Lisa H. Renfrow, BSN, RN
Director – Nursing Education Services/Special Projects
Acting Director – Mental Health Education
Lisa.Renfrow@arealahec.org
G. Shante West
Program Faculty Assistant
Shante.West@arealahec.org
Mental Health in Primary Care
The counties comprising the Area L AHEC region, along with areas throughout the state of North Carolina and the country, have experienced a scarcity of mental health providers. Primary care providers are noticing an increase in the number of patients with behavioral health issues turning to them for assistance. The staff at Area L AHEC responded by writing a grant to The Duke Endowment entitled Mental Health Reform Preparing the Providers in the Community Setting. The goal of the project is to improve health outcomes for patients with mental health issues by providing education to providers of primary health care regarding the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions in the primary care setting.
With funding from The Duke Endowment, Area L AHEC has developed a series of programs with modules on substance abuse, anxiety, geriatric issues, pediatric issues, and the medications used in treatment. The training has used algorithms to assess and treat patients with behavioral health concerns within the practice scope of the primary care practitioner. The project strives to support clinicians by providing resources and links to vital information, such as versions of the algorithms which can be downloaded. Partners in the project include iCare, Mountain AHEC, Wake AHEC, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and Northwest AHEC.
Links
Potentially Inappropriate Medications for the Elderly According to the Revised Beers Criteria
Suicide Prevention Information
Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much
Mountain AHEC’s Integrated Care Project
Reimbursement of Mental Health Services in Primary Care Settings
Experts Call for Integration of Primary Care With Mental Health, Substance Abuse Services
Duke AHEC is making available free pre-recorded one-hour web conferences for MH prescribers. These were all one hour presentation for the Sandhills psychiatrists.
Please let people in your regions know these are available and that we will be adding several more soon. We do not offer CE or CME but MDs can self-claim credits.
Funded by a grant from the Duke Endowment
Online Courses
“Enhancing Mental Health Practice: Core Communication Skills for Primary Care Clinicians.”
Involuntary Commitment Training – Currently there is no credit being offered for this program.
Webinar: Sponsored by the American Association of Suicidology
The UNC School of Government has created this training with the financial support of the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers, or “AHEC” program, specifically the Area L AHEC. In turn, the Area L AHEC received funding for this project from The Duke Endowment.
Downloads
These Zipped file(s) contain:
- The ReadMeFirst.txt file that you are currently reading and several eBooks
- Installable versions of the eReader
- Current versions of this software can also be downloaded for free at http://www.ereader.com
Download Area L AHEC PDA
- Anxiety Treatment Guidelines
- Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much
- Potentially Inappropriate Medications For The Elderly – Beers Criteria
- Suicide and Primary Care
Download Clinican Pocket Guide
© 2012