Outcomes: Public Health’s Lighthouse
One of our primary objectives over the last couple of years has been to shift the focus of our performance measures away from process and procedures toward actual outcomes. In other words, we don’t want to measure our success on whether someone’s paperwork is right, but on whether the services we provide actually help folks achieve their recovery goals. That’s why [...]
Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period begins today
October 15 to December 7 is when ALL people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plan and prescription drug coverage for 2013. Information on 2013 plans will be available beginning in October. People with Medicare can call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov for plan information. If a person is satisfied that their current plan will meet their needs for next year, [...]
AZ’s Future Essential Health Benefit Package
The future health insurance exchange plans (as well as most other commercially available plans) will need to offer a standardized (state-specific) Essential Benefit Package once the Affordable Care Act kicks in on 1/1/14. There are 10 key service categories that future plans will need to cover- including behavioral health services. States were responsible for picking a plan from a set [...]
Integrating Physical & Behavioral Health Services to Save Lives
We all need to take care of both our physical and behavioral health needs in order to be healthy. The mind and body aren't separated- and neither should the health-care delivery system- especially for folks with a serious mental illness. Folks with a serious mental illness die more than 25 years earlier than the general population… an unacceptable health disparity [...]
Improving Physical Activity & Nutrition for Folks with Special Needs
Special Olympics Arizona’s (SOAz) has been a core partner for improving the health of folks with disabilities in Arizona for a long time. They'll have an opportunity to take their mission even further as a result of our new partnership between Special Olympics and our Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs to better integrate kids with special health care needs and [...]
Fungi in Medicine
You’ve no doubt heard about the multi-state outbreak of fungal meningitis among patients who received an epidural steroid injections recently. Here’s what we know right now: Starting sometime in September some shipments of a steroid sometimes used to relieve back pain were contaminated with a fungus called Aspergillus fumigatus. Shortly thereafter patients in 23 states (not in Arizona at least [...]