Implementing a Blended Care Model That Integrates Mental Healthcare and Primary Care Using Telemedicine and Care Management for Patients With Depression or Alcohol Use Disorder in Small Primary Care Clinics (Tele-PCMHI)

Adapting and Implementing the Blended Collaborative Care Model in CBOCs

Integrating mental health treatments into the primary care delivered at Community Based Outpatient Clinics(CBOCs) that are geographically accessible to rural Veterans is a major priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, there is no scientific evidence that integrating mental health and primary care is clinically effective at smaller CBOCs that have limited mental health staffing. The goal of this proposed project is to implement a "blended" combination of integrated care models that have been adapted for smaller CBOCs using telemedicine technologies, and evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of the blended, telemedicine-based, integrated care model. If clinical outcomes are improved compared to usual care, findings will be used to justify and facilitate the implementation of this telemedicine-based integrated care model at smaller CBOCs in order to increase rural Veterans' access to effective mental health treatments.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Alcohol Use Disorders; Depressive Disorders; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Usual Care; Other: Blended Telemedicine-Based Integrated Care

Detailed Description

Background: Providing mental health care to rural Veterans in geographically accessible Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) is a major priority of the Office of Rural Health. Likewise, integrating mental health into primary care is one of the highest priorities of the Office of Mental Health Services and the Office of Mental Health Operations. The Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook mandates the blending of the two predominant, evidence-based models of integrated care (the Care Management model and the Co-Located model) at VAMCs, very large CBOCs, and large CBOCs. Because there is no scientific evidence to support its implementation, the "Blended model" is not mandated at medium CBOCs or small CBOCs that serve rural Veterans. At most smaller CBOCs, on-site mid-level providers and/or off-site tele-psychiatrists and tele-psychologists deliver traditional referral-based specialty treatment (Referral model) rather than integrated care.

Objective: This project contributes to Specific Aim 3 (Test clinical interventions to improve quality and outcomes of mental health care at CBOCs) of the Little Rock CREATE application. The goal of this proposed Hybrid Type 2 pragmatic effectiveness-implementation trial is to generate the scientific evidence needed to justify the national dissemination of the Blended model adapted using telemedicine technologies to accommodate the clinical context of smaller CBOCs that lack on-site psychiatrists and PhD psychologists. The resulting Telemedicine Blended model will be compared to usual care (Referral model) in a pragmatic trial, where the intervention will be delivered via interactive video by centrally located clinical staff and fidelity will be monitored but not controlled. Specific Aim 1: Use an expert panel comprised of clinical providers and managers who are applying telemedicine to provide a Blended model for CBOCs lacking on-site PhD psychologists and psychiatrists to document the core components of a Telemedicine Blended model and using a PDSA process, implement this model in six CBOCs. Specific Aim 2: Conduct a Hybrid Type 2 pragmatic effectiveness-implementation trial of the adapted Telemedicine Blended model by assessing RE-AIM outcomes including: provider Reach into the patient population, Effectiveness at improving clinical outcomes, Adoption by providers and Implementation Fidelity.

Methods: In conjunction with national, regional and local partners, including providers and managers who have experience with the Telemedicine Blended model, the Blended model will be adapted for smaller CBOCs using telemedicine technologies and pilot tested to generate a standardized treatment protocol. We will use a stepped wedge design with randomization of sites to sequential implementation steps, and CBOC patients who screen positive for depression or alcohol disorders will be recruited and consented to participate in the Hybrid Type 2 pragmatic effectiveness-implementation trial. Data about Reach and Adoption will be obtained from the Corporate Data Warehouse. Data about Implementation Fidelity will be obtained from chart review. Data about clinical Effectiveness will be obtained from telephone survey.

Impact: If the Telemedicine Blended model improves clinical outcomes compared to usual care, results will be used to justify and facilitate the implementation of the Telemedicine Blended model at smaller CBOCs.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 318

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Arkansas
    • North Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 72114-1706
      • Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center, Little Rock, AR

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients will be Veterans receiving care at 6 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (primary care clinics) affiliated with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System or the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The investigators will enroll Veterans who screen positive on routinely administered VA mental health screens for depressive disorders, alcohol use disorders, and PTSD at the 6 study CBOCs.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients receiving specialty mental health treatment in the 6 months prior to recruitment and those who have a diagnosis of PTSD
• Those with a diagnosis of substance dependence

• Those with a psychotic disorder diagnosis:

  • schizophrenia
  • bipolar disorder
  • other psychotic disorders

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Other
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Pre-Implementation Cohort; Eligible patients will be recruited and enrolled prior to implementation of the blended integrated care model in each study site. They will be exposed to care as usual in the CBOCs.	Other: Usual Care; This condition is defined as usual care occurring within Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), which typically does not involve substantial integration of mental health care and primary care.; Other Names: Pre-Implementation
Post-Implementation Cohort; Eligible patients will be recruited and enrolled following implementation of the blended integrated care model in each study site. These participants are thus exposed to the "intervention" model.	Other: Blended Telemedicine-Based Integrated Care; This condition involves exposure to a blended collaborative care model that includes care management for depression and alcohol disorders and "virtual co-location" of doctoral-level mental health providers with prompt access through tele-video or telephone communication.; Other Names: Post-Implementation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in VR-12 Mental Component Summary Scores	Change in overall mental health functioning from study enrollment (after screening positive for depressive disorder or alcohol use disorder) to six-month follow-up on the Mental Component Summary scale of the Veterans Rand 12-item Health Survey. Measure Description: The Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12) Mental Component Summary (MCS) is a normed scale, presented as a T-score that is standardized to the US population. The population mean MCS score is 50 and standard deviation is 10, with scores ranging from 0-100. A higher (positive) change score represents greater improvement in mental health-related quality of life from study enrollment to follow-up. The VR-12 was developed from the Veterans RAND 36-Item Health Survey (VR-36), which was developed from the Medical Outcomes Study RAND SF-36(TM) Version 1.0.	Six months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in PHQ-9 Scores	Change in depressive symptoms as measured by Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) from study enrollment to six-month follow-up, for patients screening positive for depressive disorders at baseline. The possible range of scores on the PHQ-9 is 0-27, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms. A negative change score represents improvement in depressive symptoms.	Six months
Change in AUDIT-C Scores	Change in alcohol use symptoms from study enrollment to six-month follow-up, for patients screening positive for alcohol use disorders at baseline. The analysis used the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) Total Score. The possible range of scores is 0-12, with higher scores indicating greater alcohol use.	Baseline, Six months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adoption of Intervention by Primary Care Providers	Proportion of primary care providers with at least one patient with a Primary Care-Mental Health Integration encounter following implementation of the blended, integrated care model. The time frame is variable due to the stepped wedge design.	12-24 months
Reach of Intervention	Proportion of patients having any mental health encounter in the six month follow-up period.	Six months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Richard R. Owen, MD, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center, Little Rock, AR; Principal Investigator: JoAnn E. Kirchner, MD, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center, Little Rock, AR

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Owen RR, Woodward EN, Drummond KL, Deen TL, Oliver KA, Petersen NJ, Meit SS, Fortney JC, Kirchner JE. Using implementation facilitation to implement primary care mental health integration via clinical video telehealth in rural clinics: protocol for a hybrid type 2 cluster randomized stepped-wedge design. Implement Sci. 2019 Mar 21;14(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s13012-019-0875-5.
• Bauer MS, Miller C, Kim B, Lew R, Weaver K, Coldwell C, Henderson K, Holmes S, Seibert MN, Stolzmann K, Elwy AR, Kirchner J. Partnering with health system operations leadership to develop a controlled implementation trial. Implement Sci. 2016 Feb 24;11:22. doi: 10.1186/s13012-016-0385-7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 25, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 1, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 14, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 14, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): March 18, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 27, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: telemedicine; depressive disorder; alcohol-related disorders; rural health; collaborative care; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mood Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Alcoholism; Depressive Disorder; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Alcohol-Related Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: CRE 12-310

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No