• NHMH - Five-Part Series Part 1
• NHMH - Five-Part Series Part 2
• NHMH - Five-Part Series Part 3
• NHMH - Five-Part Series Part 4
• NHMH - Five-Part Series Part 5

Part IV Many Questions Remain
(Health care is in a period of “disruptive innovation
A new paradigm of the way health care is delivered to YOU is being built right now!)

Part I The Changes in Context
Part II Why Change is Necessary
Part III Medical-Behavioral Health Care Integrated
Part IV Many Questions Remain
Part V What It All Means for YOU!

PART IV Unresolved Questions (NOTE: All italicized terms are defined in Glossary)

Health care is in a period of “disruptive innovation
A new paradigm of the way health care is delivered to YOU is being built right now!

This process of change – in how primary care is delivered to YOU – is only at the earliest stage. Which is why it is important for YOU the PATIENT to become informed, and get engaged and involved so that YOU can help re-shape health care.

Why does the health care system – one that is in the midst of trans-formative change – need YOUR involvement?

Because……
There are Many Still Unresolved Questions – Which You Can Help Answer! Over time…….

• How will individual (solo, group, hospital etc) medical practices adapt and adopt changes in ways compatible with their own unique practice “culture”? Or, do they need to change parts of their practice “culture”?

• How will PCMHs and ACOs actually work in practice, not just theory?

• How will the current health care workforce (doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, specialists etc) be re-trained to adopt new concepts, procedures, etc?

• How will medical school education change to reflect a changing health care paradigm, and best prepare the next generation of doctors?

• How can we protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients’ electronic health records even as health care teams collaborate and exchange information?

• What are the most effective ways of altering providers’ payments so as to promote high-quality, high value care?

• Will the integration of medical care and behavioral health care lead to a lessening of the pernicious stigma surrounding mental illness, and thereby promote greater recognition and acceptance among the public of the need for accelerated research into the causes, and possible prevention, of brain disorders?

• What will be the nature of the new working relationship between PCPs and behavioral health specialists?

• Will all of these changes lead to patients adopting healthier living habits?

• How can patients play a useful role in the integration of care and improving heath value?

These issues are still to be fully addressed – even so, we can begin thinking about them, and how they might affect us, and what we can do to improve the health care system.

*IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE QUESTIONS, YOU – THE PATIENT – MAY BE ABLE, SHOULD BE ABLE, TO HELP SHAPE THE ANSWERS *

COMING SOON
What it all means for YOU!