IPS: Learn About Integrating Care and Expanding Partnerships

Psychiatry is in the midst of dramatic change, both as a medical specialty and as part of a broader transformation of health care. With those changes come many possibilities to improve the way we provide care that leads to better patient outcomes.

APA’s 2014 Institute on Psychiatric Services (IPS) will address many of the challenges and opportunities facing psychiatrists and mental health clinicians in today’s evolving health care system. The theme we have chosen for the IPS, which will be held in San Francisco October 30 to November 2, is “Integrating Science and Care in a New Era of Population Health.”

The Scientific Program Committee, led by one of this column’s authors, Hunter McQuistion, M.D., has prepared an outstanding program showcasing the latest in scientific research and emerging clinical topics in psychiatry and mental health. Attendees will recognize features that have been popular in the past, as well as enjoy new programming and APA partnerships.

We are especially honored that former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., will present the keynote address at the opening session. Dr. Satcher has long focused attention on improving access to quality health care for diverse and underserved populations and has been an early advocate for integrating behavioral health into health care. As part of those efforts, in 2006 he established the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Helping to organize important topics, particularly as they reflect the importance of integrated care, the program presents six overlapping tracks: Clinical; Collaborative Care; Chemical Misuse; Leadership and Advocacy; Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Questioning; and Professional Development.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) has offered unprecedented opportunity for Americans to access health care, and as a result, we are beginning to see greatly increased demand for psychiatric services. There is now a critical mass of evidence demonstrating the value of integrating general medical care with psychiatric care, providing higher-quality care to larger numbers of patients, and lowering health care costs. Psychiatry is already undergoing rapid shifts in practice, including new ways of working with our primary care colleagues. As we learn more about delivery models and embrace emerging public health opportunities, psychiatry is poised to make key contributions in health at both the individual and population levels.

To help APA members learn more about integrated care, IPS’s Integrated Care Track will address clinical approaches and evolving health care policy issues particularly relating to the ACA. Just a few of these sessions are “ACA and APA: Yes We Can,” chaired by Anita Everett, M.D.; Lori Raney, M.D., on “Primary Care and Behavioral Health: Advanced Practical Skills for the Consulting Psychiatrist”; a session on “Risk Management and Liability Considerations in the Integrated Care Setting”; and a presidential symposium on the current state of primary care and psychiatry integration. Moreover, IPS’s Professional Development Track will enable meeting participants to identify sessions that provide tools to cope with a changing practice landscape, for example “Finding Your Ideal Job in Psychiatry.”

Another focus concerns addictive disorders. In response to many requests by past IPS attendees, the Chemical Misuse Track has been added to the program. The role of psychiatrists in tobacco cessation will be discussed by Jill Williams, M.D., in “Smoking and Mental Illness: A Wake-Up Call for Psychiatrists,” and there will be a symposium on approaches to smoking cessation led by Steven Schroeder, M.D., a former president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a distinguished leader in this area. Considering the current public debate on the risks and benefits of cannabis, IPS will offer a presentation on Colorado’s experience with medical marijuana and a workshop on prenatal exposure to cannabis. There also will be sessions on nondrug behavioral addictions, such as gambling.

Reflecting the integrative nature of our work and our desire to create strong bridges with allied professions, APA has teamed up with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to create a special series of sessions for social workers. APA and NASW share the same person-centered objectives, striving to provide the best possible care and outcomes. As part of this series, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., and NASW CEO Angelo McClain, Ph.D., L.I.C.S.W., will facilitate a dialogue among a panel of psychiatrists and social workers.

We are also building on APA’s initiative with the faith community through the newly formed Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership (Psychiatric News, August 1) with a special interdisciplinary symposium, “At the Intersection of Spirituality and Mental Health: Psychiatrists and Faith Leaders Working Together.” The symposium, chaired by Altha Stewart, M.D., will be a constructively provocative session that exemplifies IPS’s eclectic and explorative character.

APA’s Division of Diversity and Health Equity (DDHE) will spotlight the LGBT community in its “On Tour” disparities education program track, with two poignant sessions co-organized by the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists: “Care of the Transitioning Transgender Patient,” which will be held Friday, October 31, at 3:30 p.m., and “Wrestling With the Angel: Psychotherapy, Struggle, and Faith in Lesbians and Gay Men,” which will be held Saturday, November 1, at 1:30 p.m. DDHE is also hosting a community event on Thursday, October 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center (1800 Market Street). Psychiatrists, mental health providers, and community leaders will discuss behavioral health concerns of the LGBT community in the Bay Area; refreshments will be served. A brochure listing these and more diversity-related sessions at IPS, including the John Fryer Award Lecture by Dee Mosbacher, M.D., Ph.D., on Saturday, November 1, at 10 a.m., can be accessed here.

Finally, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and we will feature a timely discussion titled “The Civil Rights Movement and African-American Mental Health” in a presidential forum. Other sessions, such as the Solomon Carter Fuller Award Lecture by William Lawson, M.D., will also examine issues related to accessing services and providing clinical care to people of African origin.

This is an unusually robust program that offers intellectual stimulation, relevance, and collegiality. As always, we appreciate IPS’s longtime support from the American Association of Community Psychiatrists. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco and helping in the effort to provide education about how we can reach more people with our skills, expertise, and dedication to personal recovery. ■