Patients with complex physical, behavioral, and mental health conditions—including substance use disorder—pose a unique challenge for providers managing Medicaid beneficiaries. With many of these patients also facing social determinants of health (SDOH), providing meaningful care requires a collaborative community effort.

Dr. Brian Patel, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Sturdy Memorial Hospital, and Deborah Jean Parsons, Ph.D. Director of Integrated Care at Aspire Health Alliance, share actionable best practices for developing better community partnerships to support patients struggling with complex comorbid physical, behavioral, mental, and SDOH challenges.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the unique population health challenges facing providers who manage patients with complex physical, behavioral, mental, and social determinants of health needs
• Summarize the benefits of intervening with complex, high-risk patients within the emergency department and potential obstacles that need to be overcome to obtain engagement
• Explain how real-time updates and collaboration can effectively and efficiently deliver a complex, high-risk patient population the diverse services they require—at a lower cost and with higher quality outcomes