Evaluating the feasibility and impact of case rate payment for recovery support navigator services: a mixed methods study.

Background: Acute 24-h detoxification services (detox) are necessary but insufficient for many individuals working towards long-term recovery from opiate, alcohol or other drug addiction. Longer engagement in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment can lead to better health outcomes and reductions in overall healthcare costs. Connecting individuals with post-detox SUD treatment and supportive services is a vital next step.

Assessing the postdeployment quality of treatment for substance use disorders among Army enlisted soldiers in the Military Health System.

Little is known about the rates and predictors of substance use treatment received in the Military Health System among Army soldiers diagnosed with a postdeployment substance use disorder (SUD). We used data from the Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat study to determine the proportion of active duty (n = 338,708) and National Guard/Reserve (n = 178,801) enlisted soldiers returning from an Afghanistan/Iraq deployment in fiscal years 2008 to 2011 who had an SUD diagnosis in the first 150 days postdeployment. Among soldiers diagnosed with an SUD, we examined the rates and predictors of substance use treatment initiation and engagement according to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set criteria.

Impact of recovery support navigators on continuity of care after detoxification.

Although evidence points to the benefits of continuity of care after detoxification (detox), especially when continuity of care occurs within a short time after discharge from a detox episode, the rate at which clients engage in continued treatment after detox remains low. The goal of the study was to develop and deploy a specially trained workforce, called recovery support navigators (RSNs), to increase the likelihood of clients continuing onto treatment after detox. Continuity of care is defined as receiving any substance use disorder (SUD) treatment service within 14 days of discharge from the index detox.

Cost Savings from a Navigator Intervention for Repeat Detoxification Clients.

Background: Many clients with substance use disorders (SUD) have multiple admissions to a 24-hour level of care for detoxification without ever progressing to SUD treatment. In the US, health insurers have become concerned about the high costs and ineffective results of repeat detox admissions. For other diseases, health systems increasingly target high-risk, high-cost patients with individually tailored interventions delivered by `navigators' who help patients negotiate the complex health care system.

Prevalence and predictors of physician recommendations for medication adjustment in bipolar disorder treatment.

Background: Successful medication management for bipolar disorder requires clinicians to monitor and adjust regimens as needed, to achieve maximum effectiveness and patient adherence. This study aims to measure the prevalence of indications for medication adjustment at visits for bipolar disorder treatment; the frequency with which physicians recommend medication adjustments; and how strongly the indications predict the adjustments.

Methods: Data included 3,094 visits for 457 patients in Bipolar CHOICE, a comparative effectiveness study that compared treatment with lithium versus quetiapine.

Implementing single-item screening for drug use in a Veterans Health Administration outpatient setting.

Background: Unhealthy drug use is a concern in many settings, including military and veteran populations. In 2013, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center in Bedford, Massachusetts, started requiring routine screening for unhealthy drug use in outpatient primary care and mental health settings, using a validated single question.

Methods: This study used descriptive and multivariable analyses of VHA electronic records for patients eligible for the screening program (N = 16,118).

The Role of Health Plans in Supporting Behavioral Health Integration.

Health plan policies can influence delivery of integrated behavioral health and general medical care. This study provides national estimates for the prevalence of practices used by health plans that may support behavioral health integration. Results indicate that health plans employ financing and other policies likely to support integration.

How Do Private Health Plans Manage Specialty Behavioral Health Treatment Entry and Continuing Care?

Objective: This study examined private health plans' arrangements for accessing and continuing specialty behavioral health treatment in 2010 as federal health reforms were being implemented. These management practices have historically been stricter in behavioral health care than in general medical care; however, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2010 required parity in management policies.

Methods: The data source was a nationally representative survey of private health plans' behavioral health treatment management approaches in 2010.

Implementation of Client Incentives within a Recovery Navigation Program.

Objective: Multiple detoxification admissions among clients with substance use disorders (SUD) are costly to the health care system. This study explored the impact on behavior and cost outcomes of recovery support navigator (RSN) services delivered with and without a contingent incentive intervention.

Methods: New intakes at four detoxification programs were offered RSN-only (N=1116) or RSN plus incentive (RSN+I; N=1551) services.

Testing for clinical inertia in medication treatment of bipolar disorder.

Background: Clinical inertia has been defined as lack of change in medication treatment at visits where a medication adjustment appears to be indicated. This paper seeks to identify the extent of clinical inertia in medication treatment of bipolar disorder. A second goal is to identify patient characteristics that predict this treatment pattern.

Behavioral Health Services in the Changing Landscape of Private Health Plans.

Objective: Health plans play a key role in facilitating improvements in population health and may engage in activities that have an impact on access, cost, and quality of behavioral health care. Although behavioral health care is becoming more integrated with general medical care, its delivery system has unique aspects. The study examined how health plans deliver and manage behavioral health care in the context of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).

Management of Newer Antidepressant Medications in U.S. Commercial Health Plans.

Background: Private health insurance plays a large role in the U.S. health system, including for many individuals with depression.

Testing novel patient financial incentives to increase breast cancer screening.

Objectives: To examine the effects of 3 types of low-cost financial incentives for patients, including a novel "person-centered" approach on breast cancer screening (mammogram) rates.

Study Design: Randomized controlled trial with 4 arms: 3 types of financial incentives ($15 gift card, entry into lottery for $250 gift card, and a person-centered incentive with choice of $15 gift card or lottery) and a control group. Sample included privately insured Tufts Health Plan members in Massachusetts who were women aged 42 to 69 years with no mammogram claim in ≥ 2.

Health Plans' Early Response to Federal Parity Legislation for Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Objective: In 2008, the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) passed, prohibiting U.S. health plans from subjecting mental health and substance use disorder (behavioral health) coverage to more restrictive limitations than those applied to general medical care.

Private Health Plans' Contracts with Managed Behavioral Healthcare Organizations.

Contracts between health plans and managed behavioral health care organizations (MBHOs) influence access and quality of behavioral health care. This report presents information on performance requirements, information sharing, and financial risk from a nationally representative survey of private health plans. Most contracts include geographic access to providers (93.

Management of newer medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in commercial health plans.

Purpose: In the United States, many individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pay for their medications using private health insurance coverage. As in other drug classes, private insurers are actively seeking to influence use and costs, particularly for newer and costlier medications. The approaches that insurers use may have important effects on patients' access to medications.

Rationale and methods of the Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat Study (SUPIC): a longitudinal study of Army service members returning from deployment in FY2008-2011.

The Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat Study (SUPIC) will examine whether early detection and intervention for post-deployment problems among Army Active Duty and National Guard/Reservists returning from Iraq or Afghanistan are associated with improved long-term substance use and psychological outcomes. This paper describes the rationale and significance of SUPIC, and presents demographic and deployment characteristics of the study sample (N = 643,205), and self-reported alcohol use and health problems from the subsample with matched post-deployment health assessments (N = 487,600). This longitudinal study aims to provide new insight into the long-term post-deployment outcomes of Army members by combining service member data from the Military Health System and Veterans Health Administration.

Gender differences in substance use treatment utilization in the year prior to deployment in Army service members.

Although military men have heavier drinking patterns, military women experience equal or higher rates of dependence symptoms and similar rates of alcohol-related problems as men at lower levels of consumption. Thus, gender may be important for understanding substance use treatment (SUT) utilization before deployment. Military health system data were analyzed to examine gender differences in both substance use diagnosis (SUDX) and SUT in 152,447 Army service members returning from deployments in FY2010.

Drinking patterns of older adults with chronic medical conditions.

Background: Understanding alcohol consumption patterns of older adults with chronic illness is important given the aging baby boomer generation, the increase in prevalence of chronic conditions and associated medication use, and the potential consequences of excessive drinking in this population.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of alcohol consumption patterns, including at-risk drinking, in older adults with at least one of seven common chronic conditions.

Design/methods: This descriptive study used the nationally representative 2005 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey linked with Medicare claims.

Characteristics of practitioners in a private managed behavioral health plan.

Background: Little is known about the practitioners in managed behavioral healthcare organization (MBHO) networks who are treating mental and substance use disorders among privately insured patients in the United States. It is likely that the role of the private sector in treating behavioral health will increase due to the recent implementation of federal parity legislation and the inclusion of behavioral health as a required service in the insurance exchange plans created under healthcare reform. Further, the healthcare reform legislation has highlighted the need to ensure a qualified workforce in order to improve access to quality healthcare, and provides an additional focus on the behavioral health workforce.

Is Customization in Antidepressant Prescribing Associated with Acute-Phase Treatment Adherence?

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to explore whether prescribing variation is associated with duration of antidepressant use during the acute phase of treatment. Improving quality of care and increasing the extent to which treatment is patient-centered and customized are interrelated goals. Prescribing variation may be considered a marker of customization, and could be associated with better antidepressant treatment adherence.

The relationship of antidepressant prescribing concentration to treatment duration and cost.

Background: Widely accepted treatment guidelines and performance measures encourage patients to stay on antidepressant medication beyond the acute phase of treatment in order to achieve full remission and reduce risk of relapse. However, many patients discontinue antidepressant medication treatment prematurely for various reasons, including side-effects or nonresponse to the initial medication prescribed. Customization of medications to differing patient profiles could potentially improve medication treatment duration, but for many diseases physicians tend to concentrate on a limited subset of available medications.