Archive for the ‘Mental Health’ Category
School Based Mental Health Services Reduce School Violence
February 13th, 2012 | 
Author: We live in a complicated world requiring complex skills. We must prepare our children to cope and to compete. They need reading, social studies, science and math more than ever, but they also need social skills, problem solving, superior reasoning and good mental health. There is a societal need to reduce the incidence of violence in our schools, as well.
When children and teens are focused on problems at home or within themselves, they often do not do well in school. School success and good mental health are intrinsically tied together. Additionally, school success and good mental health are linked to life success. Identifying those youth who are in need of help can reduce suffering and improve mental health, school success, and life success. Good mental health aids development, learning, interpersonal relationships, and the ability to cope with stress more effectively.
Approximately 1 in 5 children & adolescents (20%) experience the signs and symptoms of a mental health disorder during the course of a year. These children are estimated to have severe emotional or behavioral problems that significantly interfere with their daily functioning. Yet, less than one-third of the children under the age 18 with a serious disturbance receive any MH Services. Often the services they do receive are inadequate or inappropriate (Children’s Defense Fund). Ten percent of children in any given classroom (3/30) are ready to learn at the curriculum level (Dr. Adleman & Dr. Taylor UCLA School Mental Health Project).?Only 16% of all children receive any mental health services. Follow through for children receiving mental health services in school is much greater than those referred to community services. Of the 16% that receive MH services, 70-80% receive that care in a school setting (healthinschools.org), yet less than 10% of all school districts in the United States currently have an established School Based Mental Health Program (Center for School Mental Health Assistance, Dr. Mark Weist 2001, University of Maryland).
To assess the effectiveness of school based mental health (SBMH) services in reducing emotional, school, home, and behavioral problems of youth, Robert Schmidt, MA and Kathryn Seifert, Ph.D. collaborated on the evaluation of outcomes for a SBMH program for a rural mid-Atlantic School district. Coordination of mental health services with educators, Department of Social Services, the Department of Juvenile Services, and the Development Disabilities program contributed to the program’s success.
The project began in 1999 with a Federal grant to the school district and the project is ongoing. Youth were referred to the project from teachers, guidance counselors, parents, student self-referrals and other agencies such as the Departments of Social Services and Juvenile Services and Law Enforcement. The student’s scores on the Devereaux, BASC, CARE and several school measures such as absenteeism, disciplinary referrals, violence related suspensions, and other suspensions were measured at the beginning of services and at the beginning and end of each school year.
From 1999 to 2004, 36% youth were referred because of symptoms of depression, 26% because of family problems, and 24% because of behavior problems. Examples of reasons for referral to the program included: crying in class, child can’t stay focused, student found out mom is terminally ill, youth’s parents going through divorce, and recent sexual abuse. There were 84 referrals to the program in 1999, compared to 437 students in 2002 and 239 students in 2003. Peak referral times were in October and February. Youth in the transition years of sixth and ninth grades were referred to the program most often. In 2000, 2,132 mental health sessions were provided, in contrast to an amazing 15,763 sessions in 2003.
A group of 632 students who participated in the program showed significantly improved attitudes toward teachers and school, mental health symptoms, and self-esteem during and after services. Students participating in SBMH in years one and two had significantly better school attendance (56 and 57% increase) when compared to non-participants (66 and 59% decrease). Additionally for the group of participants, absenteeism increased 44% before participation and decreased 53% during participation.
Students had a significant (40%) decrease in disciplinary referrals when compared to non-participants (20% decrease). Participants in years one and two had a significant decrease in suspensions (32% and 27%) from school when compared to non-participants (33 and 16% increases). Parents reported that their children were having significantly fewer problems after receiving services. Youth self-reported significantly improved commitment to school, interpersonal relationships and self-esteem, as well as fewer stress related problems. Students reported significantly reduced school maladjustment and clinical maladjustment and improved attitude toward parents and emotional well-being.
Evaluation of the success of the program revealed several key components. One important component was having a central school/mental health coordinator to be an organizer, ombudsman, problem solver, program evaluator, and coordinator of the two systems. Additionally, the mental health service must be an integral part of the school system, not just an adjunct or add-on. Mental health staff need to communicate and attend meetings with school personnel. Mental health professionals can provide workshops and consultation to teachers, guidance counselors, and administrative staff.
Funding for the project came from mental health third party billing and grant funding. Supplemental funds allowed mental health professionals to attend meetings, consult with school personnel, and provide services for children and youth who do not meet medical necessity criteria of their insurance companies. It is also important to include families as an essential part of the program.
In a time when all programs are struggling to cope with funding cuts, collaborative programs, such as this one can make services more efficient and cost effective. Many families of troubled youth are involved in more than one service, in addition to the school. Coordination of multiple services is beneficial to the families and helps improve outcomes for youth.
This project demonstrated that school based mental health services improved student well-being, behavior and school success, while showing a significant decrease in violence and other behavior problems at home and at school. The study is ongoing and a second site has been added.
Run an Efficient Practice With Mental Health Billing Services
Medical billing services encompass a variety of activities, the main purpose of which is the complete processing of bills and the filing of claims with insurance companies, so that the clients of such medical billers, i.e. physicians, be paid the appropriate amount in due time. The typical medical billing services are provided independently of clinics and hospitals. Nowadays, medical billing is carried out with the help of medical billing software. The clients’ billing data is input and sent to insurers, whilst adhering to the current laws and regulations. The services provided by medical billers also include providing answers to the questions and concerns of both insurance companies and patients, as well as following up overdue payments, should the case be such. Aside from the advantages that derive from the type of services mentioned above, medical billing services can be used to assess the profitability of certain insurance contracts. Medical billers can generate reports for private practices and perform cash flow analysis.
As has been said before, medical billing encompasses many activities and covers all the fields of activity within the health care industry. Mental health billing services are available from a series of medical billing providers. Or if you choose to do your mental health billing yourself, you can opt for one of the recommended technology solutions, which have been specifically designed for mental health professionals. In fact, your mental health billing needs can be met in a variety of ways. You can resort to a mental health billing service to take this matter completely off your hands, or you can have professional mental health biller remotely log into your computer and use your already-existing mental health billing software.
Mental health billing services and mental health billing software represent the best and most effective way to get billing done professionally. The most notable advantages that derive from using a professional mental health billing service or appropriate mental health billing software are cost reductions, time effectiveness, less paperwork, an increased number of clients, a reduced number of missed appointments, as well as opportunity to keep your client database.
An experienced mental health biller will play an important part in your health care team. He or she interacts with insurance companies and stays up to date with everything that concerns regulations and procedures. An experienced mental health biller processes claims quickly and thoroughly, which translates into reduced costs and less time spent on doing your medical bills. Mental health billing, much like any other type of medical billing, requires in-depth knowledge and time to handle claims, which your staff may not have. Conversely, experienced mental health billing service providers have combined skills of bookkeeping, interpersonal communication, basic medical knowledge, as well as office and computer skills, which are essential in running an efficient practice.
Mental health billing services are available from various providers. It is your responsibility to choose the best and most efficient mental health billing service that will contribute significantly to the smooth running of your practice. Some services include billing professionals working at home and telecommuting bills, using an already-existing database or one that your mental health billing provider sets up especially for your practice.
For more resources about mental health billing or even about Mental health billing service please review this website http://www.mymedicalbillingservice.com
The Advantages of Outsourcing Your Mental Health Billing
The health care industry has undergone some significant changes over recent years. A series of new administrative difficulties were brought about by the need to deal with complicated insurance forms and prepare insurance policy procedures. As a result, many practices choose to outsource their medical billing to independent professionals. Mental health practices are no exception to this rule.
When it comes to handling your mental health billing, you are presented with several options, the most common of which are as follows: you can try to do your mental health billing yourself, you can hire new staff to do that for you, or you can use one of the many mental health billing services available on the market. There are some advantages and disadvantages to each of these alternatives.
Doing your mental health billing yourself is cost-effective, but it can be very time consuming, and have a negative impact on the efficient running of your practice, including a reduced number of patients and many missed appointments. If you opt for hiring your own staff to handle your mental health billing, you will eventually find that this course of action is neither time nor cost-effective. Hiring new billing staff requires extra space, as well as extra costs with payroll and payroll taxes. On the other hand, outsourcing your billing to a mental health billing service company emerges as a very good option, as it equals efficiency, time-effectiveness and the opportunity to control your costs.
When you choose to outsource your billing to medical billing professionals, there are numerous advantages on your part. Mental health billing service equals professionalism, experience and specialization, which is exactly what the efficient running of your practice requires. A mental health billing specialist can perform most of the major services that healthcare insurance encompasses, such as paper and electronic billing, super bill design, electronic claim submission, dead claim recovery, claim entry, annual code updates, insurance verification, patient setup, consultation, fee reviews, eligibility testing, customized service for your practice, reporting, etc. And when the mental health billing service that you choose includes the use of exclusively designed mental health billing software (either your already-existing one or the one that that they provide), things couldn’t be simpler.
You are probably aware of how demanding the mental health billing task can be, and how no more than a minute error can lead to your insurance application being rejected. Such errors can be easily avoided with the assistance of a professional mental health billing service.
In conclusion, using a mental health billing service is both effective and efficient. The advantages on your part include time and cost effectiveness, less paperwork, fewer missed appointments, more clients, compliance with HIPAA, and the opportunity to keep a client database. Your mental health biller can work from his or her home and log into your computer to use your already-existing database or one that will be set up especially for you. If you are already using mental health billing software, your mental health biller can work on that. If not, all your mental health billing can be handled with the help of specially designed billing software that professional billers can provide for you.
For more resources about mental health billing or even about Mental health billing service please review this website http://www.mymedicalbillingservice.com
Alternatives to Doing Your Own Mental Health Billing
Whenever a mental health professional starts his or her practice, they usually do mental health billing on their own. This can be a good thing at first because learning more about the business they are in allows them to grow as professionals. However, after they have seen how mental health billing works, they have to take into consideration one important aspect: is it to their advantage to keep doing mental health billing themselves?
The answer is no. By continuing to do their own billing, mental health professionals will only spend more money than using other services, they will waste precious time that can be put to better use and, on the long run, they will also lose patients. So, what are their alternatives? Read the rest of this entry »
The Advantages of Using Mental Health Billing Services
A mental health billing service covers many activities, but there is one main goal that any medical biller has, and that is to process treatment descriptions and file claims. A mental health billing service uses special software to handle all billing problems, generate cash flow reports or see what are the insurance contacts that generate the most money. Mental health billing services also include follow- ups in cases of overdue payments, answering insurance company or patients’ concerns or questions or even offer training to their clients.
There are several reasons why a professional should use mental health billing services instead of doing his/ her own mental health billing. First of all, a mental health billing service saves their practice a lot of time and money. A mental health professional’ s time is put to better use when he or she is seeing patients, instead of doing mental health billing. There are many time- consuming aspects to doing mental health billing and some of these aspects include looking into insurance benefits or appealing denied claims. This job is better done by a medical biller who has the required experience to easily obtain the necessary information. An experienced medical biller plays an important role in the mental health billing service provided to health professionals. Moreover, by using a mental health billing service, the health professional will spend less money than hiring his/ her own staff or doing the mental health billing by him/ herself. Investing in new employees’ training, wages and accommodation requires a substantial amount of money. If he or she decides to do mental health billing on their own, then precious time will be wasted, and time is money. The best solution would be to use a mental health billing service.
Second of all, a mental health billing service means less paperwork. The whole mental health billing process is done by using the computer, the internet and special software, which means that paperwork will be reduced considerably. Of course not all paperwork can be left in the hands of the medical biller, Read the rest of this entry »
Should Alcohol Taxes Pay for Mental Health Programs? Do the Math
Improving the Mental Health System
According to a news release that was dated May 9, 2006, the “Standing Senate Committee On Social Affairs, Science and Technology” in Canada recommended the creation of a Canadian Mental Health Commission that will be responsible for significantly upgrading the Canadian mental health system. As stated by Senator Michael Kirby, the Chair of the Committee, “The Senate Committee is committed to improving the range, quality and organization of health and support services that are required by the tens of thousands of Canadians who are living with mental illnesses and addictions.”
Funding The Proposed Change
Based on an extensive three-year study on mental health and addiction, the Committee determined that it will cost .36 billion over a 10-year period for this mental health system upgrade. Read the rest of this entry »
The Importance of Pursuing Mental Health Integration
Why Pursue Mental Health Integration?
It is the right thing to do: The NCCBH vision statement provides the foundation for our work: We are committed to creating and sustaining healthy and secure communities, achieved through a system that holds the needs of consumers paramount, regardless of their ability to pay.
Vital to this commitment is a network of organizations and advocates promoting services of unparalleled value.
NCCBH members primarily serve public sector consumers, those with severe and persistent mental illness or serious emotional disturbance-the needs of this population are often overlooked in primary care and integration planning. We must assure that their needs as well as the needs of the broader community are appropriately addressed.
Many people in the broader community now receive their behavioral healthcare in a primary care setting, and the gap between the medical and behavioral healthcare systems must be bridged: As noted by Robin Dea and many other commentators, there is:
“evidence that many, if not most, people coming into primary care are being treated for psychosocial problems, not organically based medical disease . . . evidence of medical cost offsets from treating behavioral health problems presenting as physical health problems in the primary care setting . . . the assumption that if adequate detection of early stage psychiatric illness took place in primary care, there would be some prevention of patients going to more severe episodes of major psychiatric illnesses . . . and primary care is where most people who have behavioral health problems are in fact seen.”
Some of the important findings from the research field include:
-The Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study and articles based on this survey data, reported the finding that about 50% of care for common mental disorders was delivered in general medical settings. However, many subsequent studies have shown that these disorders may be undiagnosed or under-treated.
-Screening systems, treatment guidelines and provider education in primary care are necessary but not sufficient steps to ensure a difference in outcomes.
-Collaborative and stepped care has been shown to achieve outcomes that are better than “usual care”.
There is the opportunity for quality improvement of care within the primary care and specialty behavioral healthcare settings: Studies have shown that many people with depression stop taking their medications before the minimal time required to effectively treat an episode of depression. Patients at Group Health Cooperative who initiated medications for depression with their primary care physician and received targeted stepped up care and relapse prevention support were significantly more likely to adhere to adequate dosages of medication and to demonstrate a greater decrease in depressive symptoms.
Application of research findings such as these through adoption of evidence-based practices in both primary care and specialty behavioral health (BH) settings will result in better outcomes for consumers.
With the publication of Priority Areas for National Action: Transforming Health Care Quality, the Institute of Medicine’s 2003 follow up to Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, Read the rest of this entry »
Tips to Recover From Your Mental Health
Most of us suffer from mental health problems, though in varying degrees. Although mental ill-health affects so many people, there is still no proper definition as to what mental health problems are and what methods are needed to recover. It is reported that at least 1 in 10 young people and around 1 in 4 adults experience mental health problem at some time in their lives. Mental health can mean a wide range of symptoms and disorders – like depression, anxiety, self-harm, violent tendencies, schizophrenia and various types of Read the rest of this entry »
The Four Quadrant Model for Integrating Health Care for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Patients
The Four Quadrant Model is a proposed model for the clinical integration of mental health and behavioral health services. A focus on the prevalence of co-occurring disorders (i.e. depression and alcoholism) is paramount in this model. The Four Quadrant Model builds on the 1998 consensus document for mental health and substance abuse/addiction service integration. This model for a comprehensive, continuous and integrated system of care describes differing levels of mental health and substance abuse integration and clinician competencies based on the four-quadrant model, divided into severity for each disorder:
> Quadrant I: Low mental health – low substance abuse, served in primary care
> Quadrant II: High mental health – low substance abuse, served in the mental health system by staff who have substance abuse competency
> Quadrant III: Low mental health – high substance abuse, served in the substance abuse system by staff who have mental health competency
> Quadrant IV: High mental health – high substance abuse, served by a fully integrated mental health and substance abuse program
The Four Quadrant model is not intended to be prescriptive about what happens in each quadrant, but to serve as a conceptual framework for collaborative planning in each local system. Ideally it would be used as a part of collaborative planning for each new behavioral health and community mental healthcare site, with the local provider(s) of public behavioral health services using the framework to decide who will do what and how coordination for each person served will be assured.
The use of the Four Quadrant Model to consider subsets of the population, the major system elements and clinical roles would result in the following broad approaches:
QUADRANT I
Low behavioral health – low physical health complexity/risk, served in primary care with behavioral health care staff on site; very low/low individuals served by the principle care provider, with the behavioral health care staff serving those with slightly elevated health or behavioral health risk.
The principle care providers give primary care services and uses standard behavioral health screening tools and practice guidelines to serve most individuals in the primary care practice. Use of standardized behavioral health tools by the principle care providers and a tracking/registry system focuses referrals of a subset of the population to the behavioral health clinician. The role of the primary care based behavioral health clinician is to provide formal and informal consultation to the principle care providers as well as to provide behavioral health triage and assessment, brief treatment services to the patient, referral to community and educational resources, and health risk education. Behavioral health clinical and support services may include individual or group services, use of cognitive behavioral therapy, psycho-education, brief substance abuse intervention, and limited case management. The behavioral health clinician must be competent in both mental health and substance abuse assessment and service planning. The principle care provider prescribes psychotropic medications using treatment algorithms and has access to psychiatric consultation regarding medication management.
The consumer of care, by seeking care in primary care, has selected a “clinical home.” Consistent with appropriate clinical practice, that should be honored. The primary care and specialty behavioral health system should develop protocols, however, that spell out how acute behavioral health episodes or high-risk consumers will be handled. This will also lead to clarity regarding the “clinical home” of consumers with serious persistent mental illness who are currently stable, which should be based upon consumer choice and the specifics of the community collaboration.
QUADRANT II
High behavioral health – low physical health complexity/risk, served in a specialty behavioral health system that coordinates with the principle care providers.
The principle care provider provides primary care services and collaborates with the specialty behavioral health providers to assure coordinated care for individuals. Psychiatric consultation for the principle care providers may be an element in these complex behavioral health situations, but it more likely that psychotropic medication management will be handled by the specialty behavioral health system. The role of the specialty behavioral health clinician is to provide behavioral health assessment, arrange for or deliver specialty behavioral health services, assure case management related to housing and other community supports, assure that the consumer has access to health care, and create a primary care communication approach (e.g., e-mail, v-mail, face to face) that assures coordinated service planning, especially in regard to medication management. Read the rest of this entry »
Basic Facts About Mental Health Disorder?
Mental wellness is generally conveyed as a conviction or view of a positive credit, such that a person can reach heightened levels of mental health, even if they do not have any identifiable state of mental health.
Lack of mental Disorder:
The absence of a major mental health condition is also defined as the mental health. Nevertheless, the term “mental” is not inevitably used to involve a difference between brain (dys) functioning and mental (dys) functioning, or indeed between the rest of the body and the brain. It is quite contradicted to elevation.
Mood of depression: An individual may feel like to be sad or emptiness or may cry frequently. The understanding and credit of mental disorders has converted from time to time and across cultures.
A broad definition can address substance dependence, mental disorder, personality disorder, and mental retardation.
Symptoms: Disturbances in sleeping: An inability to sleep or sleeping too much is a good symptom of depression.
Depression primer: Depression in physiology and medicine refers to a frowning, in particular a decrease in a particular biological variable or the working of an organ. On certain cases the term “serious mental illness” [SMI] is used to cite to more dangerous and disorder which are long lasting.
The phrase “mental health problems” may be used to refer only to milder or much shorter term issues. The recent manifest stemming from convinced psychology proposes that the health of the brain is more than the mere absence of an illness or mental disorder. If any individual can stop thinking useless and unnecessary thing, which are not to their concern, then they will get a good and fit life.
Changes in weight: Substantial changes in weight when not seeking to gain or lose may be a symptom of depression. In general, however, a mental disorder has been qualified as a clinically substantial pattern for the psychological and behavioral that happens in an individual and is usually linked with disability, distress, or increased risk of suffering. Therefore the forceful consequence of cultural, social, educational, and physical can all affect someone’s mental health.
Mental disorder: A mental disorder or mental illness is a patter relating to behavior or a psychological, that occurs in a person and is believed to cause suffering or impairment that is not anticipated as part of normal growth or culture.
Mental Health- Fact of Depression Primer
Introduction: A state of happy, healthy and prosperous life, in which a person individually understands his or her own powers, can satisfy or fulfill the normal emphasizes of life, can work profitably and productively, and is capable of making a share to his or her group of people is stated as mental health by the World Health Organization (WHO).
There is frequently a standard that a condition should not be anticipated to occur as part of a person’s usual religion or culture.
The classification and definition of Read the rest of this entry »