Advancing Mental Health Service Access Through Equity-Driven Quality Improvement Initiatives-View Presentation

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The presentation focused on a series of Quality Improvement (QI) projects conducted by Public Psychiatry Fellows at UCSF, aimed at improving access to mental health services through equity-driven initiatives. The projects involved various aspects of mental health care within community health centers and were structured around understanding and addressing barriers to effective service delivery.<br /><br />The fellows shared their individual projects, which, notably, clustered around addressing the challenges posed by substance use disorders in the Bay Area, particularly in the context of the opioid epidemic. They examined the effectiveness of current practices and sought to identify areas for improvement in treatment access and provider training.<br /><br />One project explored the barriers to prescribers offering FDA-approved treatments for substance use disorders, discovering a need for increased provider training and system-wide improvements. Another focused on understanding the demographics and retention factors of psychiatric prescribers at San Francisco's Department of Public Health to better address workforce challenges.<br /><br />Challenges identified across projects included systemic barriers, such as inadequate electronic medical records (EMRs), time constraints, and the need for better clinician engagement. The importance of stakeholder involvement, patient-provider trust, and data-driven decision-making was emphasized throughout.<br /><br />The session concluded with interactive discussions where attendees brainstormed QI projects relevant to their contexts, such as enhancing psychotherapy access and addressing law enforcement involvement in psychiatric emergency settings.<br /><br />Overall, the session highlighted the crucial role of QI initiatives in advancing mental health care access and underscored the need for continuous learning and innovation within the field.

Keywords

Quality Improvement

Public Psychiatry

UCSF

mental health services

equity-driven initiatives

substance use disorders

opioid epidemic

provider training

systemic barriers

stakeholder involvement

data-driven decision-making