Since joining the Bree Collaborative as the Implementation Manager this past Fall, I have been completely in awe of the breadth and scope of work the Bree Collaborative recommendations cover.  That said, the idea of trying to implement all 30+ recommendations around the entire state seemed like a daunting and impossible task that might never…

We know that acts of violence against others are rare. We also know that the vast majority of people with behavioral health conditions, including mental illness and substance use disorders, do not engage in violent behavior. Acts of violence are, however, hugely significant for those involved and therefore significant to society and for our health…

The Bree Collaborative is proud of our work in 2019 and thankful for our dedicated Bree Collaborative members and our many workgroup members who have donated countless hours to improve health care quality, outcomes, and affordability in Washington State. This last year we developed recommendations for palliative care, shared decision making, those at risk of…

Our Palliative Care and Shared Decision Making Recommendations are ready for prime time. Both were adopted by our members at the November meeting – now we move into the harder phase, implementation. First, I’d like to introduce these two recommendations and let you all get to know one another a little better. Palliative Care Palliative…

Our action items here at the Bree Collaborative are assignments to which we hold ourselves accountable. We make sure to write these down in our minutes and again over many many emails. Our action items for the rest of 2019 involve planning for implementation – including the March 17th conference, working with our pilot group…

We’ve always felt that there is too big a gap between the great work that we do at the Bree Collaborative and how care is delivered in Washington State. To help change care delivery we are embarking on a new, and funded, implementation initiative. Part of this will be focused on integrating behavioral health into…

Every so often the Bree Collaborative is asked to talk about our work to other states or at national events. In May, Bree Collaborative member, Dr. Jeanne Rupert, presented on our Hysterectomy recommendations to the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative and in August, I presented to the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) on our…

  We want your feedback on our draft Shared Decision Making Report and Recommendations and Palliative Care Report and Recommendations. For both drafts, feedback must be received by 5pm Friday, October 18th.   Shared Decision Making Read our Shared Decision Making Report and Recommendations Take the survey Shared decision making is a key component of patient-centered…

Our recommendations are based in evidence. This means that when we look at a topic we look for an intervention or process that works and that does more good than harm. Most often, we do this by looking at published, peer-reviewed evidence or at systematic reviews that summarize existing published, peer-reviewed evidence. However, before we…

I hope everyone is spending ample time this summer relaxing on the beaches, in the mountains, or wherever you find joy. My goal is taking my toddler camping at each of our state’s National Parks (and visiting the excellent Klondike Gold Rush national historic park), getting more comfortable with camping (and life) being a messier…