Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Item

Integrated employee assistance program/managed behavioral health plan utilization by persons with substance use disorders

Authors
Merrick, Elizabeth S. Levy
Hodgkin, Dominic
Hiatt, Deirdre
Horgan, Constance M.
Greenfield, Shelly F.
McCann, Bernard A.
Advisor
Date
2011
Embargo until
Language
Book title
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Type
Article
Research Area
Jurisdiction
Other Titles
See at
Abstract

New federal parity and health reform legislation, promising increased behavioral health care access and a focus on prevention, has heightened interest in employee assistance programs (EAPs). This study investigated service utilization by persons with a primary substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis in a managed behavioral health care (MBHC) organization's integrated EAP/MBHC product (N = 1,158). In 2004, 25.0% of clients used the. EAP first for new treatment episodes. After initial EAP utilization, 44.4% received no additional formal services through the plan, and 40.4% received regular outpatient services. Overall, outpatient care, intensive outpatient/day treatment, and inpatient/residential detoxification were most common. About half of the clients had co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses. Mental health service utilization was extensive. Findings suggest that for service users with primary SUD diagnoses in an integrated EAP/MBHC product, the EAP benefit plays a key role at the front end of treatment and is often only one component of treatment episodes.

Data Availibility
Data / Code Location
Table of Contents
Description
Series/Report No.
Sponsors
This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse through Grant P-50-DA-010233, with additional support for one of the authors (SFG) through Grant K24DA019855.
Rights/Terms
Citation
Merrick, E. S. L., Hodgkin, D., Hiatt, D., Horgan, C. M., Greenfield, S. F., McCann, B. (2011). Integrated employee assistance program/managed behavioral health plan utilization by persons with substance use disorders. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 40: 299–306.
Identifier to cite or link to this item
Scopus Identifier
Embedded videos