Page 14 - Delaware Medical Journal - June 2016
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Example of Coordinated Effort between Behavioral Health and Primary Health Care Mark Lanyon Ph.D.; Beverly Wilson, MS; Terry L. Horton, M.D., FACP
IntroductionSubstance abuse is a chronic brain disorder that is endemic
and generally not addressed resulting in excessive health care and societal costs. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use (0.9 percent) of the estimated 22.7 million (8.6 percent) of Americans needing drug or alcohol treatment ever receive this care. It is likely that similarly low levels of engagement exist for the 7.7 million Americans (3.2 percent) with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.1
Patients who are actively abusing substances are common in the hospital emergency departments (ED) and inpatient settings. Frequent users of both the ED and inpatient estimates vary from 58 to 77 percent.2,3 Untreated, substance abuse is associated
resultant poor health outcomes and costly recurring overutilization of the hospital’s health care resources.4 It is estimated that substance abusing frequent users result in 8.9 ED visits annually with average annual charges of $13,000 per patient.2 It is further estimated that substance abusing frequent users result in 1.3 inpatient hospital admissions annually — 5.8 inpatient days each — with average annual charges of $45,000 per patient.2
To address this need, Project Engage (PE) was developed to engage and assist substance-disordered patients to transition into community based drug treatment. The program was launched
in 2008 as a collaboration between Brandywine Counseling and Community Services (BCCS) — a major provider of addiction mid-Atlantic region. This innovative program utilizes Engagement
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Del Med J | June 2016 | Vol. 88 | No. 6
