1. A Managed Behavioral Health Organization Operated by an Academic Psychiatry Department
- Author
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Heather Uncapher, Peter B. Rosenquist, Christopher C. Colenda, Kim Yates, Beth A. Reboussin, Burton V. Reifler, Judy Briggs, and Warren Teeter
- Subjects
Mental Health Services ,Gerontology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Psychiatric Department, Hospital ,Financial management ,Nursing ,Outpatients ,North Carolina ,medicine ,Humans ,Referral and Consultation ,Employer Health Costs ,Academic Medical Centers ,Inpatients ,business.industry ,Public health ,Managed Care Programs ,Health Maintenance Organizations ,Social environment ,Private sector ,Mental health ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Psychiatry department ,Utilization Review ,Managed care ,Health organization ,business - Abstract
As a means of adapting to managed care, the psychiatry department at Wake Forest University developed a managed behavioral health organization (MBHO) to manage the care of enrollees in QualChoice, the health maintenance organization of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Before the academic MBHO was created, care was managed by a for-profit MBHO. In this case study, financial and utilization data were obtained from both MBHOs and from QualChoice. The data confirm that the academic MBHO was able to offer competitive rates for its services. It also was able to increase enrollees' use of the medical center's own providers and facilities by making more referrals than were made by the for-profit MBHO. Developing a managed behavioral health organization can allow academic psychiatry departments, either individually or as consortia, to preserve the patient base they require for teaching, research, and financial stability.
- Published
- 2000