AAFP Tackles Mental Health With New CME Activity - AAFP News

April 3, 2023, News Staff — The Academy has unveiled a new on-demand CME activity for family physicians and other health care professionals that addresses several topics on mental and behavioral health. The activity, which launched March 30, allows participants to claim up to 11.75 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.

Learning Objectives and Credits

Participants who complete the activity will be able to

• develop evidence-based strategies and plans to effectively diagnose, treat and manage mental and behavioral health conditions commonly seen in primary care;
• prepare effective plans to diagnose, treat, and manage common mental and behavioral health conditions seen in primary care;
• prepare plans to take an equitable approach to patient counseling on behavior modification strategies to reduce risks of complications, and improve outcomes related to their mental and behavioral health;
• establish protocols to provide effective care coordination and behavioral health integration models; and
• devise strategies to help patients overcome barriers to change in relation to disease management, including cultural competency, literacy skills and access to services or care.

Members can view the sessions in the order of their choosing and in a setting that best meets their needs, and will be able to review specific pieces that apply to their given patient population as the need arises. 

Improving Care for Underserved Patients

The collection debuts at a time of increased concern about access to mental and behavioral health services, particularly for minority populations. A recent CDC report indicated that between 2018 and 2020, ER visits related to mental health disorders in the United States were considerably higher among Black and Latino adults compared with white adults. Given that the report's findings were based largely on pre-COVID-19 pandemic data, it is likely that both the current number of mental health-related visits and the percentage of visits from Black and Latino adults is substantially higher.

"Particularly in underserved areas, there are not enough of our psychiatry colleagues to support all of the needs," Wheat said. "Additionally, some patients may not want to receive treatment from psychiatrists because of the stigma of mental health treatments. This CME course will allow family physicians to feel comfortable to collaborate and co-manage conditions to best meet the needs of our patients." 

Other Member Resources

The new on-demand activity is replacing the Academy's existing activity on neurology and behavioral health.

Additionally, the AAFP (through an educational grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group) is developing a free CME online multisession activity, "Alzheimer's and Dementia — From Differential Diagnosis to End-of-Life Care," exclusively for AAFP members. Through this series, participants will gain tools to help consistently detect, diagnose and care for patients with cognitive impairment and dementia. The first session, "Alzheimer's and Dementia: Identifying the Challenges," was released in January. Additional sessions will launch in April and May, and will focus on addressing challenges and reinforcing best practices, respectively.

Members are also encouraged to visit the Academy's Behavioral Health Integration Learning Forum,  which offers free CME activities, an online community to discuss learnings and offer advice, and links to internal and external behavioral health resources.

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