Change, Test, Repeat: Using NIATx to implement SBIRT

Catherine Ulrich Milliken
Director, Addiction Treatment Program
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire

Introducing a new practice like Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)  can be a challenge in any setting. In the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) Perinatal Addiction Treatment Program (PATP) we faced the added challenge of implementing a new practice across three departments and two institutions. 

That’s where my previous experience with the NIATx model came into play. I was fortunate to be a part of a NIATx STAR-SI grant in Maine while working for Crossroads for Women (Crossroadsme.org). Over three years beginning in late 2006, the ten state-provider partnerships used the NIATx diffusion model to accomplish four goals: build state capacity to improve access and retention; build payer/provider partnerships that drive the improvement process; implement payer improvement strategies; and implement performance monitoring and feedback systems.

Integrating care and improving birth outcomes with SBIRT: An update from the field

August 2, 2015
Catherine Ulrich Milliken
Director, Addiction Treatment Program
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire

It’s hard to believe that almost two years since I first wrote in this blog about the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) Perinatal Addiction Treatment Program (PATP).

The PATP is a joint, multidisciplinary, and interprofessional venture that spans two institutions, (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College), three departments (Psychiatry, OB/Gyn and Pediatrics) and the inpatient and outpatient environments. 

Turning 2 and Our Top Ten List

August 7, 2015

Maureen Fitzgerald
Communications Coordinator, ATTC Network
Senior Editor, NIATx

The DipR is the ultimate cookie spoon.

It was almost exactly two years ago that we launched the ATTC/NIATx Service Improvement Blog with our first post: Better Together. In that post, ATTC co-directors Laurie Krom and Kim Johnson wrote about the true innovation that comes from collaboration. They announced the main goal for our blog: to publish regular posts featuring information, tools, and techniques to help behavioral health professionals manage programs and provide services.

Over the past two years, we've published, on average, three times each month, on a wide range of topics. Our blog writers have included ATTC and NIATx staff along with guest bloggers representing research, clinical care, state and national organizations, and people in recovery.