MODULE 13

Using Systems to Address Pediatric Mental Health

• The Current Approach to Mental Health Care for Children and Youth
• About Systems of Care
• Barriers to Receiving Mental Health Care
• Surmounting the Barriers: A Public Health Approach
• Primary Care as the “Right Door” to Mental Health Care
• The Pediatric Medical Home
• Toward a Public Health Approach to Mental Health Care in Pediatric Primary Care
• Take a Population Approach
• Intervene, Treat, or Refer when Necessary
• Collaborate to Provide Coordinated Care
• Consider New Practice Models to Support Mental Health

Create Patient Registries

At the practice level, patient registries offer a way for health care providers to gather information about the various populations they serve. Patient registries are a requirement for practices seeking medical home certification through the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and are suggested by the AAP as a competency for pediatric primary care providers.¹

A registry is essentially a list of patients grouped by a common characteristic, such as diagnosis, treatment, or demographic factor. It contains information about each patient and his/her condition. Registries can be kept on paper, or tied into an electronic health record system.

This database can be used to track patient care, ensuring that patients receive the necessary care planning or reminder calls, tracking treatment outcomes, and recording any referrals that were made to other care providers.²

The Surgeon General’s Office, under directives laid down in the Affordable Care Act, recommends the use of certified electronic health records to identify populations at risk and develop policies and programs.³

1. Policy Statement: The future of pediatrics: Mental health competencies for pediatric primary care. (2009). Pediatrics, 124(1), 410–421. Reaffirmed August 2013. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-3123
2. Russ, S., Allen, D., Fleischfresser, S., Green, C., White, K., DesGeorges, J., Aquino, E., Errichetti, K., & Homer, C. National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality, (2011). Improving systems: Changing futures. Retrieved from National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality website: http://www.nichq.org/resources/NICHQ-MCHB_ISC-Monograph_Final.pdf
3. National Prevention Council. (2011). National Prevention Strategy, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/prevention/strategy/report.pdf