CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
Spring 2021 Issue |
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Update from the APA Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing
By Robert L. Trestman, PhD, MD
Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
I have had the honor of chairing the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing (CHSF). The CHSF, which meets monthly, monitors and provides analysis for significant issues that impact the financing, delivery of, and access to psychiatric care.
These efforts include outreach to decision makers in both the public and private sectors. Council members provide guidance on APA’s responses to the Administration on healthcare reform, quality, and payment reform. CHSF has convened several work groups, the first on hospital inpatient psychiatric care, which focuses on issues relating to inpatient care (bed shortages, staffing, etc.). The second work group was formed as a result of the Board of Trustees work group on Continuing Care Criteria for Acute Inpatient Settings. The Board work group drafted a report which included several recommendations for the Council work group to assess and address. This work group is a joint venture with the APA Council on Quality. Aside from these ongoing efforts, the Council has continued reviewing and revising existing APA policies referred to us by the Joint Reference Committee, as well as addressing concerns raised by the Assembly action paper process. Members of the Council are also participating in a work group, led by the Council on Advocacy and Government Relations, on drafting a Resource Document on Advocating for Anti-Racist Mental Health Policies.
CHSF has recently reviewed numerous documents, member resources, and letters to the Administration relating to COVID-19. This included Council members providing feedback on APA’s Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster draft guidance document entitled; Changing the System: Cultivating Preparedness For Future Public Health Emergencies and input on a letter to the Administration on President Trump’s Executive Order: Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery.
The Council finalized the Resource Document on Social Determinants of Health, which is posted on APA’s website (https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/search-directories-databases/library-and-archive/resource-documents). The Council’s work continues to be both challenging and absorbing, with opportunities to help share responses to challenges and influence regional and national policy.
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