AAFP Tackles Mental Health With New CME Activity
April 3, 2023, News Staff — The Academy has unveiled a new on-demand CME activity for family physicians and other health care professionals that addresses several topics on mental and behavioral health. The activity, which launched March 30, allows participants to claim up to 11.75 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.
“We have seen the impact of mental health on everyone around us more than ever in the past few years. As family physicians, we are the first point of contact and the first to identify concerns and provide a safe space for our patients to receive treatment,” said Santina Wheat, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor and vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and program director for the McGaw Northwestern Family Medicine Residency at Humboldt Park, who is serving as chair for the activity.
“Many of our patients may feel comfortable with us and will appreciate the local family physician’s ability to treat their mental health concerns without always referring to a specialist,” Wheat continued. “This course will allow family physicians to feel better prepared to handle these concerns.”
Session Details
The activity consists of 11 sessions, with Wheat hosting a session on wellness visits and screening guidelines and participating in a panel discussion on integrating behavioral health support.
Other sessions and faculty include:
- Anxiety: A Fresh Look, with Karim Hanna, M.D.
- Applying Evidence-Based Criteria for Anxiety and Depression into Practice, with Lauren Oshman, M.D.; Lindsay Fazio, Ph.D.; and patient faculty Taryn Hiatt
- Bipolar Disorder, with Ahsan Naseem, M.D.
- Cognitive Change in the Elderly: Is it Dementia, Delirium and/or Depression? with Alvin Lin, M.D.
- Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents, with Ann Klega, M.D.
- Introduction to Suicide Risk Assessment in the Primary Care Outpatient Setting, with Erich Batra, M.D.
- Schizophrenia, with Mary Krebs, M.D.
- Transforming Access to Behavioral Health Services in Your Practice, with Manisha Sharma, M.D.
- Treating Anxiety and Depression in Young Adults in a Primary Care Setting, with Benjamin Silverberg, M.D., M.S.
Story Highlights
Learning Objectives and Credits
Participants who complete the activity will be able to
- develop evidence-based strategies and plans to effectively diagnose, treat and manage mental and behavioral health conditions commonly seen in primary care;
- prepare effective plans to diagnose, treat, and manage common mental and behavioral health conditions seen in primary care;
- prepare plans to take an equitable approach to patient counseling on behavior modification strategies to reduce risks of complications, and improve outcomes related to their mental and behavioral health;
- establish protocols to provide effective care coordination and behavioral health integration models; and
- devise strategies to help patients overcome barriers to change in relation to disease management, including cultural competency, literacy skills and access to services or care.
Members can view the sessions in the order of their choosing and in a setting that best meets their needs, and will be able to review specific pieces that apply to their given patient population as the need arises.
Improving Care for Underserved Patients
The collection debuts at a time of increased concern about access to mental and behavioral health services, particularly for minority populations. A recent CDC report indicated that between 2018 and 2020, ER visits related to mental health disorders in the United States were considerably higher among Black and Latino adults compared with white adults. Given that the report’s findings were based largely on pre-COVID-19 pandemic data, it is likely that both the current number of mental health-related visits and the percentage of visits from Black and Latino adults is substantially higher.
“Particularly in underserved areas, there are not enough of our psychiatry colleagues to support all of the needs,” Wheat said. “Additionally, some patients may not want to receive treatment from psychiatrists because of the stigma of mental health treatments. This CME course will allow family physicians to feel comfortable to collaborate and co-manage conditions to best meet the needs of our patients.”
Other Member Resources
The new on-demand activity is replacing the Academy’s existing activity on neurology and behavioral health.
Additionally, the AAFP (through an educational grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group) is developing a free CME online multisession activity, “Alzheimer’s and Dementia — From Differential Diagnosis to End-of-Life Care,” exclusively for AAFP members. Through this series, participants will gain tools to help consistently detect, diagnose and care for patients with cognitive impairment and dementia. The first session, “Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Identifying the Challenges,” was released in January. Additional sessions will launch in April and May, and will focus on addressing challenges and reinforcing best practices, respectively.
Members are also encouraged to visit the Academy’s Behavioral Health Integration Learning Forum, which offers free CME activities, an online community to discuss learnings and offer advice, and links to internal and external behavioral health resources.