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DMHDD PUBLISHES GUIDLEINES TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) has published Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) designed to improve patient care through aiding health professionals in providing consistent treatment and services for people with mental illness.

Neuroscience has emerged as a prime focus for studies of mental health and mental illness. Accordingly, integrative research that has emerged over the last decade has resulted in a variety of more effective treatments for mental illness. The publications detail current preferred treatment protocols for children and adults who have mental illness. The newly published guidelines represent the collaborative efforts of a statewide committee of behavioral health experts who promulgated the Best Practice Guidelines based on national standards. As a result of this first time effort, TDMHDD will monitor treatment based on the guidelines across the state.

“One of our greatest challenges and opportunities in the department is to provide clinicians with the tools they need to apply science to the care of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities in Tennessee,” said Virginia Trotter Betts, Commissioner, TDMHDD. “The Best Practice Guidelines provide uniform treatment options utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach.”

The Best Practice Guidelines for Adult Behavioral Health Services detail treatment guidelines for anxiety, bipolar disorders, major depressive disorders, dissociative disorders, schizophrenia and mental retardation with co morbid disorders. The Best Practice Guidelines for children include treatment standards for ADHD, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, conduct disorders, depression, mental retardation and co morbid disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and schizophrenia. Psychiatrists, primary care physicians, professional nurses, psychologists, health service providers, nurse practitioners, physician extenders, social workers and other health care workers can use these guidelines to:

• Promote high quality care for adults and children served by Tennessee’s public mental health system
• Aid in the identification, evaluation and provision of effective treatment for persons with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) and Serious Emotional Disturbance(SED)
• Promote continuity of care across disciplines/settings

According to Judy Regan, M.D., Medical Director, TDMHDD, the response to the BPG has been favorable. “We feel that the BPG is a very valuable tool. For the first time, we are providing Tennessee’s provider community with consistent guidelines to be used across the state,” said Regan.

The Office of the Medical Director, TDMHDD, developed the Best Practice
Guidelines utilizing the AACP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) and the APA (American Psychiatric Association) guidelines as a template, in conjunction with the TDHMDD Advisory Panel on Best Practice Guidelines. Copies of the BPG are available through local community mental health providers or the Office of the Medical Director at (615) 532-6564.