1/22 Provider Champions Council Recap

The Provider Champions Council met last Monday evening. Robbi Kay Norman from Uncommon Solutions began the meeting with a brief presentation on the role of the ACH moving forward. Where BHT has previously had a heavy hand in helping to build partnerships and build a framework for regional health improvement, it will now serve as a high-level governance structure to provide support, facilitation, data collection and analysis. Alison Carl White, BHT Executive Director, walked the council through some of the reasoning behind the funding allocations that have been decided up to this point in the funds flow model.

Brian Sandoval of Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic then gave an overview of the differences and similarities between the Bree Collaborative and Collaborative Care models for bi-directional integration of Primary Care and Behavioral Health, and led a discussion on which concepts of each model might promote best practices for providers in our region. While both models are evidence-based approaches for integrating behavioral health into the primary care setting, each model brings different strengths into the care system. The Collaborative Care Model is a team-based model that adds a behavioral health care manager and psychiatric consultant to support the primary care provider and can be practice-based or telehealth-based, an important concept for our region. The Bree Collaborative’s Behavioral Health Integration Report and Recommendations focuses on routine, same day access to a shared care plan at the point of care and places a heavy emphasis on psychiatric services, including for those patients who are not improving or require a higher level of care. Both models rely on screening and tracking to monitor patient progress.

The discussion around best practices for integration of behavioral health and primary care will be ongoing in this council, and Monday’s discussion was an important introduction of what will be a significant topic for future work of the Collaboratives.