As I ponder on the year 2024, there is still much work to be done. I have taken it upon myself to make my own opportunities while engaging in professional development to grow myself personally and professionally. In those personal ventures, I have learned a multitude of information that will advance me in my current and future career goals. One never wants to stop learning. Life is about learning, but there comes a time when one must take all they have learned and pass the final test. My skill set has allowed me to understand the diversity of others while respecting who and what they represent. As a mental health professional and sole proprietor of an integrated behavioral health consulting company, there is still improvement in the integration and quality of care for those I serve. 

There are several barriers for clients who suffer from co-occurring disorders and need the next level of care. Some barriers that interfere with the success of quality integrated healthcare include the following: The lack of ability for healthcare systems to understand the integrated level of care model, assuming that organizations are accustomed to traditional mental health (Campbell as cited in Kozlowska Lumb, Tan, & Rea, 2018). Additionally, the lack of actual integrated care services, and the inability to place important emphasis on resource coordination and customer care following discharge of service, limited providers who specialize in dualed behavioral and primary care disorders, the inability to accommodate care and coordination services as a result of limited insurance or private pay benefits, the inability to have the required number of staff and funding to render integrated behavioral health services to clients  (McHugh, Pinnock & Hull as cited in Kozlowska  Lumb, Tan, & Rea, 2018). Furthermore, barriers to completing integrated care review the inability for the financial aspect of care from private primary care and hospitals solely to community-based payment systems (Campbell as cited in Kozlowska  Lumb, Tan, & Rea, 2018). Additional barriers of integrated health coordination include the inability of providers to effectively communicate for the betterment of patient care to access client information and confidentiality through use of electronic health records (Featherstone as cited in Kozlowska Lumb, Tan, & Rea, 2018). 

Barriers to successful primary and behavioral health implementation is the lack of interventions tailored to the client’s specific needs. Also, the inability to understand the roles of each multidisciplinary team member is also a barrier to adequate care, followed by the limited ability for professionals to undergo ongoing training in their respective career field, and the inability to correctly monitor key indicators and performance levels of both clinical staff and patient care (Hull as cited in Kozlowska Lumb, Tan, & Rea, 2018). Integrated healthcare practices can benefit from successful professional and client detail to treatment progression. It is paramount that providers believe in the support and model of integration. Additionally, agencies want to acknowledge the integration process by tailoring interventions and treatment specifically for each client disorder. 

Next, it is important to have complete approval from providers to ensure patient success. How the integration is submitted to clinical staff and leadership is paramount in providing effective care coordination for patients. Multidisciplinary teams also need to be aware of the ability to work together in efforts to provide outstanding patient care coordination. Lastly, streamlining patient care, organization, satisfaction, and result is important in the flow of integrated healthcare. I have several plans for my current practice to exceed in patient care and service coordination. 

I would like to take the practice of integrated behavioral health to prison systems to supply much needed care and services to those who are incarcerated and suffering from co-morbidities. While ensuring their current state of health improves, while learning additional skills to promote advancement of whole person care coordination and resource referral following completion of their required sentence. Not only do I want to focus on patient care, I would also like to include the health of patient families. My final project of thought consists of the ability for patients and their families to receive proper care through adult respite programs. This project will allow me to provide necessary support and programs to assist families in gaining relief in order for them to regain rest and stability and spend necessary time with both friends and family. My final plan is to include interventions in integrated care that use physical and massage therapy to treat patients with varying co-morbid disorders to improve quality care and alleviate pain through the effective use of pain management techniques in hospitals and skilled nursing home facilities. My plans for 2025 will consist of the following scriptures: 2 Peter 3:9, Proverbs 16:3, Matthew 19:26, and Psalm 46:5. It is already done!

Reference

Kozlowska, O., Lumb, A., Tan, G. D., & Rea, R. (2018). Barriers and facilitators to integrating primary and specialist healthcare in the United Kingdom: a narrative literature review. Future healthcare journal, 5(1), 64–80. https://doi.org/10.7861/futurehosp.5-1-64.