CFHA 2010 Annual Conference

Many pilots of integrated care are going on across the country, and there is a growing body of data that indicates that this integrated approach is more effective, cost-effective and efficient than "dis-integrated" care. The Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative - the major national group promoting the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) has recognized the importance of integrating behavioral health into the PCMH. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has challenged all working in this area to develop an even stronger evidence base to identify which specific components of collaborative care are most important.

The CFHA Conference offers presentations that emphasize research, best practices and models for:

• Providing a multi-disciplinary, team-based approach to care that may go beyond medical and behavioral health integration and might incorporate other disciplines such as dentistry, nutrition and pharmacy for a more whole-person approach to care.
• Successfully establishing medical (bi-directional) care in non-medical settings, such as community mental health centers, in particular for persons with severe mental illness.
• Succeeding in connecting individuals to a healthcare home.
• Empowering individuals and families as owners of their care.
• Implementing policies and addressing reimbursement challenges that create barriers to collaborative approaches to care.
• Training health care providers to work in teams in collaborative settings.

The theme of CFHA's 2010 Conference is "Remaking National Healthcare - Collaborative Care for a Healthier America." The world watches as the United States implements the recently passed federal healthcare reform. Outside of Washington DC important innovations regarding the Patient-Centered Medical Home occur every day at the state, community, and organizational levels. The 2010 CFHA Conference will help participants to:

• Assess the status of collaborative care in the context of current reform efforts.
• Identify policy and financial reforms that would make family-centered healthcare sustainable.
• Describe how clinicians, researchers, administrators, and educators can benefit from policy changes.