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November 2019

Encourage follow-up care for mental health, substance use disorder after a patient visits ER

In the United States, 18% of adults and 13% to 20% of children experience mental illness, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Follow-up care for mental health issues is crucial. It helps to:

  • Decrease repeat visits to the emergency room.
  • Improve physical and mental function.
  • Increase compliance with follow-up instructions.

In 2016, NCQA also found that 20.1 million Americans older than age 12 were classified as having a substance use disorder. The study showed timely follow-up care for these individuals helped to reduce:

  • Substance use
  • Future ER use
  • Hospital admissions and length of stay

Follow-up care for FEP® members
A primary care physician or mental health specialist should be a member’s primary resource for follow-up care. Federal Employee Program® members have additional resources they can use for follow-up care after a discharge from the emergency room for mental illness or substance use disorder:

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Medical Case Management at 1-800-325-6278
  • New Directions Behavioral Health at 1-800-342-5891
  • Telehealth services at 1-855-636-1579 or www.fepblue.org/telehealth

For more information, FEP members can contact Customer Service at 1-800-482-3600. All other members should call the Customer Service number on the back of their member ID card.

No portion of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, except that BCBSM participating health care providers may make copies for their personal use. In no event may any portion of this publication be copied or reprinted and used for commercial purposes by any party other than BCBSM.

*CPT codes, descriptions and two-digit numeric modifiers only are copyright 2018 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.