Integrated employee assistance program/managed behavioral health plan utilization by persons with substance use disorders
Author
Merrick, Elizabeth S. LevyHodgkin, Dominic
Hiatt, Deirdre
Horgan, Constance M.
Greenfield, Shelly F.
McCann, Bernard A.
Date
2011Journal
Journal of Substance Abuse TreatmentType
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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.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.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.Keyword
managed carebehavioral health
Employee assistance programs
Mental health
Substance-Related Disorders