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February 23, 2009
Program reduces psychiatric hospitalizations, patients report
East Metro Mental Health Roundtable meets Tuesday
St. Paul, Minn., - A pioneering initiative by three St. Paul-area hospitals - St. Joseph's, Regions and United - helped reduce hospitalizations and thoughts of self-harm related to mental health crises while also helping to connect patients with insurance benefits, hospital officials reported today.
The Mental Health Drug Assistance Program (MHDAP) is one of several initiatives developed in 2006 by the East Metro Mental Health Roundtable a public/private working group with participation from more than 25 government, law enforcement and social service agencies, religious organizations, health systems and hospitals, and others who address crisis-level needs in mental health care delivery in the community.
MHDAP addresses barriers that mental health patients have in obtaining healthcare coverage to pay for medications and the lack of supportive services to help them stay on medications. Gaps in adequate healthcare and medication coverage are associated with increased risk of psychiatric hospitalizations, which can cost the community an average of $12,000-15,000 per visit. MHDAP provides 30 to 90 days of stop-gap psychiatric drug coverage funding for low-income patients. Many of these patients are eligible but not enrolled in government assistance programs, which can take up to 12 weeks to become active.
In 2008, its first full year of operation, MHDAP funded the filling of 882 psychiatric prescriptions worth nearly $150,000 for approximately 300 patients in mental health crisis. Among the highlights of the first year report of the program participants:
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Increased coverage 109 of the 200 participants who were eligible became enrolled in public benefit or other insurance programs.
- Decrease in inpatient hospitalization The percentage of participants who reported they required inpatient psychiatric hospital care dropped from 26 percent for first-time MHDAP users to zero for third-time users.
- Decrease in self-harm The percentage of participants who reported having thoughts of self harm went from 36 percent for first-time MHDAP users to 15 percent for third-time users.
Under MHDAP, social workers and care providers at Regions, St. Joseph's, United hospitals, and HealthPartners Medical Group Clinics; the crisis services of Ramsey, Dakota and Washington County; and employees of the East Metro Adult Crisis Stabilization Program (EMACS) have had the ability to provide prescription vouchers to patients. Participating pharmacies fill the prescription vouchers, waving the full price of the medication or co-pays as necessary. MHDAP has been funded by HealthEast, United Hospital and HealthPartners, as well as by grants from the St. Paul and Bigelow foundations.
"First and foremost this program benefits our patients because they are getting the right medications and the right care at the right time," said Mary Brainerd, president and CEO, HealthPartners. "MHDAP is a great example of how partnerships can help us work smarter in meeting our toughest challenges."
The East Metro Mental Health Roundtable reconvenes Tuesday, Feb 24, at Regions hospital to identify further ways to improve mental healthcare of the East Metro.
About the three St. Paul Hospitals
Regions Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin for more than 130 years. Regions is a premier, full-service, private hospital providing outstanding medical and surgical care with special programs in heart, women's care, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, burn and emergency care. Regions is part of the HealthPartners family of health care organizations. More information about the hospital is available at www.regionshospital.com.
St. Joseph's Hospital, a member of HealthEast Care System, was founded in 1853 as Minnesotas first hospital. Located in downtown St. Paul, it is the largest of the HealthEast hospitals with 401 licensed beds. The hospital is home to the National Brain Aneurysm Center, HealthEast Heart Care, the CyberKnife Center, the HealthEast Kidney Stone Institute, and HealthEast Bariatric Care, and provides a comprehensive range of medical, surgical, diagnostic, and rehabilitative services, as well as mental health and chemical dependency treatment programs.
United Hospital, the largest hospital in the Twin Cities east metro area, is a not-for-profit hospital providing a full range of health care services to more than 200,000 people each year. United offers a wide range of health services including a birth center, cardiac care in the Nasseff Heart Center, emergency care, oncology, orthopedics, neurosciences and epilepsy, a pain center, rehabilitation, medical imaging and surgery. More information about United Hospital, which is part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, can be found on the Internet at www.unitedhospital.com.
Contact: 651-254-4730
651-629-0411 pager
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