Presenters
- Margaret Mueller, MA, Associate Executive Director, Merakey Montgomery County, Colmar, PA
- Kimberly Caton, Merakey Montgomery County, Colmar, PA
Summary
Review of available data indicates that individuals who are receiving Wellness Recovery Team Integrated Care are less likely to have either physical or psychiatric inpatient events than individuals who are not. This is despite the fact that individuals receiving that level of care are required to have a chronic medical issue in order to be eligible, which would make them more likely to have inpatient events. This type of data further reinforces the value and importance of an integrated care approach.
Merakey’s Wellness Recovery Team combines Behavioral Health and Nurse Navigators to provide integrated clinical care to individuals who suffer from both behavioral and physical health conditions. Poster presentation will include both a description of the program as well as a comparative/correlative outcomes data component. A comparison of both physical and behavioral health inpatient hospitalization rates between individuals receiving this program and not receiving this program yield a correlated 25% lower rate of physical health hospitalizations (not including hospitalizations for events like car accidents or muggings) and a 56% lower rate of psychiatric hospitalizations. The former was a comparison between two similar case management program populations in neighboring suburban counties, one of which had access to a Wellness Recovery Team program and one of which did not. The latter was a comparison between individuals in a case management program within the same county, some of whom received Wellness Recovery Team services and some who did not. Data was compiled using hospitalization incidents among these populations of 100-200 with near-identical demographics (low-income adults with behavioral health conditions, some of whom had physical health conditions and some of whom did not).
Objectives
- Demonstrate knowledge of what integrated care entails.
- Identify specific examples of effective integrated care.
- Understand the dual-system impact of integrated care.
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