White Papers
Zero Suicide at Beacon: Mental health parity includes workforce training
Everyone knows what a first aid kit is. We’ve all seen them. We’ve all used them. Convenient boxes containing the basic tools needed to treat medical emergencies: bandages and antibiotic ointments for cuts, cold compresses for burns, aspirin for headaches and inflammation.
But what if someone were to have a psychiatric emergency? Would others even know it was happening? Would anyone know what to do? Are there ‘tools’ to help someone in psychiatric distress?
The power of Zero
The U.S. News & World Report ranked Colorado Springs as number 11 on its list of 2017 Best Places to Live in the USA.
However, even in this ultimate vacation destination of snow-capped mountains and clean air, tragedy can strike.
The Look and Feel of Integrated Health Care
Any observer of health care has heard a lot about integration. The system can’t move forward without it.
It’s the panacea for siloed, fragmented care. Once we achieve the integration between behavioral and physical health services, we have achieved true person-centered, holistic care. Most people agree that integration is how we develop truly effective care, but how to implement integration remains a debated topic.
Hill Update: The Uphill Battle for the Mental Health Reform Act
In the midst of an election year and a national opioid addiction crisis, mental health is finally getting the attention it’s due.
The Mental Health Reform Act, which has already been approved by the Senate HELP Committee, is one of those efforts that is trying to right the ship to balance mental and physical health care.
Prince: Fame Highlights the Infamy of Opioid Addiction
I love Prince. My first job was at a movie theater that played Purple Rain for months.
I saw that movie hundreds of times, in five-minute bursts while I left the ticket booth unattended. My first concert was the Purple Rain tour – at the Capital Centre, outside of Washington, DC; one of the first albums I bought with my own money was Dirty Mind, on cassette, no less.
2016: A Year of Promise in the Fight Against Opioid Addiction
When it comes to addressing opiate addiction, it’s all beginning to come together.
Within mere days of each other, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a historic law holding great promise to curb the Commonwealth’s opioid epidemic; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines for prescribing opioids; and the U.S. Senate passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA) by a near-unanimous vote.
Addressing Depression Care Management in PCP Offices: Collaborative Care
If you have read Beacon Health Options’ white paper, “Integration,” you learned that more than half of all adults with major depressive disorder are already managed in primary care settings.
You also learned that most antidepressant medications are written by primary care physicians (PCPs). However, most concerning is that approximately 45 percent of those who complete suicide have seen their PCP within the past month.
Beginners Guide: Neuroscience of Opioid Addiction
In February, President Obama proposed a FY17 budget that allocates $1.1B in new funding to address the opioid use disorder crisis in the United States.
Whatever one’s politics (or general anxieties about the 2016 election season), we all agree that something must change. Despite the best efforts of policymakers, health care professionals, and communities to combat this problem, opioid deaths continue to rise, prompting the question: Why is the epidemic so pervasive?
Integration
Integration is a buzzword in mental health care, but what does it really mean?
Such a plethora of definitions leads to a lack of clarity about what activities need to take place, where, and by whom to really make a difference in improved health for people with mental illness.
Opioid Addiction Calls for a Chronic Disease Model of Care
Read Beacon Health Options’ white paper, “Confronting the Crisis of Opioid Addiction“ You’re unlikely to read or hear the news these days without learning more about the devastation of opioid addiction in our communities – large and small, rich and poor, urban and suburban – it’s everywhere, much the way the flu snakes its way through schools and workplaces. Indeed, there are a staggering 2 million Americans addicted to opioids; this fact should have the public standing at attention in a way it never has before. We have to do something – and quickly. While we’re hearing of it more than ever, addiction is not new. Where and when has the system failed? Deep-rooted challenges include addressing stigma and the “character…