This episode of WIHI featured a discussion on integrating addiction treatment into health care.

Congress recently passed a federal budget incorporating the CHRONIC Care Act that capitalizes on and grows early successes in many of these programs.

Many studies have highlighted the importance of effective interprofessional care teams to improve health outcomes for people with complex needs. But many programs do not take advantage of the special training of social workers to meet these needs on their primary health care teams.

By Corey Waller, Better Care Playbook Faculty and Principal at Health Management Associates

I currently do some work as a locum tenens physician in the emergency department, filling in during staff shortages. In this capacity, I get to work in a few different hospital systems around the country. No matter which one I go to, I can count on the fundamental aspects of basic cardiac care to be delineated no matter where I am.

Effective complex care means first understanding the individual and the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives. Here are two stories of patients in the CareMore Touch program for people with institutional special needs.

In the following Q&A, Allison Hamblin, MSPH, Senior Vice President at the Center for Health Care Strategies, explains how she and her team populated the map.

Addiction is a chronic neurobiological disorder that is predictable, identifiable, and treatable. Dr. Corey Waller explains why evidence-based treatment needs to be in hospitals, primary care, stand-alone rehabs, and throughout the ecosystem of health care.

Organizations, whether non-profit or for-profit, need a return on investment in order to carry this work forward and continue to invest in innovation.

The Blueprint for Complex Care, a joint project of the National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), will act as a strategic plan for the emerging field of complex care.

The complex care field is emerging. The Better Care Playbook is your go-to source for the latest and best information, curated to help you find what you need fast.

In an effort to get new ideas to the field as quickly as possible, the Better Care Playbook is now accepting content submissions from the complex care community. You can share a resource, a Play, or a case example using this form, which will soon be featured on the Playbook home page.