Treatment In Community Mental Health Center Research Articles

Telemedicine Among Medicaid Beneficiaries in Community Mental Health Care during the First Three Months of the 2020 Covid‐19 State of Emergency

Research ObjectiveLittle is known about the effectiveness of telemedicine for patients with serious mental illness (SMI). We sought to identify and describe characteristics of community mental health center (CMHC) SMI patients associated with treatment retention and use of telemedicine during this time.Study DesignThis research is an observational study of retention in services and use of telemedicine during 12/2019–6/2020 (compared to 12/2018–6/2019) in New Hampshire (NH) CMHC patients. Starting in 3/2020, patients were offered in person and/or telemedicine services based on clinical recommendation and personal choice. NH Medicaid claims provided CMHC service, diagnoses, and demographics. Quarterly use of telemedicine was categorized into <25%, 25–75%, or > 75% of total services. Associations between retention and demographic variables were explored using chi‐square test of independence, logistical regression and correspondence multivariate analysis.Population StudiedAll 16,030 NH Medicaid beneficiaries with SMI, including debilitating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, PTSD, and anxiety/other diagnoses, who were engaged in CMHC treatment during the three months prior to the COVID‐19 State of Emergency (SOE) was declared in NH.Principal Findings81.7% of patients were retained in treatment in the quarter following the SOE declaration compared to 86.6% of patients in the 2018–2019 period. Comparing 2020 to 2019, youth demonstrated low retention rates (77% compared to 84%, respectively). In 2020, retention among patients with rural zip codes was lower than among those with urban zip codes (78.8% vs 81.2%), and among patients with PTSD (78.1%) and anxiety/ other diagnoses (76.5%) compared to schizophrenia (93.2%) and bipolar disorder (89%).All three multivariate analyses indicate that age, gender, and condition significantly predicted retention. In adjusted models, male gender, age group 18–34, and PTSD diagnosis predicted low retention. In contrast, female gender, age groups 35–54 and 55+, and schizophrenia and bipolar diagnoses predicted high retention.Similar analyses predicting level of telehealth services utilization showed: patients with <25% telehealth services were more likely in the 55+ year age group and schizophrenia diagnosis group; patients with 25% to 75% telehealth services were more likely to be youth and to have PTSD; those with 75% telehealth services were more likely to be in the 18–55 age group, and to have bipolar disorder or major depression.ConclusionsTelemedicine was utilized by the majority of CMHC patients in the months following the pandemic, likely supporting continuity of CMHC care for vulnerable patients with SMI. Yet, even with this substantial rollout of telemedicine, retention in treatment was less than retention in the prior year, and some sub‐populations were more at risk for treatment interruptions than others.Implications for Policy or PracticeTelemedicine promoted continuity of care during the pandemic but it is not clear how much telemedicine should continue after the pandemic, and for which subpopulations of people with SMI. Further research on the effectiveness and limitations of telemedicine in patients with SMI is needed to inform future policies and clinical practice.

The relationship of mindfulness‐based psychoeducation provided to schizophrenic patients with their sociodemographic characteristics in increasing insight

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and mindfulness-based psychoeducation given to schizophrenic patients for increasing insight. This study was conducted as pre-experimental single group pretest-posttest model in a Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) located in the city center of Balıkesir, Turkey, with 55 patients. In patients graduating from university, posttest mean score of overall Beck Cognitive Insight Scale was higher than its pretest mean score and the difference between the mean scores was statistically significant (P < .05). It is recommended to place mindfulness-based psychoeducation programs into routine treatment in CMHCs to increase the insight of schizophrenic patients.

Community adherence to schizophrenia treatment and safety monitoring guidelines.

The 2003 Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) treatment recommendations and the Mount Sinai Conference Safety Monitoring recommendations generated guidelines for pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia and monitoring of antipsychotic side effects. This study examined rate of recommendation adherence and impact of adherence on outcomes of outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in community mental health centers. Clinical practice was assessed as conformant, nonconformant, or not applicable. Treatment practices were conformant for antipsychotic dose (83%); use of antiparkinsonian (97%), antidepressant (100%), and antianxiety agents (90%) but not clozapine for residual positive symptoms (31%); and monitoring weight gain (48%), glucose dysregulation (53%), hyperlipidemia (34%), or extrapyramidal symptoms (11%). Community mental health center treatment practices were largely conformant with the 2003 Schizophrenia PORT treatment recommendations. There is less evidence that patients who receive treatment in the community are adequately monitored for antipsychotic side effects per the Mount Sinai recommendations.

Integration between Primary Care and Mental Health Services in Italy: Determinants of Referral and Stepped Care

This study, carried out in the context of a collaborative care program for common mental disorders, is aimed at identifying the predictors of Primary Care Physician (PCP) referral to Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) and patterns of care. Patients with depression or anxiety disorders who had a first contact with CMHCs between January 1, 2007–December 31, 2009 were extracted from Bologna Local Health Authority database. A classification and regression tree procedure was used to determine which combination of demographic and diagnostic variables best distinguished patients referred by PCPs and to identify predictors of patterns of care (consultation, shared care, and treatment at the CMHC) for patients referred by PCPs. Of the 8570 patients, 57.4% were referred by PCPs. Those less likely to be referred by PCPs were living in the urban area, suffered from depressive disorder, and were young. As to the pattern of care, patients living in the urban area were more likely to receive shared care compared with those living in the nonurban area, while the reverse was true for consultation. Predictors of CMHC treatment were depression and young age. Prospective studies are needed to assess length, quantity, and quality of collaborative treatment for common mental disorder delivered at any step of care.

Transitioning Clients from Assertive Community Treatment to Traditional Mental Health Services

The original assertive community treatment (ACT) model included time-unlimited treatment. However, resource restrictions and subsequent research call into question the feasibility and necessity of time-unlimited services. This study compares the outcomes of 48 individuals who successfully transitioned from ACT to less intensive Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) services to 19 persons who required return to ACT or did not remain in CMHC treatment. There were no statistically significant differences in demographics, diagnoses, and other treatment factors between the two groups.

Effectiveness of an empirically based treatment for panic disorder delivered in a service clinic setting: 1-year follow-up.

The transportability of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder to a community mental health center (CMHC) setting at 1-year follow-up was examined by comparing CMHC treatment outcome data with results obtained in controlled efficacy studies. Participants were 81 CMHC clients with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia who completed CBT for panic disorder. Despite differences in settings, clients, and treatment providers, both the magnitude of change from pretreatment to follow-up and the maintenance of change from posttreatment to follow-up in the CMHC sample were comparable with the parallel findings in the efficacy studies. At follow-up, 89% of the CMHC clients were panic free and a substantial proportion of the sample successfully discontinued benzodiazepine use.

Brief group therapy to facilitate utilization of mental health services by Spanish-speaking patients.

Barriers of culture and language have tended to keep poor Spanish-speaking people from using community mental health center treatment facilities. This paper describes a program of brief group therapy, conducted in Spanish by a bilingual social work assistant, that helped patients with their presenting problems and helped prepare them to accept referral to the longer term treatment facilities of the center.