MEETING DATE: 5/10/2016
DEPARTMENT: BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
DEPT HEAD/DIRECTOR: Alan Yamamoto
AGENDA ITEM PREPARER:
SBC DEPT FILE NUMBER: 810
SUBJECT:
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT - A. YAMAMOTO
Approve contract renewal with Traditions Behavioral Health for Psychiatry Services for the period of July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, for an amount not to exceed $413,920.00.
SBC FILE NUMBER: 810
AGENDA SECTION:
CONSENT AGENDA
BACKGROUND/SUMMARY:
Traditions Behavioral Health (TBH) is a contract provider for psychiatry, M.D. services for the County Behavioral Health Department. TBH is the largest provider of psychiatry services to institutional and community-based mental health programs in California. TBH is known for its recruitment and placement of high quality psychiatrists. Also, unlike most psychiatry placement agencies that rotate psychiatrist placements lasting sometimes for only several months or even a few weeks at a clinic site, TBH will place the psychiatrist at a clinic on a long term basis. A placement can last for multiple years and TBH will provide a backup psychiatrist to fill any interim void between long term placements. Many county mental health departments in the Bay Area and other parts of the state utilize the services of TBH. Retaining the services of TBH adds to our ability to expand psychiatry time and to ensure ongoing psychiatry coverage in a time of psychiatry resource scarcity. There are only 2 (two) Psychiatrist, M.D.’s working in our County, including our department’s TBH Psychiatrist and one other, all at the Behavioral Health Dept. The Behavioral Health Department’s TBH placed Psychiatrist provides 40 hours per week of medication support services to supplement our other existing resource.
The continued growth of MHSA funded programs and the Affordable Care Act has increased the volume of clients requiring psychiatric outpatient medication services, so the maximization of Psychiatry resource time is a necessity in a county with only 2 Psychiatrists to serve all psych. medication service requests. The TBH contract is paid through MHSA funds, MediCal revenue generation, already existing realignment funds designated for the purchase of psychiatry services and to a small degree private insurance payment.
(1) OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT: Individuals receiving mental health services who are at the County Jail and Juvenile Hall receive medication support services through the Behavioral Health Department.
BUDGETED:
Yes