Mental Health Experts Advocate for New Clinical Management Approach That Dramatically Improves Patient Care

* Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and PacifiCare Behavioral Health Partner to Teach Behavioral Health Solutions That Provide Measurable Results for Treatment 


SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov. 8  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Behavioral Health (PBH) and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the nation's top-rated health plan for both member satisfaction and clinical quality, will host more than 300 New England behavioral health practitioners to present a compelling care management model that uses scientifically-established tools and methods to quantify the clinical results of psychotherapy -- something thought to be impossible by the mainstream.

The conference, Improving Behavioral Health Care Using Outcomes Measurement, will be conducted on Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at the Hilton Dedham from 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.  Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered to attending social workers, psychologists and physicians.

"This conference is a call to all mental health practitioners to consider adopting a scientifically-validated yardstick to objectively measure clinical results and to use that data to inform treatment," said Richard Weisblatt, Ph.D., vice president of network services for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.  "Today's medical community is increasingly aligned with evidence-based care and this conference is intended to support a similar movement within the behavioral health community."

Leading experts on outcomes-informed treatment will present new clinical models and case studies that demonstrate how patient self-reported data gathered during treatment can work like a lab test to help therapists significantly reduce clinical errors and improve overall treatment results. Conference presenters include well-known behavioral health pioneers like Michael Lambert Ph.D., professor, Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University; John Lyons, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, medicine and preventative medicine, Northwestern University Medical School; Grant Grissom, Ph.D., president and founder, Polaris Health Directions; David Kraus, Ph.D., chairman and founder, Behavioral Health Laboratories; and Edward Jones, Ph.D., vice president and chief clinical officer, PacifiCare Behavioral Health.

"PBH first implemented an outcomes-informed approach to care in 1999 and has collected data on hundreds of thousands of patients.  Our data show that this approach is highly effective in measurably improving treatment results," said Dr. Jones.  "With so much overwhelming empirical data from so many scientifically credible sources, it's incumbent on our industry to begin taking accountability for establishing clinical measurement standards that are on par with our medical counterparts."

About Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a not-for-profit health plan with approximately 900,000 members and a network of more than 22,000 doctors and 130 hospitals.  Harvard Pilgrim provides innovative approaches to health improvement and disease management, unique online tools that speed and simplify key transactions for employers and providers and personalized health support at http://www.harvardpilgrim.org/.

About PacifiCare Behavioral Health

PacifiCare Behavioral Health, Inc. provides mental health, chemical dependency and employee assistance services to covered members and maintains a national network of behavioral health care practitioners.  All PacifiCare Behavioral Health service centers hold three-year, Full Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), as well as URAC Health Utilization Management and Case Management Accreditation.  PacifiCare Behavioral Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of PacifiCare Health Systems (NYSE:PHS), with clients including health plans, union trust funds, employers, school districts and public sector agencies.  More information on PacifiCare Behavioral Health can be obtained at http://www.pbhi.com/.

About PacifiCare Health Systems

PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with nearly 3.3 million health plan members and approximately 11.3 million specialty plan members nationwide.  PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products.  Specialty plan operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy benefit management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions.  More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at http://www.pacificare.com/. 

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DATASOURCE: PacifiCare Health Systems



CONTACT:  Amy Nicklas of Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, [phone],

; or Brad Lotterman, APR of PacifiCare Behavioral Health,

[phone], ; or Dan Miller of PacifiCare Health

Systems, [phone], 



Web site:  http://www.pacificare.com/

http://www.pbhi.com/

http://www.harvardpilgrim.org/ 

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