Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Integrating Behavioral Health into Primary Care through Telehealth Evidence-Based Telehealth Network - Project Title: Integration of Behavioral Health into Rural Primary Care Applicant Organization Name: University of Mississippi Medical Center Applicant Organization Address 2500 North State St., Jackson, MS 39216-4500 Website Address: www.umc.edu Requested award amount: $1,750,000 Applicant Organization Facility Type: Institution of Higher Education, Nonprofit Hospital Project Directors: Tearsanee Davis, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAANP Contact Phone Number: (601) 815-2022 E-mail: tcdavis2@umc.edu Period of Performance: September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2029 Funding Preference Criteria: Services, Coordination, Network, and Connectivity Objectives and Outcomes: The primary objective of this project is to develop and evaluate a system of care that will provide access to behavioral health services to individuals receiving care in rural and underserved communities. This goal will be accomplished by partnering with rural clinics to provide counseling and medication management services to their patients via Telehealth. In this system, the rural clinics will serve as the originating sites for services and the behavioral health providers will connect virtually to provide care. Personnel at the originating sites will be trained on best practices for behavioral health screenings in primary care, as well as how to optimize the integrative workflow to support the additional services provided by the academic medical center using Telehealth. The project will identify the optimal methods and best practices for the integration process, and track the efficiencies of the system, financial sustainability, and patient satisfaction. Number of rural originating sites supported through the TNGP opportunity: 11. Proposed Clinical Services to be provided: Telepsychiatry, Counseling/therapy, Behavioral health screenings New Patients Served in Calendar year 2023 (January-December) in the in all proposed network partner distant sites. 39,269. Number of Patients served in UMMC Center for Telehealth existing Telebehavioral health program Calendar year 2023 5, 269. Self-Assessment- The applicant will monitor the progress of each activity by establishing a clear timeline for the implementation of clinical services. Clear metrics will be defined for each activity. The applicant will assign personnel to track each critical activity for reporting and evaluation purposes. Additional Services- To support the long-term sustainability of this type of network, training on behavioral health screening, care coordination and telehealth billing will be provided to each clinical site. Training on telehealth workflows to improve efficiency and improve the patient experience will also be provided. Sustainability: Tele behavioral health is currently a billable service in most cases. UMMC Center for Telehealth is a current recipient of the EB TNP HRSA-21-082. As the applicant site, UMMC serves as a distant site for remote patient monitoring, as well as direct-to-consumer urgent care and behavioral health services. Additionally, the UMMC Department of Emergency Medicine is a recipient of the TNGP HRSA-20-036 and serves as a distant site for specialty services to emergency departments participating in the Telemergency program. The health system will continue the current methodology for direct payment for clinical services after the funding periods end. During the grant period, each partner distant site will bill third-party payors for eligible clinical services. As part of this grant, the grantee will track and assist with reimbursement monitoring to evaluate financial impact. This effort will inform billing processes that will continue after the funding period ends. The University of Mississippi Medical Center learned about the EB-TNGP funding opportunity through our existing collaborative partnership with HRSA.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).