In 2015, the National Council reached out to member organizations distinguished by outstanding leadership in shaping psychiatric and addictions service delivery to create a new entity: the National Council Medical Director Institute (MDI).
Drawing from the members’ diverse breadth of knowledge and experience, the Medical Director Institute advises National Council members on best clinical practices and develops policy and initiatives that serve member behavioral health organizations, their constituent clinicians, and the governmental agencies and payers that support them.
Led by Sara Coffey, D.O. and Joseph Parks, M.D., the group tackles complex issues that impact the health and well-being of all Americans. Its greatest value lies in their ability to identify solutions and create concrete calls to action to ensure that all Americans have access to a comprehensive, integrated continuum of care with the expectation of recovery.
Position statements are developed based on expert understanding of current accepted standards of care in behavioral health. MDI members are uniquely qualified to develop position statements based on their ongoing clinical and operational leadership roles in the field. They are all board-certified psychiatrists with multiple specialty certifications, including general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and emergency psychiatry. Members practice within organizations that include freestanding community mental health centers, addiction treatment centers, academic centers and large multi-hospital systems. They have specialized experience in health systems policy, practice, and financing (including commercial insurance, Medicaid and Medicare).
MDI members possess demonstrated skill in applying multiple sources of evidence that determine the generally accepted standard of care including peer-reviewed studies in academic journals, consensus guidelines from professional organizations, and guidelines and materials distributed by government agencies.
Position statements of the MDI are passed by a two-thirds majority of the voting membership and require that more than 50 percent of MDI members register a vote.
SAMHSA CCBHC certification requirements include a requirement that CCBHC’s have a medical director as part of their executive team and that the medical director be responsible for facilitating the integration of care and clinical standards of care. To assist CCBHC’s with meeting these requirements the MDI has developed a draft position description for CCBHC medical directors.
The purpose of this paper is to present the Comprehensive Healthcare Integration (CHI) Framework, a new framework for guiding implementation of integration of physical health (PH) and behavioral health (BH) (mental health and substance use conditions), that can help providers, payers and population managers to measure progress in organizing delivery…
This brief guidance expands on the recommendations of the recently released report, Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System and provides additional guidance for how crisis system medical directors can be most effective in their roles.
Fentanyl and its analogs are currently the primary drivers of deaths in the opioid overdose crisis and responsible for the third wave of the opioid epidemic. In this paper, we offer principles and recommendations for remediating the impacts of the rising rates of drugs adulterated or laced with fentanyl.
After a rapid transition to essential and virtual services over a year ago, we must acknowledge and learn from the impressive performance of most behavioral healthcare provider organizations in adapting to meet the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. We must look to the future and recognize that organizations are faced…
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council) published a report on best practices guide on causes for non-adherence in September 2018 (National Council, 2018). Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic and response has created additional challenges with medication adherence. This addendum provides a brief review of challenges with adherence and…
This paper describes a model of providing psychiatric care in the CBHC clinic setting that will improve patient outcomes and improve the work experiences of all members of the team providing care. It also clarifies the potential and often underutilized value to a CBHC of the fully deployed psychiatric provider.
Despite a wealth of data showing that team-based care leads to equal or better outcomes in efficiency, effectiveness, safety, cost savings and quality, the broad adoption of team-based care in CBHCs remains the exception rather than the rule. A high-functioning team-based model for the behavioral health clinic should be the…
There is a medication gap in the United States that takes a toll on the quality of life and health of millions of people. Advances in medications have produced life-changing benefits for those with mental and substance use disorders, but too many people are not taking these medications as prescribed…
Today, more people are seeking mental health care than ever before, but there aren’t enough psychiatrists to meet the growing demand. Yet, few thought leaders acknowledge this “silent shortage.” We must step up before the silent shortage becomes a thunderous crisis that reverberates throughout the U.S. health care system leaving…