ECHO-Chicago: Serious Mental Illness Online Course is organized by University of Chicago - Center for Continuing Medical Education and will be held during Feb 07 - May 16, 2018.

The target audience for this medical event is community-based primary care providers interested in screening, diagnosing, and managing serious mental illness. This CME Conference has been approved for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.

Course Description:
An estimated 526,000 adults in Illinois (5.4% of the adult population) had a serious mental illness (SMI) in 2012, which is higher than the national rate of 4%. SMI carries significant rates of morbidity and mortality, including premature mortality of about 25 years compared to the general population. There is a current shortfall of about 2,800 psychiatrists nationally to meet current mental health needs, so solutions aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with SMI need to focus beyond specialty care. Access to specialty care can be even more challenging for minority populations where the majority of patients are uninsured or under-insured.

This series aims to build capacity at the primary care level to help primary care providers (PCPs) become more competent and comfortable in delivering care to patients with SMI and reducing the burden on specialty mental health care. This series will engage community-based PCPs in advanced training for SMI that builds PCPs’ skills and tools to screen, diagnose, and manage SMI.

Conference Objectives are :
At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:
• Identify challenges faced by SMI patients in primary care;
• Outline screening procedures for SMI in a primary care setting;
• State registry components of Population Health Management and how it can be used to track SMI patients;
• Define how screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) can be used to treat SMI patients;
• State the best practices for behavioral management including dealing with comorbid problems like pain and substance use disorders;
• Summarize how to use motivational interviewing for self-management support for SMI patients;
• Discuss how the recovery model can be used in the treatment of SMI patients;
• State the best practices for treating psychotic disorders;
• Examine the primary care challenges face when treating affective disorder and appropriate psychological interventions.

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.