Improving health literacy within the mental health system
by Michelle Roberts — October 31, 2011
Of all the populations vulnerable to low health literacy, people with chronic mental illness rarely get our attention. This, even though studies show that most people with chronic mental illness also have at least one general medical disorder.
All of the skills needed for good health literacy can be additionally impaired by mental illness. Most of us have a difficult enough time understanding complex medical directions and forms. Imagine trying to make sense of it all while hearing the voices of schizophrenia or living in the cognitive fog of major depression.
People with serious mental illness served by our public mental health systems die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general population. About 60 percent of those premature deaths are due to treatable medical conditions caused by preventable risk factors such as smoking, obesity, substance abuse and inadequate access to medical care.
Improving health literacy within the mental health system would be a major step in turning those troubling numbers around.
This is why I was excited to learn this week about an important step forward. Missouri is the first state in the nation to get approval for a special health-care coordination program under President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Starting January 1, our state will receive enhanced federal Medicaid funding for community mental health centers to coordinate the care of people dealing with chronic mental illness and substance abuse problems. It will be the first rollout of the so-called “health home” model.
It’s not simply a place, but a model that may improve the health of people with chronic mental illnesses by transforming how their care is organized and delivered. Health homes provide accessible, comprehensive and coordinated health care that is relationship-based (a cornerstone of good health literacy) with a deep commitment to quality and safety.
Missouri will use this initiative to reduce inpatient hospitalization and emergency room visits.
If it works, it could save millions in taxpayer dollars. But more importantly, it could ease untold human suffering.