University Hospitals in Cleveland received nearly $1 million in funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to expand telepsychiatry and collaborative mental health care across its primary care practices, addressing a critical gap in access to psychiatric treatment.
Expanding Access to Mental Health Care
The funding will expand University Hospitals’ collaborative care model from 26 practices to all 88 practices within the UH Primary Care Institute. Currently, only about one-third of individuals with complex psychiatric disorders receive specialty mental health care, and many treated in primary care settings do not receive adequate care. The program integrates mental health support by including a behavioral health coordinator, typically a licensed mental health professional, alongside other care team members in primary care settings where patients already seek treatment.
The study, co-led by Mary Gabriel, MD, MSc, Senior Director of Behavioral Health in Population Health Primary Care Institute at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Marlene Miller, M.D., M.S., UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Chief Scientific Officer, will broaden services to include screening and treatment for bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Research and Implementation Focus
This project will implement PCORI-funded comparative clinical effectiveness research examining the clinical effectiveness of two telehealth-based models for treating adults with PTSD and bipolar disorder. The research was selected through PCORI’s highly competitive review process, where patients, caregivers, and stakeholders join scientists in evaluating proposals. The Health Systems Implementation Initiative aims to close the estimated 17-year gap between when research findings are published and when they are applied in clinical care, recognizing that health systems’ real-world insights are crucial for sustainable, large-scale implementation.
PCORI is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fund patient-centered comparative effectiveness research designed to help patients and caregivers make better-informed health care decisions.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.newswise.com/articles/university-hospitals-awarded-pcori-funding-to-implement-telepsychiatry-collaborative-care-for-complex-psychiatric-disorders/?sc=rsmn