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Mental Health

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Editorial: Lend your feedback to the Pa. School Safety Task Force

RCPA is encouraging our members to take this opportunity to provide Governor Wolf and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale with input about what state officials and the mental health community should do to improve school safety. The task force, led by Governor Wolf and Auditor General DePasquale, is compiling a report due later this year.

The Task Force’s mission is to evaluate issues such as funding for school safety, access to physical and mental health support, effectiveness of state requirements for training and security, how well safety issues are reported, and whether precautions like anonymous tip tools are in place. The Pennsylvania School Safety Task Force was formed after the Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Please use this link to submit feedback.

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In preparation for the launch of Community HealthChoices (CHC) in the Southeast region, this CHC Fact Sheet explains the delivery of service coordination through the program. Under CHC, service coordination is a function of the managed care organizations (MCOs). A service coordinator is the MCO’s designated, accountable point-of-contact for each participant receiving long-term care services, their person-centered service plan, and service coordination. Therefore, the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) sees the service coordinators as part of the MCO under CHC.

In addition to the fact sheets, there are now short, easily digestible overview trainings on CHC that can be found here in order to increase stakeholder knowledge in anticipation of the Southeast rollout of the program.

To assist stakeholders in finding answers to questions more quickly, all FAQs have been consolidated into a single CHC Questions and Answers Document. The new document is in searchable PDF format and contains a table of contents that allows the user to easily move to different sections within the document.

The CHC Questions and Answers Document can be found on both the Participant and Provider sections of the CHC website by clicking on “View CHC Publications” or by following this link.

CONTACT: If you have any questions, please visit the CHC website or submit comments via email.

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Transformational Change Requires Transformational Leadership
National Council for Behavioral Health and MTM Services Webinar Series

The move to measurement-based care as well as the operational, clinical, and financial changes ahead for behavioral health providers require transformational leadership. Get equipped to be successful in this changing world — join David Lloyd, founder of MTM Services, in a two-part webinar where he will revisit his popular NatCon18 presentation, share his insights based on more than twenty-five years of implementing transformational change, and take questions from the audience.

About the Webinars
On Thursday, June 21 at 12:30 pm ET, David will address the biggest challenges facing today’s behavioral health care providers and how to assess an organization’s readiness for change, including strengths and areas of risk.

Then on Wednesday, July 11 at 12:30 pm ET, David will discuss tangible strategies for shifting to a sustained Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) -based change process, including appropriate roles for all team members.

Have a question about one of the topics? Submit your questions at the end of your registration and it will be addressed during the appropriate webinar session.

Register today.

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The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) is hosting a two-day conference on Wednesday, July 18 & Thursday, July 19, that will provide participants with an opportunity to network and learn about the latest developments in the sexual assault movement. The conference will showcase how different parts of the field are tackling sexual violence. There will be a Prevention track; a track hosted by the PA Chapter of Children’s Advocacy Centers. Other topics include self-care and human trafficking.

Please follow this link for details about registration and contact information for PCAR.

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Please join our friends at the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators (PCYA), an affiliate of the County Commissioners Association of PA, and the Pennsylvania Council on Children, Youth, and Family Services (PCCYFS) as they recognize the dedicated professionals and service providers who work to protect and provide services that support safety, well-being, and permanency for Pennsylvania’s children.

In light of the focus on the child welfare system in PA, RCPA Children’s Division will continue to provide additional advocacy and support of recommendations and activities that lead to comprehensive child welfare systems reform. RCPA children’s services providers are well-positioned to provide a diverse array of services that address child abuse prevention, intervention, trauma treatment, and when necessary, post-placement services.

For more information about the Providers’ Awareness Week and related activities, please contact Jennifer A. James at PCYA.

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On May 11, 2018, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a new federal rule that will allow VA doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to administer care to Veterans using telehealth, regardless of where in the United States the provider or Veteran is located. This includes across state lines and outside of a VA facility.

Previously, it was unclear whether VA providers could furnish care to Veterans in other states through telehealth because of licensing restrictions or state-specific telehealth laws. This new rule exercises federal preemption to override those state restrictions, paving the way for VA to expand care to Veterans using telehealth.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking comments on a draft bulletin regarding Consent to Mental Health Treatment for Minor Children. Please submit any comments you have on this draft bulletin via email no later than the close of business on Thursday, June 7, 2018. Should you decide to submit comments, please feel free to copy Robena Spangler, RCPA Children’s Division Director. Thank you for your interest and participation.

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CMS’ Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) Maternal and Infant Health Initiative (MIHI) Value-Based Payment (VBP) team is hosting a national webinar on Thursday, May 17, 2018, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET about using VBP strategies to incentivize change in maternal and infant health care delivery models.

During this webinar, participants will learn about VBP and contractual approaches that incentivize the use of innovative maternal and infant health care delivery models within Medicaid and CHIP. The speakers will also describe the considerations for implementing VBP approaches to finance care delivery models that improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Finally, presenters from Ohio and New York will describe the opportunities and challenges they faced when aligning maternal and infant health care delivery models with VBP approaches.

To register for this webinar, please visit this link.

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Earlier this week, RCPA staff attended the 2018 Pennsylvania Interagency Conference in State College, PA. During this event, RCPA was made aware of the following two upcoming conferences on suicide prevention, also to be held during the month of May:

  • State Suicide Prevention Conference on Thursday, May 10 & Friday, May 11 at the Best Western Premier – Harrisburg. Full conference information can be found by visiting this web page.
  • Higher Education Suicide Prevention Conference on Monday, May 21 & Tuesday, May 22 at the Penn Stater – State College. Full conference information can be found here.

Further questions may be directed to Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

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On Wednesday, April 25, the State Senate passed HB 478 – the Outpatient Psychiatric Oversight Act – unanimously (49–0). The Senate made technical amendments to the bill, so the bill will now be sent back to the House for a concurrence vote. Once the House votes to concur with the Senate amendments, the bill will head to the Governor’s desk for his signature. The bill was introduced by Rep. Tina Pickett (R – Bradford) after being contacted by RCPA members in her district. RCPA worked with Rep. Pickett, Garth Shipman, Executive Director of the House Insurance Committee, Senator Lisa Baker (R–Luzerne), and Mike Cortez, Executive Director of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee through the legislative process.

Under this legislation, an outpatient psychiatric clinic is required to have a psychiatrist on site for two (2) hours of psychiatric time per week for each full-time equivalent treatment staff member employed by the outpatient psychiatric clinic. HB 478 permits 50 percent of the required onsite psychiatric time be provided by an advanced practice professional specializing in behavioral health with prescriptive authority in this Commonwealth. Telepsychiatry provided by a psychiatrist that is not on site with prescriptive authority in the Commonwealth may be utilized with a service description approved by the Department of Human Services (DHS) but shall not be included in the required psychiatric time required. DHS is directed to promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

HB 478 defines the following terms:

“Advanced practice professional.” A registered, licensed, or certified health care practitioner who has gained additional specialized knowledge, skills, and experience through a program of study in that specialty. A person who:

  1. (I) holds a current Pennsylvania license as a certified registered nurse practitioner with a mental health certification; or

    (II) obtains a mental health certification within two years of being hired by a psychiatric outpatient clinic or within two years of the effective date of this section, whichever is later; or

  1. (I) holds a current Pennsylvania license as a physician assistant with a mental health certification; or

    (II) obtains a mental health certification within two years of being hired by a psychiatric outpatient clinic or within two years of the effective date of this section, whichever is later.

“Full-time equivalent.” Thirty-seven and one-half hours per week.

“Interactive Audio and Video.” Real-time two-way or multiple-way communication between a psychiatrist and an individual.

“Outpatient psychiatric clinic.” A nonresidential treatment setting in which psychiatric, psychological, social, educational, and other related services are provided under medical supervision. It is designed for the evaluation and treatment of individuals of any age with mental illness or emotional distress. Outpatient services are provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis.

“Psychiatrist.” A physician who has completed at least three years of a residency in psychiatry and is licensed to practice psychiatry in this Commonwealth.

Contact RCPA Director of Government Affairs Jack Phillips with any questions.

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