery orientation of behavioral health care, and the tremendous potential for the emerging peer support profession.
May 9th 3 to 4:30
Register
States Prepare for the Newly Insured: A Conversation about Mental Health and Substance Abuse Reforum/SAMHSA
May 13th 12-1:30
Register
Final Webinar in the Underage Drinking Series
May 14th 2-3:00
Register
Reducing Hospital Re-admissions for Clients with Addictions
May 22nd 2-3:30
Register
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CLMHD Calendar
MAY
Officer's & Chairs Conference Call
May 15th
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Call In Only - contact CLMHD for access
JUNE
May 15th
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
41 State Street Suite 505 Albany
CLMHD COMMITTEE DAY
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Albany Airport Best Western
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The New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors advances public policies and awareness for people with mental illness, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities. We are a statewide membership organization that consists of the Commissioner/ Director of each of the state's 57 county mental hygiene departments and the mental hygiene department of the City of New York.
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How Can PSYCKES Serve You?
The Psychiatric Services and Clinical Knowledge Enhancement System (PSYCKES) is an award-winning, HIPAA -compliant, web-based portfolio of tools designed to support quality improvement and clinical decision-making in New York State. Developed by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), PSYCKES uses Medicaid administrative data to generate quality indicator reports for use in quality management and clinical decision-making. The Conference worked for many months with state agencies to obtain state-level access for LGUS. Providers with access to PSYCKES are able to access 5 years of Medicaid fee for service and managed care utilization data for all MA services (not just behavioral health care services) along with quality indicator reports at the state, region, county, agency, site, program, and client level. Users can then review performance, identify individuals who could benefit from clinical review, and provide data driven local mental hygiene planning. Quality reports in PSYCKES are updated monthly, and clinical information is updated weekly. LGUs have the same access to PSYCKES data as the State and the BHOs. It is a powerful tool for DCSs as the LGU role evolves in managed care, health homes and the need to effectively plan for services in an environment of shrinking resources. To gain LGU access counties must complete the appropriate paperwork and assign users. At last count, 42 LGUs obtained LGU access to PSYCKES.
 Q and A with Deborah Goldman, Chairperson of the CLMHD Mental Hygiene Data Workgroup and the Director for Planning and Evaluation at Erie County Department of Mental Health.
Ms. Goldman has been at the Erie County Department of Mental Health since 1991, first as the Coordinator of Mental Health and, for the past eleven years, as the Director of Planning and Evaluation. Most recently, she has been focusing on the development of data in support of practice to outcome models and Medicaid Reform initiatives.
Q. What role does the Mental Hygiene Committee's Data Workgroup play for Conference members?
A. The committee's role is to identify and share data that is available to support LGU functions in the changing environment and to act as an interface with state agencies. Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI) supports the Data Workgroup providing data analysis services to the Mental Hygiene Planning Committee, a partnership between the Conference, counties and state agencies aimed at developing an efficient, integrated, uniform planning system that identifies and quantifies current and emerging needs, supports local management, and informs State policy and budget decisions. Under the auspice of this committee, a number of data sources and analyses have been developed and disseminated to support local and regional planning.
Q. How does the Data Workgroup identify data needs of the Conference members?
A. The Mental Hygiene Planning Committee monthly meetings serve as a forum for discussion about potential data sources and opportunities. In addition, information is collected via member surveys, ad hoc meetings/conference calls with county users, the State and CCSI.
Q. Who in state government does the Committee work with and on what types of activities?
A. We work with county planners, OMH, OASAS and OPWDD. The OASAS online County Planning System (CPS) was implemented statewide in 2005 to enable counties and their service providers to complete and submit required annual local planning forms to the state electronically. CPS is a state-of-the-art platform from which counties access significant and timely data resources for conducting their needs assessment and planning activities, complete required planning forms, and submit their entire plan to OASAS via the Internet.
Q. So LGU PSCKYES access is fairly new, what benefits will counties have gaining LGU access to PSYCKES? A. To use it for local system management/ coordination work, SPOA operation. The purpose of PSYCKES access is to provide the LGU with information on users of Medicaid mental health services in order to enable the LGU to implement programs to fulfill some or all of the following: * Coordination of the delivery of mental health services to Medicaid clients; * Coordination of the delivery of mental health and chemical dependency treatment services to Medicaid clients; * Identifying high cost, high risk, under and sub-optimally served recipients and other recipient cohorts of clinical interest and their service use to LGUs, Single Point of Access ("SPOA") programs and providers; * Coordination of efforts to manage the delivery of services to high cost recipients, high-risk recipients, and underserved or sub-optimally treated recipient populations; * Establishing linkages between physical and mental health care for Medicaid recipients; *Performing quality improvement outreach to providers to improve treatment practices. Q. Many counties have completed the paperwork for PSYCKES LGU access but have not identified an end user or users of the system, what is your advice to these Counties about gaining access? A.Work with your designated OMH Security Manager. The Security Manager can grant access to staff through the OMH Security Management System "SMS." Counties may not realize that LGU access is broader than clinic access. With LGU access, the clinic specific flags are removed so that all information is available. OMH is updating PSYCKES all of the time and have recently added some additional Health Promotion and Coordination indicators.
For additional information about PSYCKES please contact Deborah: Deborah.Goldman@erie.gov 716.858.8531 |
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OPWDD's
Front Door Initiative
With input from individuals, families, advocates, nonprofit providers, and direct care staff, OPWDD has been reengineering how we offer services to people in order to promote the awareness and choice of service options for individuals and families, with a particular emphasis on self-direction, employment, and community integration. This is known as our Front Door initiative.
Individuals who are seeking services for the first time or who are interested in modifying current services will be the first to use this new process. The new Front Door has already been piloted in some areas of the state, with system-wide implementation expected in June 2013.
The Front Door builds on the philosophy of self-determination and person-centered planning, and the understanding that people with developmental disabilities have the right to enjoy meaningful relationships with family, friends, and others in their lives; experience personal growth; fully participate in their communities; and live in the home of their choice. The process was designed to improve the way people learn about and access available service options while giving individuals as many opportunities as possible to direct their own service plan.
The Front Door process guides an individual through eligibility determination, assessment, identification of service needs, service authorization, and implementation. This initiative is essential to helping us achieve the outcomes associated with our Road to Reform
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"It is the baby boomer group where we see the highest rates of suicide. There may be something about that group, and how they think about life issues and their life choices that may make a difference."
- ILEANA ARIAS, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control on the surge in the number of suicides among middle-aged Americans. ReadRelated:America's 78 million aging baby boomers are heading into retirement with more than their considerable wealth, health and education. They are also bringing into their golden years an epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness that has yet to be recognized, according to a recent Institute of Medicine report. |
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Sexual Assaults in Military Raise Alarm in Washington
 President Obama and Congress demanded action after a Pentagon survey estimated 26,000 people in the armed forces were assaulted last year, up from 19,000 in 2010. Read More
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 HHS has announced a three-part initiative that for the first time gives consumers information on what hospitals charge. New data released shows significant variation across the country and within communities in what hospitals charge for common inpatient services. The data posted to CMS's website include information comparing the charges for services that may be provided during the 100 most common Medicare inpatient stays. Hospitals determine what they will charge for items and services provided to patients and these "charges" are the amount the hospital generally bills for an item or service. Also today, HHS made approximately $87 million available to states to enhance their rate review programs and further health care pricing transparency. View the new hospital data set here.
Access the funding announcement here.
Related: Access 2011 Data on Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits. The 2011 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) emergency department public use data and documentation files are now available for online analysis.
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More Kids Diagnosed With Mental Health Disabilities:
Conditions such as Autism, ADHD Appear to Drive 16% Increase in a Decade
Disabilities that impair a child's day-to-day living have risen 16 percent, with the greatest increase seen in richer families, according to the study. Conditions such as autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder appear to lie behind the increase, experts said. Read more |
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D.S.M. is Out of Touch with Science, Experts Say
Just weeks before the long-awaited publication of a new edition of the so-called bible of mental disorders, the federal government's most prominent psychiatric expert has said the book suffers from a scientific "lack of validity."
The expert, Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said in an interview Monday that his goal was to reshape the direction of psychiatric research to focus on biology, genetics and neuroscience so that scientists can define disorders by their causes, rather than their symptoms.
While the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., is the best tool now available for clinicians treating patients and should not be tossed out, he said, it does not reflect the complexity of many disorders, and its way of categorizing mental illnesses should not guide research.
"As long as the research community takes the D.S.M. to be a bible, we'll never make progress," Dr. Insel said, adding, "People think that everything has to match D.S.M. criteria, but you know what? Biology never read that book." Read more
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District Court Issues Ruling in Favor of Consumers in Mental Health Parity Case
The United States District Court for the District of Vermont became the first court in the country to issue a ruling on its interpretation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008 - and that decision is favorable to consumers of mental health services. In C.M. v. Fletcher Allen Health Care, Inc., plaintiff C.M. challenges her health plan's administration of mental health benefits. C.M. is a 25 year old female with chronic, life threatening mental illness, who has responded to psychotherapy treatments four times per week and medication management. Her treatment providers unanimously opined that her conditions are chronic, cyclical, and manageable, but have life threatening implications in the absence of appropriate care. However, her health plan authorized only 26 sessions per year, and after one year stopped paying for psychotherapy entirely.
Additional lawsuits have been filed against insurers United Health Group and Anthem for alleged MHPAEA violations. (Source: National Council)
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Advocates Say Managed-Care Plans Shun the Most Disabled Medicaid Users
Managed-care companies in New York have come under fire for signing up vigorous older adults referred to them by social day care centers, customers whose health needs are relatively small. Read |
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An Integration Checklist for Addiction Providers
Beginning to integrate services with a primary care provider can seem like a big undertaking.
A Window into Addiction Treatment & Primary Care Integration A number of changes to the healthcare system have made the integration of primary care and addiction treatment a more viable option for many service providers.
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