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COMPASS


"Fixing Behavioral Health Care in America"

Kennedy Forum Issue Brief by Jürgen Unützer

ICSI and nine other organizations recently completed a three-year initiative funded by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to implement and evaluate COMPASS – the Care Of Mental, Physical And Substance-use Syndromes – an evidence-based collaborative care management model designed to improve the care of patients with depression and diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease that builds on the work of the University of Washington’s AIMS Center.

COMPASS was a large dissemination and implementation initiative across a diverse spectrum of 18 medical groups, 171 clinics and 3,300 clinicians in eight states. The groups differed greatly in size, organizational structure, patient populations, and payment systems. The patient population included those with commercial, Medicare and Medicaid insurance coverage.

The results achieved, while still preliminary, are noteworthy. For patients enrolled more than four months, we exceeded the project’s original goals of a 40 percent improvement in depression control and a 20 percent improvement in diabetes and hypertension control. Six papers have been submitted to peer reviewed journals for review.

COMPASS Intervention Guide

The COMPASS Intervention Guide provides the clinical workflow, supporting annotations and appendices to aid primary care systems in implementing the COMPASS model. Developed with dedicated involvement by the original COMPASS partners, it includes both evidence and best practices, and provides tools these partners found helpful in implementation. The COMPASS Intervention Guide provides the clinical workflow, supporting annotations and appendices to aid primary care systems in implementing the COMPASS model. Developed with dedicated involvement by the original COMPASS partners, it includes both evidence and best practices, and provides tools these partners found helpful in implementation. Throughout implementation the COMPASS consortium partners shared their lessons learned so that others could benefit. View the Guide.

Implementation Resources

The COMPASS consortium partners developed an extensive set of training materials used throughout the project, along with additional tools reflecting on lessons learned so others could benefit. View the Resources.

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Updated 03/02/16