Implementation of a Health Indicator Monitoring System in an Assertive Community Treatment Team at a Community Outpatient Behavioral Health Organization

Persons with severe mental illness have increased risk for medical co-morbidities and early mortality. The purpose of this project was to implement a health indicator monitoring system for an Assertive Community Treatment team and to utilize this system to generate referrals to appropriate medical providers. The system established utilized Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) recommended health indicators and pre-post data analysis to assess the effectiveness of the initiative. Targets for health indicator collection were partially reached, with results indicating that metabolic lab monitoring at this site was insufficient. Recommendations for improving integration of medical and mental health care within the ACT setting are given.