Research
The research base for integrated care continues to grow. Not only is evidence-based treatment taking a firmer hold in mental health provision, but the volume and quality of efficacy studies continues to grow.
This is where we will be able to share the additional resources we both find and develop.
Rodger Kessler, PhD, ABPP, is the editor of our CFHA online Research Section. In addition to his own research work, he also will be providing regular collections of citations and abstracts, such as these from August 2008. Rodger also is interested in the development of Practice-Based Research Networks.
AHRQ Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announces its interest in supporting the Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) in health services research.The K01 provides specialized study support for research-trained doctorates (e.g., Ph.D., Sc.D., Dr.P.H.) who are committed to a career in health services research and have the potential to develop into independent investigators.The mission of AHRQ is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.Applications submitted in response to this FOA must be responsive to Agency goals and priorities, as described below.AHRQ will provide salary and fringe benefits for the K01 recipient for a requested percentage of the candidates institutional salary, of up to $90,000 annually plus associated fringe benefits.Additionally, up to $25,000 per year for research development support, as detailed below, will be provided.
Full announcement: HERE
With mental health insurance, price matters
Dec. 24, 2008: PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — More people who need mental health services will seek follow-up care if the price is right, Brown University researchers have found.
After an initial hospitalization, people who suffer from mental health disorders will pursue follow-up care more often if their out-of-pocket costs are brought down to the same level as their primary care co-payments. What's more, overall costs will drop and the quality of care for the mentally ill will improve if policy-makers and insurers widely adopt the practice, according to a new study by Brown University researchers that counters prevailing research on the topic.
"This has been one of the most hotly debated topics in health policy over the last decade," said Amal Trivedi, M.D., assistant professor of medical science in the Department of Community Health at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "What we found is that health plans that have equivalent benefits for mental health and primary care have markedly higher rates of appropriate mental health service use."
Trivedi's paper on the subject, "Insurance Parity and the Use of Outpatient Mental Health Care following a Psychiatric Hospitalization," will be published Dec. 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Trivedi, the lead author, conducted his study with Brown post-doctoral fellow Shailender Swaminathan and Vincent Mor, chair of the Department of Community Health at Brown.