Institute of Medicine
Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Work Force

In April of 2008, IMPACT was profiled as a model program of care for older adults in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Work Force. IMPACT was described in the report as one of the "innovative ways in which care is being provided to older adults at several points along the care continuum and in a variety of settings." It also identified development of effective healthcare teams as one of the key challenges in redesigning the healthcare system.

The Commonwealth Fund
Organizing the US Health System for High Performance

In August 2008, The Commonwealth Fund published a report, Organizing the US Health System for High Performance, in which they cited IMPACT as an example of the advantages of team-based care. Specifically, the report states that "in addition to having a performance infrastructure, it is also important that providers offer team-based care...the IMPACT program, disseminated by the University of Washington, improves the quality and efficiency of care for patients with late-life depression through collaborative team work."

President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health featured IMPACT as one of eleven national model programs in its report. The commission stated the following:

"Collaborative care models should be widely implemented in primary health care settings and reimbursed by public and private insurers. Numerous studies have documented the effectiveness of collaborative care models. Expanded screening and collaborative care models, such as the Collaborative Care Model for treating late-life depression in primary care settings (IMPACT) can save lives …The commission recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veteran's Affairs, and other Federal and State sponsored health insurance programs and private insurers identify and consider payment for core components of evidence-based collaborative care including:

• case management
• disease management
  
• supervision of case managers, and
  
• consultations to primary care providers by qualified mental health specialists that do not involve face-to-face contact with clients.”

To view the report, go to the link below. IMPACT is referenced in Figure 4.3 near the very end. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/mentalhealthcommission/reports/FinalReport/FullReport-05.htm

National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health represents over 200 large employers, health care companies, benefits consultants and vendors. It is the nation’s only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to finding innovative solutions to the nation’s most important healthcare and related benefits issues.

In December 2005 the group published "An Employer’s Guide to Behavioral Health Services: A Roadmap and Recommendations for Evaluating, Designing and Implementing Behavioral Health Services." The guide outlines strategies employers can use to create a system of affordable and effective behavioral health services for their employees.

The publication references IMPACT in relation to its recommendation that “collaborative care should be widely implemented when patients are treated for mental health or substance abuse disorders, in part or in whole, in the primary care setting.”

To view the guide, visit the link below.:
http://www.businessgrouphealth.org/pdfs/fullreport_behavioralhealthservices.pdf

The Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) sponsors The Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce. The Annapolis Coalition has a two-part mission: build a national consensus on the nature of the workforce crisis and promote improvements in the quality and relevance of education and training by identifying and implementing strategies for change. Toward those ends, the Annapolis Coalition is building a registry of innovative practices in workforce development. In early 2007, they selected IMPACT as the top program in their Aging category of exemplary models for workforce development in geriatric mental health. The SAMHSA and the Annapolis Coalition websites will feature the top programs in each category later this year.

Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD)

This is a national coalition of patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups and health policy experts, committed to raising awareness of policies and practices that save lives and reduce health costs through more effective prevention and management of chronic disease. In September 2007, PFCD published a Policy Platform that cites IMPACT as a model program to "promote proven approaches to greater coordination of care and integrate the primary care provider more completely into the care management process to increase quality and efficiency." IMPACT is referenced on pages 6-7 of the report. In July 2008, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease invited IMPACT to be listed in their promising practices database.

Portal of Geriatric Online Education (POGOe)

POGOe is an online clearinghouse that disseminates to medical educators a wide range of high-quality geriatric educational products including the IMPACT program. These products help integrate geriatrics content into teaching and are becoming the most comprehensive option for those interested in geriatric education.

POGOe users can utilize or adapt tested products in their learning environments. And POGOe depends on users to provide feedback, suggestions and experiential notes about the products they implement. This gives product authors useful feedback from end users about their experience.

To visit the POGOe website, go to: http://www.pogoe.org
Note: you must create a login to explore the POGOe website.