Partnership to Research Quality of Care in Managed Behavioral Healthcare
Norfolk, VA (HRMarketer/PRWeb) April 1, 2005 -- ValueOptions announced today that they have formed a research collaborative with the Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, a regional academic health system affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
The partnership will conduct ground-breaking research related to managed behavioral health care with a focus on improving quality of care and strengthening business practices.
We are very enthusiastic about partnering with ValueOptions," said Dr. Howard Shaffer, associate professor and director of the Division on Addictions. Collaborative efforts such as these often yield more useful outcomes than research done in isolation, and we look forward to improving quality of care in behavioral health through this dedicated research initiative."
ValueOptions is excited to be working with the Division on Addictions on this important research project," said Dr. Don Christensen, corporate chief clinical officer for ValueOptions. Their reputation for excellence in the field complements our commitment to improving care and together we hope to improve the treatment of complex behavioral disorders by developing better screening methods and improving treatment processes."
The partnerships initial collaboration includes the execution of a three-phase project. The first research phase will direct scientific attention to managed behavioral care by conducting an in-depth critical analysis of the available managed behavioral healthcare literature.
The second phase of the project will use an epidemiological approach to analyze the impact of service delivery and treatment program characteristics on patient progress. The goal of this phase is to identify operationally-defined optimal levels of care and program attributes that can both improve treatment outcomes and contain healthcare costs. The final phase of the project will explore the development of screening instruments to identify complex cases" as early as possible during the treatment process, and to test whether different expressions of addiction or mental health disorders share patterns of risk factors, symptoms, consequences, and temporal progression.
About the Division on Addictions
The Cambridge Health Alliance Division on Addictions directs educational, medical, and scientific resources toward alleviating the vast and complex array of public heath problems caused by addictive behaviors. The Division coordinates research, education, training, and communication relevant to substance abuse at Cambridge Health Alliance. Through its public forums, public education activities, middle school curriculum development, and high school student internship program, the Division is reaching a diverse constituency. For more information, please visit www.divisiononaddictions.org.
About Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge Health Alliance is an innovative, award-winning health system affiliated with Harvard Medical School. It includes three hospitals, more than 20 primary care practices, the Cambridge Public Health Department, and the Network Health plan. With this unique model, the Alliance is able to offer the finest health services, a diverse working environment, and a premier training experience in community-based medicine.
About ValueOptions
One of the nations premier behavioral health care management organizations, ValueOptions serves nearly 23 million people across the country through publicly funded and commercial contracts with employee assistance, mental health and substance abuse, behavioral disability management and integrated programs. The company is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information, please visit www.valueoptions.com.
For more information, please contact:
Tom Warburton
Director of Marketing
ValueOptions
(757) 459-5215
Christine H. Thurmond
Administrative Director
Division on Addictions
Cambridge Health Alliance
(617) 384-9031
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This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.
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