CONSUMER AFFAIRS BULLETIN
Volume 2, No. 2 Summer 1997

Consumer-focused Mental Health Statistics Meeting

The 1997 SAMHSA/CMHS National Conference on Mental Health Statistics held on May 27-30 in Washington, D.C. brought together national experts to discuss recent changes in mental health policy and the growing importance of data in newly developing behavioral healthcare systems. The theme of "consumerism" dominated the conference and was emphasized by most of the more than 50 presenters.

"Our role must be to bring consumers and families into a collaborative process. We need to address the complex issues from the consumer perspective. Only then can we identify activities that carry us forward," stated SAMHSA Administrator Nelba Chavez, Ph.D. as she opened this important meeting.

Consumers/survivors were well represented. Gayle Bluebird presented Florida's Consumer Assessment Team approach that addresses systems issues. The Florida survey asks consumers three basic questions: 1) What do you feel positive about in your program; 2) What are the barriers or problems; and 3) What are your suggestions for change? Other topics presented by consumers/survivors included: recovery, employment, stigma, technology, and getting information from consumers and how important it is to go beyond the diagnosis.

Other presentations centered on new policy demands and information for a changing environment, with topics ranging from changes in Medicaid to consumer-generated services to integrated delivery systems in the future.

One of the major topics discussed was report cards and the role and impact of mental health consumers in gathering data. The Mental Health Statistics Improvement Project (MHSIP) consumer-oriented report card has been endorsed by four major associations: The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Association of State Mental Health Planning Councils, and the Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare. It is currently being tested in 20 states; ten more grants were recently awarded to states to test the report. For further information about the statistics conference, contact: Allen Keme at (301) 443-3343.

Next Major Managed Care Conference Scheduled for October

The second National Consumer, Family, and Advocate Leadership Conference on State Health Care Reform and Managed Care, will be held in Timonium, Md., on October 16-19. The conference will bring together all major groups concerned about consumer/survivor and family issues in managed behavioral health care. It results from a partnership formed with the National Managed Care Consortium (NMCC).

The NMCC's member organizations are the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, the Consumer Managed Care Network, The National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), the National Empowerment Center, the National Mental Health Association, and the National Mental Health Consumers Self Help Clearinghouse.

The NMCC meets regularly with SAMHSA officials to discuss ways in which the agency's managed care initiative can benefit consumers/survivors, families, and advocates. Several projects, including last year's highly successful first National Leadership Conference, have come from these meetings. The second National Leadership Conference will provide up-to-date training on health care reform and managed care to leaders in state coalitions who represent all NMCC major constituency groups. Particular emphasis will be placed on contracting issues and contract language. The program will draw heavily on the experiences of three state coalitions that receive intensive technical assistance from the NMCC.

State conference delegations will meet to work on collaborative strategies for addressing issues of particular relevance to their state. The conference will also provide recommendations to CMHS about continuing work in these areas.

The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Select, Timonium, Md., October 16-19. For more information, contact Mr. Rick Kugler at Matrix Research Institute, 6008 Wayne Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144 or call 215-438-8200 (FAX: 215-438-8337).

Consumer Affairs Bulletin
Volume 2, No. 2 Summer 1997