The AIMS Center, along with training partner Institute for Family Health, has collaborated with the New York State Office of Mental Health since 2013 to provide free training and support to clinics implementing Collaborative Care across New York State (NYS).
The partnership began with the NYS Collaborative Care Initiative for hospitals choosing to integrate physical and behavioral health as part of the Hospital Medical Home Demonstration Initiative, which was developed to improve the coordination, continuity, and quality of care for individuals receiving primary care services in outpatient settings used by teaching hospitals to train resident physicians. This effort then lead to the Collaborative Care Medicaid Program (CCMP), which allowed clinics and hospitals to apply to OMH for free collaborative care training and support from the AIMS Center and IFH, as well as the ability to bill Medicaid, making New York’s the first state Medicaid in the U.S. to offer reimbursement for Collaborative Care services.
In 2015, OMH began offering a subset of training and support services from the AIMS Center within the CCMP that included a shared learning component, called the Learning Network. This program was created specifically to train and connect clinicians from smaller, more rural and/or independent practices with one another and with larger health organizations throughout the state, as well as the opportunity to receive reimbursement for Collaborative Care services. Currently in its 7th iteration, the Learning Network continues to offer training and support to newly implementing clinics, as well as opportunities for Collaborative Care providers to connect and learn from one another.