BLOGS & EDUCATION

If you go to your doctor for a healthcare issue or an annual checkup, and they treat you for a physical healthcare issue - one part of the process should be related to your mental health also. This is becoming more commonplace but we have more work to do. The same is true for the reverse. When you seek treatment for a mental health condition, you may have a physical medical issue related to that condition that may not be diagnosed in the behavioral health facility. There has been extensive research showing that there should be focus on treating and diagnosing mental health problems in primary care facilities. When primary and behavioral care are integrated, a gap in treatment [...]

As the idea of Certified Community Healthcare Clinics (CCBHC’s) matures, we will begin to see leading organizations moving toward this new structure. This type of client-focused attention will improve the overall health of the Medicaid population by integrating primary care, establishing evidence-based practices, and actively coordinating services outside of their four walls. The criteria for certification falls into six areas of focus:1) StaffingSince a high percentage of Medicaid recipients have a number of health issues, it’s important to move towards the next level of multidisciplinary teams. At the base, these teams will need to work together and coordinate service plans for better connections, and thus better outcomes. With the inclusion of family members, peer specialists, and staff at all levels [...]

As the healthcare system evolves, more organizations are using technology to exchange crucial patient information. With tons of data being gathered, every healthcare provider needs to work in a way that is smart, safe, and efficient. As people expect complete access to their healthcare data, technology needs to move faster and more efficiently. We can travel anywhere in the world and review our banking balances, take out cash and convert it to use in whatever country we are in. We OWN our healthcare data just as much as our banking information -- but we do not have access to it as readily. Santa Rosa and Lee counties. This is where the term “interoperability” comes in. Interoperability is defined as the [...]

For most of us, working out of a home office is a new thing. For me, it’s been a long ride. I moved to a home office back in November of 2000 prior to the first internet bubble. At that point, DSL was the thing and online meetings consisted of the brand-spanking-new WebEx application or conference lines. This fall, I will be coming up on twenty years working out of the house and I think I’ve learned a couple things regarding both staying sane, and the management of a remote team. As the stay at home orders continue to relax in some places and others are opening more slowly, many organizations are making the decision to keep specific teams remote [...]

If you told me I’d be working out of the home office and we’d be in the middle of a global pandemic, like many of us, or maybe all of us, I’d scoff at the idea. I’d Google “pandemic” and become completely engrossed with those Black-Death bird masks of the bubonic plague era, and wonder how many of them I’d see at Halloween parties this year. Unfortunately, this has become a reality and as with any “change in plans” so to speak, after accepting the situation, I’m becoming more and more enthusiastic about us coming out the other end as more intelligent, flexible people and organizations. I’m also realizing that there may not be Halloween parties at all this year. [...]