Presenters
- Gregory Beehler, PhD, MA, Associate Director for Research, VA Center for Integrated Healthcare, Buffalo, NY
- Jodi Polaha, PhD, Professor, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
- Jennifer Funderburk, PhD, Clinical Research Psychologist, VA Center for Integrated Healthcare Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
- Kent Corso, PsyD, BCBA-D, Principal, National Capital Region Behavioral Health, Fairfax Station, VA
- (Moderator) Neftali Serrano, PsyD, Chief Executive Officer, Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, Chapel Hill, NC
Summary
A warm handoff (WHO) in integrated care setting typically occurs when the primary care provider introduces the patient to the behavioral health provider in response to a mental or behavioral health concern identified as part of routine care. Anecdotally, WHOs are considered a beneficial, if not essential, component of integrated care models, including Primary Care Behavioral Health and Collaborative Care Management. However, like many other components of integrated care, there are varied descriptions of what constitutes a WHO and relatively limited empirical evidence to support the impact of WHOs on patient or system outcomes. This symposium will address the conference theme related to implementation of evidence-based practices by exploring the nature of WHOs and the extent to which they have empirical support across integrated primary care platforms. The target audience for this presentation is clinicians, administrators, and researchers who want to know more about the potential value and limitations of WHOs. A panel representing integrated care experts in research, implementation and clinical practice will discuss the nature of a WHO as a concept and process of care, research evidence regarding to date regarding WHOs, operational and clinical perspectives on why WHOs may be important and could benefit from future study. Through panel discussion and audience feedback, we will develop a tentative research agenda on this topic, including priorities for operationalizing WHOs and identifying appropriate methods for advancing the state of the science.
Objectives
- Define warm hand-offs as an element of integrated primary care practice
- Describe the empirical support for warm hand-offs based on current research
- Identify areas for future research to advance the state of the science on warm hand offs