WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association’s Center for Psychology and Health has received a three-year, $2 million grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to help train psychologists to work within an integrated health care system.
The award comes from the CMS Transforming Clinical Practice Initiativeopens in new window (TCPI) Support and Alignment Network (SAN). The initiative is one part of a strategy advanced by the Affordable Care Act to strengthen the quality of patient care and spend health care dollars more wisely.
“Psychologists on interprofessional health care teams improve treatment outcomes and lower costs. This funding will enable APA to increase the number of psychologists who will be trained to work on these teams, in partnership with physical health professionals, to treat the whole person,” said APA President Susan H. McDaniel, PhD.
During the three-year award period, APA will serve as a SAN, leading an education and workforce development project that will provide more than 5,000 psychologists with clinical and leaderships skills needed to participate as part of primary and specialty care practices that are implementing integrated care programs.
Also referred to as interprofessional or collaborative care, integrated care brings together physicians, psychologists, nurses and other clinicians working in tandem to diagnose physical and psychological health problems, plan and provide treatment, and evaluate whether that treatment is effective.
This online training will be free for APA members. Once training is completed, APA will help connect members with a practice transformation network in their region for additional coaching, mentoring and assistance in moving into integrated care practice. Participating in this collaborative, peer-based learning ensures that these clinicians will be part of leading and creating positive change for the entire health care system.
The TCPI is one of the largest federal investments designed to support clinician practices through collaborative peer-based learning networks. It works through its SAN awardees to achieve its goals:
- Improving the quality of care delivered.
- Rapidly transitioning practices through the phases of transformation in preparation for participation in and alignment with alternative payment models.
- Reducing total cost of care.
More information on APA’s Center for Psychology and Health can be found online.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 117,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.