Important updates from the SIM office

Health Innovations July 2017

Extending integrated care with SIM cohort 2

We continue to move the needle toward helping Colorado become the healthiest state by integrating behavioral and physical health in primary care settings. The Colorado State Innovation Model (SIM) is working with 92 primary care practice sites, which serve 321,543 patients, and we will soon expand that circle.

On July 7, the team sent acceptance letters to 168 practices that applied for cohort 2, which will start its practice transformation work in September. The team will receive confirmation of participation in August from this group, which includes independent and hospital-owned practices, pediatric practices, nurse-led primary care practices, school-based clinics and general medicine practices.

SIM, an initiative that is funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will ultimately work with 400 primary care practice sites and four community mental health centers. Learn more about the initiative on the website, and follow us on social media channels to get the latest information.

Time is running out to apply for TCPi

The Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPi), which helps healthcare providers succeed with alternative payment models through valuable coaching and guidance, is nearing capacity. There are more than 1,600 physicians participating in the initiative, which can support 2,000 providers in the state. Learn more about TCPi and apply today before time runs out.

SIM helps four community mental health centers deliver whole-person care

SIM is helping patients access whole-person care in trusted settings. Learn about the four community mental health centers (CMHCs) that are integrating physical health into their behavioral healthcare settings. Hear examples of how these CMHCs are making a difference in the lives of patients in the latest episode of our Innovation Insights podcast.

SIM small grants enable better care

Electronic screenings improve patient-provider interactions, enhance process efficiency and help healthcare teams collect more accurate data. Learn how SIM small grants are making electronic screenings a reality across the state in this story. And, in case you missed the first piece in our small grant series, click here to read about how SIM practices are using small grants to hire behavioral health clinicians.

SIM by the numbers

See the reach and scope of practice transformation work underway as part of the SIM initiative. Click here to view a new infographic and check out the SIM data hub, which is updated regularly with new data points.

Community collaboratives enhance patient health, access

One of the four SIM pillars is to improve population health across Colorado. Groups are creating a formal partnership between unrelated organizations, resident groups and/or public entities to meet behavioral health goals. These collaboratives gather assets and resources to increase access to behavioral health prevention services and care, which improves patient outcomes. Read the full story to learn more.

Progress made on State of Health

On July 10 Gov. John Hickenlooper announced that significant progress has been made on The State of Health, the Governor’s plan to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation, during a press conference. The State of Health Scorecard highlights the risk to this progress should the Senate move forward with cuts to health programs. Click here to see a scorecard summarizing the state’s progress and accomplishments, which include SIM successes.

Register for Advanced IBH Training July 26-27

Denver Health’s integrated behavioral health (IBH) academy is excited to announce the release of four new specialty courses: Trauma and PTSD- Considerations and Recommendations for Treatment in Primary Care; Caring For Complex Patients; Psychopharmacology for the IBH Professional; and Practice Modification to Embrace Multiculturalism- Balancing the Individual and the Evidence. Courses will be presented over July 26th and 27th at the Westside Family Health Center in Denver, Colorado. Sign up for courses individually or receive a discount when you register for a group of trainings. Click here to register!

Colorado Medicaid to tighten opioid usage policy

In a continued effort to address the growing opioid epidemic in Colorado, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing announced it is tightening its policy on prescribing and dispensing opioid pain medications to Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) members. Click here to read more.

What would you do?

Few people suffer as much from secrecy as patients and families touched by mental illness. Secrecy hurts. It contributes to the dilemmas that face us, whether we or our loved ones suffer from an intermittent mood disorder or from a severe mental illness that makes a productive life hard or impossible.

Derailed, a 5-part podcast series, helps to break the silence by bringing to life the authentic experience of one man suffering from mental illness, including the excruciating dilemmas – the “hard calls” — that face everyone in his circle — partners, kids, relatives, colleagues and doctors. Shining a light on these dilemmas, and on a broken system, is a first and important step toward change.

Click here to listen to the first four episodes of Derailed.