Barriers and Facilitators in the Implementation of Measurement-Based Care in Outpatient Behavioral Health in a...

Measurement-based care (MBC) is an evidence-based practice that can improve the identification of co-occurring mental health conditions and substance use disorders, as well as population differences in care in lower resource settings, through ongoing monitoring of patient-reported symptoms. The current study examined, as reported by different stakeholders prior to implementation, barriers and facilitators of implementing screening tools to monitor mental health and substance use symptoms in the outpatient behavioral health setting at a safety-net hospital. A purposeful sampling approach was used to recruit stakeholders from two outpatient clinics (child, adult) to participate in individual interviews (clinic leadership) and stakeholder-specific focus groups (clinicians and administrative staff). De-identified transcripts were coded using a directed content analytic approach guided by constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). A total of 14 clinicians, 6 clinic leaders, and 4 administrative staff participated in interviews and focus groups. Results indicate stakeholder agreement on specific implementation constructs (e.g., patient needs, networks and communication) and unique perspectives influenced by the stakeholders' day-to-day responsibilities. However, there were inconsistent responses regarding networks and communication across stakeholder groups. Clinicians only identified barriers, clinic leadership only identified facilitators, and administrative staff did not identify communication as a barrier or facilitator. Thus, when implementing MBC within a safety-net behavioral health clinic setting, cohesive communication may be perceived differently by clinicians, clinic leadership, and administrative staff and should be validated across staff roles.