Behavioral Health Care in the Military Health System
Abstract
Geographic location can be a barrier to accessing and receiving high-quality behavioral health care for both civilians and military personnel. As a consequence, service members who reside far from military treatment facilities may be at higher risk for poorer clinical outcomes than those who are less remotely located. The authors evaluate remote service members access to Military Health System (MHS) care for those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or substance use disorder (SUD) and assess the quality of the behavioral health care they received. The report highlights how quality-measure performance varies by remote status, focusing on differences in quality of care that are large and potentially clinically significant. The authors also discuss policy implications and offer recommendations for how the military can use new strategiesincluding synchronous telehealth or technology-enabled interventionsto ensure access to high-quality care for all service members, regardless of location.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1126528
Entities
People
- Carol P. Roth
- Harold A. Pincus
- Kimberly A Hepner
- Ryan A. Brown
- Teague Ruder
Organizations
- RAND Corporation