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Substance Use Disorder Measures and Preparing for Value-Based Purchasing
In a previous column, I wrote about the measures for value-based purchasing being developed together with the New York State Department of Health and the Center on Addictions, our partner on many projects. Our work to develop clear measures has set the foundation for insurance plans, providers and...
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Will “System Transformation” Transform the System? Before We Celebrate: 20 Questions That Need Answers
System transformation is underway in New York State and throughout the United States through the development of elaborate financial structures such as accountable care organizations and health homes. No doubt these new structures will change the way business is done in the mental health system. But...
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Ongoing Transformations at The MHA of Westchester
The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA) continues to actively transform the delivery of our expansive array of services, increasingly moving from a conceptual commitment to provide holistic services to operationalizing a unified fabric of existing and newly created services....
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The NYSPA Report: New York’s Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Reporting Bill
If signed into law by Governor Cuomo, New York’s parity reporting bill (A.3694-C/S.1156-C) will be among the most comprehensive laws of its kind in the country. The bill was passed by both the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly in the final week of the 2017/2018 Legislative...
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Treatment Works! The Recipe to Recovery and Storytelling as Medicine
When I was training to be a child psychiatrist many years ago, I had a mentor who was one of the most well-known and beloved child psychiatrists in Illinois: Jay Hirsch, MD. Jay had many sayings, quotes, and “clinical pearls” he taught all of us and I continue to use today. One of my favorites...
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We Need to Do More Than Just Talk About Mental Illness
Reprinted from The Hill There was a time when no one talked about mental illness. But, today, every tragic shooting is accompanied by calls for greater access to mental health treatment. The wheels of legislation turn slowly, but mental illness is a public health crisis that requires immediate...
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BHN Spring 2018 Issue
"Harm Reduction: Theory and Practice” Articles in This...
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Supervised Injection Facilities: A Logical Progression in Harm Reduction or a Bridge Too Far?
The scourge of opiate abuse continues to rage unabated. It claimed 42,000 lives in 2016, more than in any previous year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). That’s 115 human lives per day. Five of our brothers and sisters are lost each hour. One of our parents, spouses, sons or...
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Boulevard Outpatient Stabilization Program
According to the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (2016), facilities were asked how many patients in treatment on 03/21/16 received MAT for detoxification and maintenance purposes. Within this survey, MAT includes the use of methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of...
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Through Health Care System Integration
In many communities, harm reduction programs have helped prevent overdoses, lower HIV risk and hepatitis transmission and open the door to treatment for substance users. Originally started in the late 1980s, harm reduction approaches introduced syringe exchange initiatives with the goal of reducing...
