Integrating Treatment in Primary Care (ITPC)
With support from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, The Fine Foundation and Staunton Farms Foundation, PRHI recently began Integrating Treatment in Primary Care (ITPC), a project with national implications for improving patient care and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations among those who are at highest risk. Three community health centers — UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center, Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services: Mon Valley Community Health Services, and Cornerstone Care in Burgettstown — are participating.
Readmission rates are highest among chronically ill patients who suffer from depression and/or substance use disorder. One-third of patients with chronic illnesses readmitted to area hospitals within 30 days of initial discharges also suffer from depression and/or alcohol and drug use issues. The ITPC project aims to reduce those re-admission rates by integrating treatment for chronic disease, depression and unhealthy substance use at the primary care level.
Staff from the participating health centers, received joint training in three evidence-based methods — the Chronic Care Model for managing the care of patients with chronic disease; Improving Mood and Promoting Access to Treatment (IMPACT) for depression; and Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for unhealthy substance use.
During the next 18 months, they will routinely screen chronic disease patients for depression and substance use issues. Based on screening results, the staff will follow through with the evidence-based therapies they learned in training. However, instead of three practitioners working separately on each condition, an entire care team, led by the primary care physician, will collaborate on a single treatment plan. The project will also test the inclusion of a pharmacist and a behavioral healthcare manager as part of the primary care team.
"Champions for Integrating Care" Webinars
09-10-2009: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Nancy Jaeckels, and moderated by Dr. Kenneth Thompson and Dr. Constance Pechura entitled DIAMOND: An Innovative Collaborative Approach to Depression Care in Primary Care.
11-18-2009: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Dr. Victor Capoccia, and moderated by Dr. Kenneth Thompson and Dr. Constance Pechura entitled Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap: The Implications of Health Reform.
12-16-2009: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Carolyn Swenson, and moderated by Dr. Kenneth Thompson and Dr. Constance Pechura entitled SBIRT Training and Implementation in Primary Care.
02-17-2010: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Dr. Donna Keyser from RAND, and moderated by Dr. Kenneth Thompson entitled Allegheny County Maternal Depression Initiative: Bridging the Silos of Medicaid Managed Care.
03-18-2010: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Dr. Lisa Rubenstein from VA Greater Los Angeles and UCLA, and moderated by Dr. Kenneth Thompson and Dr. Constance Pechura entitled Research into Practice: The Story of One Stream of Collaborative Care Research.
04-29-2010: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Dr. Alexander Blount from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and moderated by Dr. Kenneth Thompson and Dr. Constance Pechura entitled Training for Integrated Primary Care.
07-08-2010: Webinar hosted by PRHI, presented by Dr. Richard Brown from the Wisconsin Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles (WIPHL), and moderated by Dr. Constance Pechura entitled Universal Behavioral Screening and Intervention in Healthcare: A Win for Everyone!