New initiative on integrated health care to launch during Aug. 13 public forum at Rice’s Baker Institute

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

New initiative on integrated health care to launch during Aug. 13 public forum at Rice’s Baker Institute  

HOUSTON – (Aug. 11, 2015) – A major collaborative initiative to develop and implement recommendations to improve integrated health care in Texas will be launched at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Aug. 13 during a public forum. The initiative will address both financing and provider preparation. Sponsored by the Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences in conjunction with Mental Health America of Greater Houston, the forum is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Credit: thinkstockphotos.com/Rice University

Who: Panelists: David Buck, professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and president of Healthcare for the Homeless–Houston; Octavio Martinez, executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; Kenneth Minkoff, director of systems integration at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute; McClain Sampson, assistant professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work; Steven Schnee, executive director of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County; and Jair Soares, professor and chair of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Chair in Health Economics and director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, will give welcoming remarks.

Elena Marks, president and chief executive officer of the Episcopal Health Foundation and nonresident fellow in health policy at the Baker Institute, will serve as moderator.

What: A panel discussion and presentation titled “Making Together Work: Policy Solutions for Integrating Care.”

When: Thursday, Aug. 13, 9 a.m. to noon. The panel will be from 9 to 10:45 and a presentation on the Integrated Health Care Systems Change Initiative will be at 11.

Where: Rice University, James A. Baker III Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

Integrated health care, the coordination of primary physical and behavioral health care, is widely regarded as best practice and as essential to achieving the triple aim of patient experience of care, population health and decreased cost, according to event organizers. In spite of substantial evidence for the efficacy of integrated health care, significant barriers to its implementation exist. Foremost among these are financing and preparation of providers to practice in integrated health care settings.

Regarding financing, traditional fee-for-service reimbursement is generally not conducive to the provision of the team-based care required for integrated health care, organizers said. In addition, funding streams for mental health, substance use and other health issues are rarely integrated. Regarding provider preparation, traditional training programs for both medical and behavioral health professionals do not generally prepare providers to practice as part of a multidisciplinary team. This event will launch a major collaborative initiative to develop and implement consensus recommendations to improve both financing and provider preparation for integrated health care in Texas.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

The public must register to attend this event at http://bakerinstitute.org/events/1729. A live webcast will be available at the registration page.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 10 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.