Polaris' mental health outcomes system highlighted in Integrating Science and Practice

Nov. 21, 2012 - PRLog -- Polaris Health Directions is pleased to announce that its mental health outcomes assessment system has been featured in the November issue of Integrating Science and Practice (http://www.ordrepsy.qc.ca/en/documentation-et-medias/integrating-science-and-practice.sn). The issue focused on tools and solutions in the mental health field that can be used to monitor treatment progress (http://www.ordrepsy.qc.ca/pdf/2012_11_01_Integrating_SandP_Dossier_07_Grissom_Harralson_Nankin_En.pdf).

The article discusses the various components of the Polaris-MH system, its strong scientific background and how it can be easily integrated into routine practice to help improve the quality of care while lowering costs.

Polaris-MH is a Web-based system designed to support the treatment of mentally ill adults in outpatient settings. It screens for and assesses the severity of a patient’s symptomology, subjective well-being and functional disability. The system includes scales for depression, PTSD, anxiety, phobia and other disorders commonly seen in outpatient mental health care. It also identifies patients’ assets and strengths upon which they can build throughout the treatment process.

Using the Expected Treatment Response model, Polaris-MH monitors actual progress in comparison to an evidence-based “expected” response that is adjusted for the severity of the patient’s condition at the start of treatment. The system alerts providers early in the treatment process whether a patient is likely to benefit so the treatment plan can be adjusted as needed. With this predictive technology, the likelihood of non-response, and its associated costs, is diminished.

The system is grounded in peer-reviewed research on psychotherapy process and outcome, and is a paradigm for transferring scientific knowledge into clinical practice.

Polaris-MH is currently being used by the Canadian Department of National Defence, Kaiser Permanente Psychiatric Clinics in southern California, and the Gosnold treatment network in Massachusetts, among other large- and small-scale mental health care providers.

Integrating Science and Practice is published by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec; articles are by invitation only.

To learn more about Polaris-MH (http://polarishealth.com/polaris-mh/), please visit http://www.polarishealth.com/polaris-mh/ or send an e-mail to moreinfo@polarishealth.com.

About Polaris Health Directions

Polaris recognizes that organizations cannot manage what they do not measure. Many behavioral health care providers and payers may not be collecting and analyzing enough of the right data to answer basic questions about the cost-effectiveness of the care they offer. Polaris's advanced technology and science driven assessment systems are designed to capture the clinical data essential to quality improvement and enhanced organizational management. Polaris solutions provide advanced analytics to help organizations improve and demonstrate the value of their care. With a focus on prediction, Polaris solutions do more than describe clinical change. Polaris systems also indicate if treatment is likely to have a positive result. Helping organizations make better decisions in the present by anticipating the future will be the difference in reducing their costs while improving patient care. Follow Polaris on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/polarishealthdirections) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/PolarisHD).