Summary: Though adult mental health patients, substance abusers and children and adolescents may face different behavioral health issues, there's a common reason behind their frequent hospital and ER visits, explains Jay Hale, LPC, CEAP, director of quality improvement and clinical operations at Carolina Behavioral Health Alliance. Hale's organization uses a set of telephonic case management protocols to reduce avoidable inpatient and ER use by these populations. He describes some of the barriers telephonic case managers might face during member outreach, red flags that indicate a physician visit is warranted, and the role of primary care providers in the member's care continuum. Hale will present during a March 7, 2012 webinar, Telephonic Case Management: Protocols for Behavioral Healthcare Patients, during which he will share the case management protocol developed by his organization, including using scripts and surveys to assess patients' engagement in the treatment process and identify patients at-risk.
