Grant will support Bradley Hospital’s mental health consult line for pediatric office visits

PROVIDENCE, RI – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) has pledged more than $200,000 in support to Bradley Hospital. The funding from BCBSRI –  $45,000 per year for five years – will help enhance and expand the Pediatric Psychiatry Resource Network (PediPRN), a children’s mental health consultation team from Bradley Hospital that supports pediatric primary care providers (PPCPs) serving children and adolescents with mental healthcare needs. PediPRN is run in collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program.

PediPRN increases access to mental healthcare for children and adolescents by introducing psychiatric consultation services into the scope of primary care practices. During an office visit a PPCP can call PediPRN to consult with the team and develop a treatment plan on the spot in real-time, such as prescribing a medication or referring to a specialist. Because the PPCP can provide this more immediate support, it prevents the delay that can occur when families need to locate treatment or there is a long wait for an appointment.

“Blue Cross is committed to ensuring our members have access to high quality behavioral health services" said Rena Sheehan, LICSW, managing director of behavioral health at BCBSRI. “PediPRN provides the opportunity for children and their families to receive behavioral health services in a manner that is highly coordinated with medical care and in a place where families feel comfortable."

PediPRN enhances outreach to PPCPs, providing opportunities to share information, build relationships, and collaborate with other organizations that serve or advocate for children, such as community health teams or mental health centers. In addition to telephone consultations, PediPRN sponsors educational opportunities via email and Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs about pediatric psychiatry topics that are relevant for the pediatric primary care community.

“We are fortunate that we were able to secure another five years of funding for PediPRN due to our partnerships with public and private funders such as BCBSRI, RIDOH, HRSA, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the van Beuren Charitable Foundation," said Karyn Horowitz, M.D., director of outpatient child psychiatry and behavioral health services at Lifespan. “The national shortage of child mental health providers, coupled with the increased prevalence of mental health disorders, requires a close collaboration between pediatrics and psychiatry in order to meet the needs of children and their families. By working together, we can treat mild to moderate mental health conditions and prevent an escalation to more serious problems with more serious impairments."

This grant is the latest in BCBSRI’s ongoing commitment to improving access to children’s behavioral healthcare. The insurer also announced a partnership in 2019 with James Andriotis, M.D., of Child and Family Psychiatry, to increase access to care for children and adolescents with designated appointment slots each week. These additional appointments are critical considering that an estimated 55 percent of children, between the ages of 3 and 17, had trouble obtaining needed mental healthcare, according to the 2018 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook. Additionally, BCBSRI restructured some payment models that allow families to make a single monthly copayment for programs that include multiple visits/services per month. One such partnership is with The Providence Center through its Child and Family Intensive Treatment Program (CFIT), a home-based program for children ages 3 to 21 who are experiencing significant emotional or behavioral issues.