@article{872c2fec87124a97b9ff7186332c68e6,
title = "Transforming mental health and addiction services",
abstract = "Even with great advances in behavioral health policy in the last decade, the problems of mental illness and addiction persist in the United States—so more needs to be done. In this article, which is part of the National Academy of Medicine{\textquoteright}s Vital Directions for Health and Health Care: Priorities for 2021 initiative, we describe the steps needed to improve outcomes, focusing on three strategies. We argue for transforming the behavioral health system to meet people where they are, decriminalizing mental illness and substance use disorders to facilitate recovery, and raising awareness of social context and social needs as essential to effective care. We call for supporting structures in the workforce and structures of accountability, outcome measurement, and more generous financing of behavioral health care. These steps have costs, but the enormous benefits of a major transformation in behavioral health policy far outweigh the expenses.",
author = "Margarita Alegr{\'i}a and Frank, {Richard G.} and Hansen, {Helena B.} and Sharfstein, {Joshua M.} and Shim, {Ruth S.} and Matt Tierney",
note = "Funding Information: Coordinate funding streams through SBHA{\textquoteright}s Community Mental Health Services Block Grants Incentivize coverage for Individual Placement and Support programs Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2020 (H.R. 6637) Funding Information: Richard Frank has received consulting fees from Greylock-McKinnon Associates for activities completely unrelated to this article or mental health policy issues. Joshua Sharfstein has received funding from Sachs Policy Group for part-time consulting not connected to this article and has been an unpaid expert witness for the City of Baltimore{\textquoteright}s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. The authors thank Isabel Shaheen O{\textquoteright}Malley for her assistance with the research and help with the manuscript. The following people also provided valuable support: Ekenedilichukwu Uwanaka, Andrew Hwang, Neerav Gade, Olivia Smith, Sheri Lapatin Markle, Tom McGuire, Francesca Galluccio-Steele, and Jessica Marx. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute this work provided the original work is properly cited, not altered, and not used for commercial purposes. See https://creative commons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. [Published online January 21, 2021.] Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, Project HOPE. All rights reserved.",
year = "2021",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01472",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "40",
pages = "226--234",
journal = "Health Affairs",
issn = "0278-2715",
publisher = "Project Hope",
number = "2",
}