Addiction + Primary Care Integration - Lessons from Early Adopters

The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) has released a new document to share insights and perspectives from addiction providers that are ‘early adopters’ of integrated primary care services.

Innovations in Addictions Treatment: Addiction Treatment Providers Working with Integrated Primary Care Services encapsulates the experiences and knowledge of addiction providers, and their partners, as gathered in a meeting CIHS convened to understand the current climate surrounding addiction-primary care integration around the country and the experiences of addiction providers that have integrated primary care services.

For more information about addressing substance use in integrated care, visit http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/substance-use

 

NIH study shows people with serious mental illnesses can lose weight

A study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, shows that a modified lifestyle intervention program can help people with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression lose weight and keep it off.
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2013/nimh-21.htm

 

State Learning Networks Strive to Improve Addictions Treatment with Medication Assisted Treatment

The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) launched the yearlong Health Networks Learning Collaborative on Expanding the Use of Medications to Treat Individuals with Substance Use Disorders in Safety Net Settings. A CIHS priority initiative, this learning collaborative is based on the knowledge that medications are an essential, evidence-based, and effective component of treatment that can support and facilitate recovery from addictions such as alcohol, opiate, or nicotine dependence.

This project aims to increase adoption of medications in the treatment of substance use disorders in primary care, substance use, and community mental health programs, with the long term goals of helping people achieve and sustain recovery and improving health across safety-net settings.

Through this innovative partnership between providers and state entities, CIHS will work with Single State Authorities (SSAs) for substance abuse services in California, Maryland, and Ohio to develop two health networks in each of the states. These health networks will consist of community health centers, mental health centers, and addiction treatment programs that will work to expand their capacity to incorporate medications as an important component of comprehensive treatment. CIHS provides ongoing support and technical assistance to SSA leadership and the health networks as they work toward this goal.

The one-year program will conclude in August 2013. For more information on medication assisted treatment (MAT), visit http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/mat/mat-overview.

New Research Shows Collaborative Chronic Care Models Work   

A recent study in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows that collaborative care models can improve mental and physical outcomes for individuals with mental illness across a wide variety of care settings:
Comparative Effectiveness of Collaborative Chronic Care Models for Mental Health Conditions Across Primary, Specialty, and Behavioral Health Care Settings: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis