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Consumer-Driven Standards and Guidelines in Managed Mental Health for Populations of African Descent
Disclaimer: The set of guidelines that are included in this document are general suggestions made by the panel for consideration by clinicians, who must continue to rely on their own professional judgment and training and the individualized assessment and needs of their patients. There is no representation here that these guidelines are appropriate for any particular patient. The panel that developed these guidelines disclaim all liability and cannot be held responsible for problems that may arise from their use.
Abstract
The Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research (University of Pennsylvania) is the first Center in the nation to complete a project that developed standards and guidelines in managed care for African Americans with mental illness. The Center’s multi-year project focused on eight groups of the mentally ill: Adults, African Americans, Aged, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, Children, the Dually Diagnosed, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Specialty panels of mental health professionals and consumers of mental health services developed standards and guidelines for each of these groups.
The African American Panel was comprised of nineteen university professors, researchers, consumers, private sector health care executives and state mental health officials from across the United States. Their report made the following findings:
Mental health systems base their programs on the assumption that there are not significant differences in mental health needs by race;
African Americans are diagnosed more frequently with a severe mental illness than corresponding white populations;
Limited standards or guidelines exist specific to African American populations in either managed health care or fee-for-service health care.
To improve mental health care of African American populations in managed health care, the panel developed a comprehensive set of standards and guidelines and made the following set of recommendations:
Utilize cultural competency as the framework for service design and delivery;
Develop outcome measurement scales specific to African Americans;
Develop additional standards based on differences in age and gender;
Translate standards, guidelines, and competencies into training and education;
Develop a national cultural competency certification process; and
Include cultural competency standards and guidelines in state contracts.
Table of Contents
Panel Members and Contact Information
Prevalence & Incidence of Mental Disorders
Definition of Practice Guidelines
Standard and Guidelines for Prevention, Education & Outreach
Standard and Guidelines for Styles of Communication
Standard and Guidelines for Access to Clinical Services
Standard and Guidelines for Comprehensive Assessment
Standard and Guidelines for Plan of Treatment
Standard and Guidelines for Self-Help
Standard and Guidelines for Implementation of Treatment Plan
Standard and Guidelines for Discharge Planning
Standard and Guidelines for Outcome Evaluation
Standard and Guidelines for Ongoing Program Development
Implementation Plan and Next Steps
For more information email MentalHealth@wiche.edu
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