Result Area 3: Close Treatment Gaps and Improve Access
Result Area 3 focuses on ensuring that all Orange County residents can access needed behavioral health programs and services when and where they need them. The current focus is on interorganizational transitions of care and warm connections. CalOptima and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Orange County are serving as the backbone organizations for this result area.
Result Area Action Plan
Backbone and impact organizations participated in a planning process and met monthly to identify the overarching strategies, interventions and activities, and short- and long-term outcomes for the implementation phase.
Result Area 3 identified three overarching strategies and their associated interventions/activities to begin closing treatment gaps and improving access to MH/SUD services in Orange County. These strategies touch on the need for standardizing intake and screening protocols, standardizing transition of care protocols, and expanding the MH/SUD provider network and expertise. The underlying activity is to work across care systems to explore and build consensus around standard intake, screening, and transition protocols for Orange County.
Long Term Outcome
All OC residents can access needed programs and services when and where they need them – emphasis on inter-organizational transitions of care and warm connections.
Strategies and Activities
Standardize Intake and Screening Protocols Across Care Settings
- Create a curated list of screening tools and protocols
- Identify and implement a standardized intake form and protocol across care systems
- Conduct cross disciplinary training to establish common approaches
- Identify performance outcome measures
Short Term Outcomes
- Identified list of evidence-based screening tools
- Trained different providers, sectors and agencies
- Identified a standard intake and protocol to implement
- Identified list of outcome metrics
Standardize Transition of Care Protocols Between Care Systems and Levels of Care
- Identify and document breakdown areas during care transitions among hospitals, clinics, and providers
- Develop recommendations for hospital, providers, etc. to adopt to streamline and improve care transitions
- Create and pilot with a subset of organizations a universal data sharing agreement
- Develop cross organizational workflows and trainings to establish more streamlined care transitions
Short Term Outcomes
- Developed Universal Data Sharing agreement with key stakeholders
- Piloted data agreement to a couple of large sector organizations
- Trained different providers, sectors and agencies
Expand BH Provider Network and Expertise of MH and SUD Workforce
- Explore performance-based contracting with providers, including community defined values and metrics
- Explore development of a public/private provider network
- Streamline the process of becoming an in-network provider
Short Term Outcomes
- Convened community, providers, and payers
- Identified different models of performance-based contracting
Key Partners / Organizations
Representatives from various community-based organizations, Orange County Health Care Agency, Connect OC Coalition, consumer advocacy groups, legal aid organizations, hospitals, California Department of Public Health, behavioral health plans, and community members.
