The American psychologist
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The American psychologist · May 2014
ReviewApplying the interprofessional patient aligned care team in the Department of Veterans Affairs: Transforming primary care.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, serving more than 8 million veterans. VHA is currently undergoing extensive changes to its health care delivery model, moving toward the full implementation of the patient-centered medical home. ⋯ Moreover, VHA mental health staff serves critical leadership functions supporting primary care in the broad transformation that is required to implement the medical home. In this article, we review the implementation of mental health integration into this new model of care.
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The American psychologist · May 2014
ReviewOpportunities for psychologists in palliative care: Working with patients and families across the disease continuum.
Interdisciplinary palliative care services have been rapidly expanding in health care settings over the past 10 years, particularly through the establishment of interdisciplinary palliative care teams. Relatively few of these teams formally include psychologists, although their skills of enhancing patients' and families' well-being and lessening suffering make an enormous contribution to the care provided. ⋯ Using a case-based approach, we then explore the contribution of psychologists to the patient- and family-centered approach espoused by palliative care, including the knowledge, skills, and self-awareness needed to work effectively with these very ill patients and their families. We close with a call to action to better train and integrate psychologists into the rapidly growing field of palliative care.