Bradley E Belsher1, Lisa H Jaycox, Michael C Freed, Daniel P Evatt, Xian Liu, Laura A Novak, Douglas Zatzick, Robert M Bray, Charles C Engel. 1. *Deployment Health Clinical Center, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Silver Spring, MD †Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD ‡RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA §Division of Services and Intervention Research, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD ∥Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA ¶RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Integrated health care models aim to improve access and continuity of mental health services in general medical settings. STEPS-UP is a stepped, centrally assisted collaborative care model designed to improve posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression care by providing the appropriate intensity and type of care based on patient characteristics and clinical complexity. STEPS-UP demonstrated improved PTSD and depression outcomes in a large effectiveness trial conducted in the Military Health System. The objective of this study was to examine differences in mental health utilization patterns between patients in the stepped, centrally assisted collaborative care model relative to patients in the collaborative care as usual-treatment arm. METHODS:Patients with probable PTSDand/or depression were recruited at 6 large military treatment facilities, and 666 patients were enrolled and randomized toSTEPS-UP or usual collaborative care. Utilization data acquired from Military Health System administrative datasets were analyzed to determine mental health service use and patterns. Clinical complexity and patient characteristics were based on self-report questionnaires collected at baseline. RESULTS: Compared with the treatment as usual arm, STEPS-UP participants received significantly more mental health services and psychiatric medications across primary and specialty care settings during the year of their participation. Patterns of service use indicated that greater clinical complexity was associated with increased service use in the STEPS-UP group, but not in the usual-care group. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that stepped, centrally assisted collaborative care models may increase the quantity of mental health services patients receive, while efficiently matching care on the basis of the clinical complexity of patients.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Integrated health care models aim to improve access and continuity of mental health services in general medical settings. STEPS-UP is a stepped, centrally assisted collaborative care model designed to improve posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression care by providing the appropriate intensity and type of care based on patient characteristics and clinical complexity. STEPS-UP demonstrated improved PTSD and depression outcomes in a large effectiveness trial conducted in the Military Health System. The objective of this study was to examine differences in mental health utilization patterns between patients in the stepped, centrally assisted collaborative care model relative to patients in the collaborative care as usual-treatment arm. METHODS:Patients with probable PTSD and/or depression were recruited at 6 large military treatment facilities, and 666 patients were enrolled and randomized to STEPS-UP or usual collaborative care. Utilization data acquired from Military Health System administrative datasets were analyzed to determine mental health service use and patterns. Clinical complexity and patient characteristics were based on self-report questionnaires collected at baseline. RESULTS: Compared with the treatment as usual arm, STEPS-UP participants received significantly more mental health services and psychiatric medications across primary and specialty care settings during the year of their participation. Patterns of service use indicated that greater clinical complexity was associated with increased service use in the STEPS-UP group, but not in the usual-care group. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that stepped, centrally assisted collaborative care models may increase the quantity of mental health services patients receive, while efficiently matching care on the basis of the clinical complexity of patients.
Authors: Bradley E Belsher; Daniel P Evatt; Xian Liu; Michael C Freed; Charles C Engel; Erin H Beech; Lisa H Jaycox Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2018-04-27 Impact factor: 5.128
Authors: Rachel M Ranney; Rebecca Gloria; Thomas J Metzler; Joy Huggins; Thomas C Neylan; Shira Maguen Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2022-07-01 Impact factor: 4.324