Policy Statement from Institute for Behavioral Healthcare Improvement

March 13, 2018

Real improvements have been called for in care for people with behavioral health problems.

Much discussion has occurred in recent weeks about the potential value of more care for people with behavioral health problems.  Some proposals have been made for improving care which have no or very little evidence to support their implementation.  The Board of the Institute for Behavioral Healthcare Improvement calls on policy makers to choose key changes in services which have evidence to support their implementation.  These are establishment of standards for:

  1. Early intervention, especially for teenagers and younger, in the development of behavioral health problems, especially in presentation of psychosis.
  2. Special and intensive care for people following first psychotic break .
  3. Long term follow up for people with psychosis to assure their care is not interrupted.
  4. Unified reporting of rate of recovery by all programs for all problem categories.  No other action is as likely to assure a general improvement in care.
  5. Immediate access to care – no waiting periods more than 12 hours.
  6. Assured access to safe living situations for anyone presenting with an addiction to alcohol or drugs.

These six actions will achieve a very large increase in recovery from behavioral health problems and save millions of lives and billions of dollars in both costs of care and lost productivity. Equally important, they will lead to far greater satisfaction with life for those who suffer, and major reduction in the stigma of behavioral health problems.

IBHI is a 501 (c) (3) organization not a part of any other organization, and is dedicated to improving the quality and outcome of care for people with behavioral health problems.  It is not an advocacy organization, except for the improvement of care in general.

For more information, visit the IBHI website www.ibhi.net or

call Executive Director Peter C Brown 518-732-7178.