WATCH: Webinar on Billing CoCM codes, featuring three health system panelists describing their CoCM billing workflows – including benefits, challenges, and lessons learned. This webinar kicked off our new quarterly webinar series, a recording of the webinar can be found below, and slide handouts can be downloaded here.

The power of CoCM was testified to by Anna Ratzliff  before the US Senate Committee on Finance, highlighting its ability to leverage scarce psychiatric resources to treat a large number of patients in primary care and to get more patients better faster than usual primary care, even when usual care includes embedded psychotherapists.

Poll suggests increased need for mental health services, experts recommend CoCM  

A new study showed that Collaborative Care eliminated mental health care disparities between Black and white pregnant people. This study was presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting; research suggests that implementation of the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) during pregnancy improves the screening and treatment of depression and reduces racial disparities.

Two health plans share their experiences implementing Collaborative Care in a recent article in Psychiatric News. More than eighty published studies have shown that the Collaborative Care Model CoCM lowers the cost of care and results in better patient outcomes. While implementation of CoCM continues to gain momentum nationally, widescale implementation remains slow.

Patient-centered, high-quality mental health care requires providers to focus on population health. The Integrated Care Fellowship at the University of Washington prepares fellows for population-based health care.

On Sept. 10, U.S. Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX)  introduced bipartisan legislation that supports the implementation of Collaborative Care in the U.S.. This comes at an important time because 4 in 10 U.S. adults report symptoms of depression or anxiety, and 1 in 10 say they have seriously considered suicide.

A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry shows that Collaborative Care (CoCM) for bipolar disorder and/or PTSD is just as effective as treatment provided by a psychiatrist and psychologist. Both Collaborative Care and specialty mental health care were delivered by telemedicine to patients in federally qualified health centers. As stated in the article, “Patients in both groups experienced large and clinically meaningful improvements from baseline to 12 months.”

This updated resource from the AIMS Center guides organizations through developing thoughtful and clear suicide prevention protocols in primary care settings. The document includes principles to consider, essential elements of a suicide prevention protocol, and supporting resources, toolkits, and handouts to aid staff and providers in their response plans. 

As the pandemic heightens the demand for mental healthcare, experts are pushing for the adoption of scalable, evidence-based integrated care models like Collaborative Care. An article in Psychiatric News states that "CoCM is the only model that bundles all integrated services - including the psychiatric case review and recommendations - and is reimbursed by insurance; it is also the model with the most extensive evidence base for improved outcomes."

A new study published in Health Affairs collected data on depression outcomes from 135 primary care clinics with Collaborative Care programs. This study is the largest survey of Collaborative Care programs to date, and shows that clinics receiving ongoing implementation support, such as coaching from the AIMS Center, are almost twice as likely to achieve better depression outcomes. 

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unique (and reinforces long-standing) barriers to mental health access; yet, the demand for mental health services continues to increase. The Collaborative Care model (CoCM) offers a way to more efficiently leverage mental health expertise over broader service areas and patient populations, while utilizing the clinical reach and established telemedicine programs in primary care settings. The article below, published in JAMA Psychiatry, further outlines the needs for and benefits of CoCM in the COVID-19 era.