New York State Collaborative Care Initiative

The New York State Collaborative Care Initiative is helping primary care residents learn how to effectively practice team-based care to treat mental health conditions, a skill that has become increasingly important as integrated care becomes more widespread. Outpatient clinics associated with teaching hospitals are implementing Collaborative Care around the state, increasing the quality of mental health care for thousands of New Yorkers. By providing different intensities of technical assistance, the AIMS Center evaluated what level of support is needed to effectively help organizations implement Collaborative Care. They have helped set-up a technical assistance team in New York to  provide on-site assistance to six clinics. The remaining sites are receiving web-based technical assistance (webinars and online tools). The implementation is using a patient registry (CMTS) to track and measure patient goals and clinical outcomes, and facilitate treatment adjustment if a patient is not improving as expected.