4. Embedding mental health and home care in primary care
- Release date:
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This webinar will be available for a limited time after the conference- don't miss it on Wednesday October 25th during the conference!
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- Style: Presentation (information provided to audience, with opportunity for audience to ask question)
- Focus: Research/Policy (e.g. Presentation of research findings, analysis of policy issues and options)
- Target Audience: Leadership (ED, clinical lead, board chair, board member, etc.) Representatives of stakeholder/partner organizations
Learning Objectives
By attending this presentation, participants will learn the following:
- How to address the always present issue of WAIT TIMES to get patients of primary care mental health and addiction services.
- How to set up AMH services to be equitable for all, including socioeconomic, cultural, Gender, Race, and disadvantaged populations.
- How to address post-COVID supply and demand capacity challenge in AMH.
- How to reduce the stigmatization of AMH patients by providing professional psychotherapy services in or through primary care and
- Reduce providers' burnout, frustration, and sense of helplessness when dealing with mental health and addiction patients.
Summary/Abstract
This Presentation demonstrates innovative partnering between the Public Sector, Prescott Family Health Team, and the Private Sector in Psychotherapy to provide increased, in-person access to mental health and addictions services. The support included individual and group mental health and addictions counseling and case management services for income resources for patients at the population health level. This project utilized funds provided by the MOH to Family Health Teams in Ontario in January 2023 to be utilized by March 31/23. Using the grant money, we could provide AMH services for 68 patients. The project design addressed the long wait time and increased capacity need for AMH services resulting from COVID-19. The project was designed to provide barrier-free, high-quality AMH services embedded in primary care with no wait times, provided by qualified psychotherapists using evidence-based practices for group and individual therapy. We were also able to provide income support to ensure equitable and universal mental health and addiction services for all. To evaluate effectiveness and impact on primary care, this project utilized industry-recognized AMH outcome measures that included GAD Scale, PHQ-9, and Socrates (measuring motivation to change substance abuse behavior), all of which demonstrated significant improvement in the addiction and mental health issues experienced by the majority of the participants. Initial feedback from the project client satisfaction survey indicates the following:
- 90% satisfaction rate with the mental health group services;
- 94% satisfaction rate with the individual mental health services;
- 92% satisfaction rate with the SMART Recovery Group services:
- 95% satisfaction rate for the income support casework services;
- 98% satisfaction rate for individual addiction/concurrent services.
The actual impact of this project is significant for primary care by demonstrating a successful model of partnering with private sector AMH services to address the growing capacity demand on primary care health teams by providing effective AMH services in a timely, equitable, and professional manner for all. Essentially this project demonstrated universal AMH services through primary care health teams.
Presenters
- Tim Mack MSW, RSW, Social Worker Prescott Family Health Team
- Dinny Mathew MBA, MPH, MBBS, RDCS, Executive Director Prescott Family Health Team
Authors
- Emma Conway, PhDc, eHealth Centre of Excellence
- Michelle Cousins, Program Manager, eHealth Centre of Excellence
- Pippy Scott-Meuser, Director, Centre for Effective Practice