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October 13, 2016

Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities   
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Francine Sinkoff, Editor
fs@clmhd.org


DSRIP DY2 Q1 Quarterly Reports

The DSRIP Team is pleased to announce
that the Independent Assessor has completed its reviews of the DSRIP Year 2, First Quarterly Reports, covering PPS activity from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. The reports for each PPS can be accessed through the PPS section of the DSRIP website here .
SAMHSA Finalizes Reporting Requirements on Medication-Assisted Treatment 

Last month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finalized its rule detailing annual reporting requirements for prescribers of medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Earlier this year, SAMHSA increased the patient cap for MAT up to 275 patients per physician. The final rule outlines specific reporting requirements necessary to treat patients at this higher limit, including: annual caseload of patients by month, number of patients provided or referred to behavioral health services, and the features of the physicians' diversion control plan.

In July, the National Council  submitted comments  on the rule, making clear our appreciation and approval of SAMHSA's efforts to increase access to medication-assisted treatment. In addition, we offered suggestions on how to improve the rule to ensure maximum impact and effectiveness. SAMHSA acknowledged the suggestions made by National Council and included revisions to the final rule based, in part, on our comments.

The National Council suggested that the Department of Health and Human Services collect additional data on the number of patients moving in and out of MAT within a given year. The proposed rule would have asked physicians to calculate and report the number of patients seen and treated every month. This burdensome and time consuming regulation was revised in the final rule to require physicians to report annual caseloads by month.   Click here  to view the  final rule in its entirety .
NIH Panel Develops Plan for Preventing Youth Suicide

An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed a 10-year roadmap for advancing research to prevent youth suicide. The panel listed 29 recommendations that address three critical issues: improving data systems, enhancing data collection and analysis methods, and strengthening the research and practice community.

To help close research gaps related to youth suicide and to assess the scientific evidence, NIH convened the Pathways to Prevention Workshop on March 29-30, 2016. The panel of independent experts attended the workshop and developed a report. 

The panel cited several barriers that impede efforts to combat youth suicide. For example, there is limited availability of linked data systems to facilitate identifying important risk factors for youth suicide. Researchers have not assessed measures of suicide risk and protective factors at multiple levels (including the individual, family, peer group, school, and community) over time. Additionally, the stigma associated with suicide has resulted in the misclassification and underreporting of suicide and suicide attempts and has reduced opportunities for successful intervention.   Read more here.
The Uniform Clinical Network Provider Training

Federal and State regulations require that Medicaid Managed Care Plans monitor and ensure the quality of services offered by contracted network providers. Plans also must offer training to network providers in clinical core competencies and evidence-based practices for behavioral health and substance use disorder services. 

The New York State Health Plan Association (HPA) is collaborating with the Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) at Columbia University/NYS Psychiatric Institute and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) to offer a unified state-of-the art web-based training to all behavioral health providers participating in a Medicaid managed care plan and providing service under an OMH or OASAS license, certification or
designation. Participation in this training program has been standardized to meet core training requirements for mainstream and HARP plan provider contracts and alleviate the need to complete duplicative trainings from multiple managed care plans. 

Click here for more information.




UPCOMING TRAININGS

MCTAC
October 26, 12 - 1 pm

The NYC and ROS BHIT Team will be hosting Vendor fairs as a forum for Adult Behavioral Health HCBS providers looking to contract and upgrade with one of the BHIT HCBS Qualified Vendor Solutions. This is an opportunity for providers to meet and greet these vendors in person to assist with the vendor selection process. The vendor fairs will take place in NYC (10/14), Rochester (10/28), and Albany (11/10).

OTHER TRAININGS
October 21, 2 - 3 pm, NYS OASAS
The Kids' Well-being Indicators Clearinghouse (KWIC), developed by CCF is designed to advance the use of children's health, education and well-being indicators as a tool for policy development, planning, and accountability. The KWIC Team is excited to debut the new MEB indicators as part of New York's effort to identify communities that would benefit from early MEB promotion and prevention services. 
 
The Business and Operations of Long Acting Injectable Medications
October 27, 2 - 3 pm, Care Transitions Network


 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS


OCTOBER 2016

OMH Agency Meeting &  Director's & Executive Committee Meeting - In Person
October 17:
10 am - 12 pm ( 44 Holland Ave., Albany - 8th Fl.)
1 - 3 pm ( 41 State Street, Ste. 505, Albany)

Children & Families Committee
October 25:  11:30 am - 1 pm
GTM Only

RPC Advisory Committee 
October 27:  8 am
GTM Only


NOVEMBER 2016

Officers & Chairs - Call In
November 2:  8 - 9 am

RPC Advisory Committee 
November 10:  8 am
GTM Only


Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422 
NYS OMH Announces $4.9 Million Expansion of Program Connecting Children with Behavioral Health Services

The New York State Office of Mental Health recently announced the launch of the Project TEACH Statewide Coordination Center, which will further expand a program that supports the treatment of children with mild-to-moderate mental health problems within pediatric primary care settings.

Project TEACH (Training and Education for the Advancement of Children's Health) links pediatric primary care providers with child psychiatrists to provide immediate consultation services. The program expands the availability and accessibility of children's psychiatric se rvices throughout New York State.

"Project TEACH has been extremely successful in matching children with the behavioral health services they need, through easily accessible primary care providers," said New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan. "As Project TEACH continues to expand, the Office of Mental Health recognizes a need to further coordinate these services, ensuring their proper support and organization. The new Statewide Coordination Center will help bring this valuable service to more children across the state and let families know that New York State is here to help."

The Office of Mental Health also announced that the program selected Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Psychiatry Academy to operate the coordination center. New York State will invest $4.9 million through June 2020 to support the Statewide Coordination Center (SCC) and ensure use of the program is at full capacity. The SCC will provide training and consultation services statewide to promote children's social and emotional health.  It will continuously evaluate the Project TEACH program and assess its impact on New York State's youth, while promoting efficiency through ongoing improvements. The Academy was selected to run the SCC through an open Request for Proposals process.  Read more here.
SAVE THE DATE:  OMH Statewide
Virtual Town Hall 



Significant Challenges Remain in Enforcing Parity Laws

The American healthcare system has made significant strides in improving behavioral healthcare coverage over the last decade, however, experts say it will still be years before true parity is achieved for patients.

Since the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) went into effect in October 2009, stakeholders have seen a significant expansion in service coverage. According to a recent  report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), it's estimated that nearly one-fifth of all Americans either have new or enhanced access to behavioral healthcare coverage as a result of the parity laws.

"It's clear now that the parity laws-MHPAEA and its expansion through the Affordable Care Act-have created the potential for the largest expansion of mental health and substance use disorder treatment our nation has ever seen," says Paul Samuels, JD, director and president of the Legal Action Center and co-chair for the Coalition for Whole Health.

In addition to expanded behavioral healthcare coverage, the laws break down barriers to coverage such as artificial caps on the number of inpatient days or outpatient visits.

While policy progress has been made, experts say significant hurdles remain for achieving true parity in care delivery and coverage for services to treat mental health and substance use disorders. The way that the laws play out in daily practice is not entirely straightforward.  Read more here.

SAMHSA:  New and Expanded Initiatives to Promote America's Mental Health
According to data from SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health , 4.0 percent of American adults have a serious mental illness.  This includes people diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorders, and other illnesses that have been classified as serious.  To help improve the lives of people living with a serious mental illness, SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) is strengthening and expanding its support for mental health treatment and recovery.

Thanks to President Obama's leadership and commitment to improving the nation's mental health, and with the additional support of Congress, CMHS has received increased funding this year to build on existing programs and create new ones to improve access to prevention, treatment, and recovery tools for Americans with mental illness.

New Grants
The new  Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Grant Program for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesswill help implement and evaluate services for people who have been ordered to participate in outpatient mental health treatment.  Up to 15 grants of up to $1 million each will be awarded.

The  Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma grants help communities that have recently faced civil unrest to assist high-risk youth and families who have experienced trauma because of these incidents.  Eligible communities have experienced demonstrations of mass protest and mobilization, civil disobedience, community harm, or disruption.  Up to 11 grants of up to $1 million each will be awarded.   Read more here .
Rural Clinics Turn to Telehealth to Combat Addiction

GILES COUNTY, Va. -  An older, unemployed man with chronic back pain recently visited Robert Devereaux, MD, a family physician in this Southwest corner of Virginia.

Devereaux recalled that months earlier, during a routine exam, he found crushed fragments of painkiller pills inside the patient's nose. Though he refused to prescribe more, Devereaux worries that the man is still getting the drugs and has not recognized his problem or gotten treatment for his addiction.

That story is common here. "There are a lot of patients in denial. ... It's a lot of families that have suffered horribly from this." And their need for help has not been addressed. "We don't have enough psychiatrists," he said, which is also true about addiction specialists. "The mental health issues aren't going to go away."

But some health professionals as well as the federal government think they may have a possible solution: using telemedicine to connect patients in need by video chat with faraway physicians who know how to treat addiction.

It's part of a larger project to fight the opioid epidemic in hard-hit rural areas such as Appalachia. This summer, the federal government directed $1.4 million to five pilot projects located in southwest Virginia as well as Tennessee and Kentucky. One will be run by Carilion Clinic, the health system that operates Devereaux's practice, along with other local hospitals and medical practices.

The initiative comes as the nation's addiction to prescription painkillers remains at epidemic levels. In 2014, the most recent year for which data is available, more than 14,838 people died from overdoses of drugs such as oxycodone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Read more here.
Better Coordination Brings Improved Discharge Planning for Those Incarcerated with Behavioral Health Needs

Improving the quality of life for justice-involved individuals living with mental illness and substance use disorders (SUD) can start with something as small as a simple conversation. Two organizations in Hennepin County, Minnesota -  Hennepin County Community Services (HCCS)  and 
RESOURCE Chemical and Mental Health  - can attest to this strategy. As participants in the Health Justice Learning Collaborative (HJLC), an initiative of the National Council for Behavioral Health, HCCS and RESOURCE were able to focus on strengthening the relationship between their two organizations to enhance care coordination and discharge planning for those incarcerated in the Hennepin County jail.

Given that county jails often rely on behavioral health organizations to provide services to inmates, correctional facilities and behavioral health organizations can be instrumental in improving mental health and addictions services for justice-involved individuals.   Read more here .
The 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.

Affiliated