scholarly journals Shifting to Remotely Delivered Mental Health Care: Quality Improvement in the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Daigle ◽  
Abraham Rudnick
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Specialized Mental Health

This paper presents an organizational (ambulatory) case study of shifting mental health care from in-person to remote service delivery due to the current (COVID-19) pandemic as a rapid quality improvement initiative. Remotely delivered mental health care, particularly using synchronous video and phone, has been shown to be cost-effective, especially for rural service users. Our provincial specialized mental health clinic rapidly shifted to such remote delivery during the current pandemic. We report on processes and outputs of this rapid quality improvement initiative, which serves a purpose beyond pandemic circumstances, such as improving access to such specialized mental health care for rural and other service users at any time. In conclusion, shifting specialized mental health care from in-person to remotely delivered services as much as possible could be beneficial beyond the current pandemic. More research is needed to optimize the implementation of such a shift.

scholarly journals A Brief History of Quality Improvement in Health Care and Spinal Surgery

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5S-9S
Author(s):  
Kevin Hines ◽  
Nikolaos Mouchtouris ◽  
John J. Knightly ◽  
James Harrop
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Spinal Surgery ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Institute Of Medicine ◽  
Technological Advances

While medical and technological advances continue to shape and advance health care, there has been growing emphasis on translating these advances into improvement in overall health care quality outcomes in the United States. Innovators such as Abraham Flexner and Ernest Codman engaged in rigorous reviews of systems and patient outcomes igniting wider spread interest in quality improvement in health care. Codman’s efforts even contributed to the founding of the American College of Surgeons. This society catalyzed a quality improvement initiative across the United States and the formation of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. Since that time, those such as Avedis Donabedian and the Institute of Medicine have worked to structure the process of improving both the quality and delivery of health care. Significant advances include the defining of minimum standards for hospital accreditation, 7 pillars of quality in medicine, and the process by which quality in medicine is evaluated. All of these factors have affected current practice more each day. In a field such as spinal surgery, cost and quality measures are continually emphasized and led to large outcome databases to better evaluate outcomes in complex, heterogeneous populations. Going forward, these databases will be instrumental in developing practice patterns and improving spinal surgery outcomes.

A Quality Improvement Initiative for Depression: Finally, a Model for use in “Real” Family Physician Time

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-199
Author(s):  
Helen Campbell ◽  
Magee Miller ◽  
Janet Stretch ◽  
Rivian Weinerman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Therapist ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Physician Time

Many patients with mental illness depend on family physicians (FPs) for their physical and mental health care, yet FPs often report dissatisfaction with the quality of mental health care they provide. A 2-year, quality improvement (QI) manual-based initiative was developed to increase FPs' diagnostic, cognitive-behavioural, and interpersonal treatment skills for depression. Two teams, each consisting of a psychiatrist and a mental health therapist, rotated through 18 family practices in Victoria, British Columbia, mentoring the model on-site with physicians and patients. Feedback suggests that this initiative enhanced the ability of FPs to diagnose depression and comorbid disorders, organize problems, and treat depression using non-pharmaceutical approaches.

Measuring patient voice matters: setting the scene for patient-reported indicators

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine de Bienassis ◽  
Solvejg Kristensen ◽  
Emily Hewlett ◽  
David Roe ◽  
Jan Mainz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Care Quality ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome Measures ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Quality And Outcomes

Abstract Background Achieving people-centred health care systems requires new and innovative strategies to capture information about whether, and to what degree, health care is successful in improving health from the perspective of the patient. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) can bring some of these new insights, and are increasingly used in research, clinical care, and policymaking. Methods This paper reflects the ongoing discussions and findings of the OECD PaRIS Working Group on Patient-reported Indicators for Mental Health Care. Results The OECD has been measuring quality of care for mental health conditions over the last 14 years through the Health Care Quality and Outcomes (HCQO) program; nonetheless, information on how persons with mental health problems value the services they receive, and impact of the services, remains limited. As of 2018, a survey from the OECD showed that only five of the twelve countries surveyed (Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom) reported PROMs and PREMs collection on a regular basis in mental health settings. The paper details some of the challenges specific to the collection and use of PROMs and PREMs in mental health care, and examples from countries which have implemented comprehensive programmes to gather information about PROMs and PREMs for individuals receiving mental health services. Conclusions Given the health and economic impact of mental ill-health across all OECD countries, there is significant value to being able to assess the quality and outcomes of care in this area using internationally-comparable measures. Continued international harmonisation of PROMs and PREMs for mental health through international coordination is a key way to facilitate the sharing of national experiences, promote the use of PROMs and PREMs, and create meaningful indicators for national and international benchmarking.

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