Provider Education and Training

Provider Training and Education

Mercy Care offers several provider trainings and educational opportunities to our integrated providers in order to increase overall knowledge and better serve our members on a day-to-day basis.  We offer the following:  

  • Behavioral health education for behavioral health providers through Relias.  Please contact our Workforce Development Department at WFD@MercyCareAZ.org to learn more about this and to get registered with Relias if you are a behavioral health provider and qualify for these trainings.   
  • Provider Relations Webinars are offered on, at minimum, a monthly basis for our provider community.  During these webinars, which are recorded, we review and enhance provider education regarding Mercy Care's worflows, policies, procedures and other topics of interest to our providers. 
  • Computer Based Training - offering training on several different topics that may be of interest to providers.  An attestation will be provided for providers to get credit for taking these courses.  
  • AHCCCS Back to Basics presentations are also available here for your review and will be posted as they are released by AHCCCS.  
  • Other miscellaneous power points or presentations that may be of interest or enhance provider education will also be available to you.  

To view previous Network Management webinars, just click on the link:

What is Personal Medicine?

Personal Medicine is a deeply transformative, powerful healing practice that helps people connect with the healer inside themselves—their inner resilience. It is just as important to recovery as any medication. Personal Medicine is what we do, not a pill or other drug we take. Anyone can claim their own Personal Medicine—it’s available to all of us.

Personal Medicine supports recovery-oriented practice, is evidence-based, and has been shown to increase activation which leads to more robust health outcomes. The practice of Personal Medicine meets SAMHSA’s criteria for recovery-based practice and the core competencies of peer support.

Extensive research on Personal Medicine shows that people who use it over time are more activated in their self care, which leads to better health outcomes.

Who are Pat Deegan and PDA?

Patricia Deegan, PhD, developed the recovery model in behavioral health treatment. Diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager, she went on to get her doctorate in clinical psychology and today leads a company run by and for people in recovery called Pat Deegan & Associates, or PDA.

Dr. Deegan developed Personal Medicine as part of the recovery model. Today, PDA has trained thousands of people as Certified Personal Medicine Coaches, or CPMCs, around the world.

“Illnesses don’t recover; people do.”

-Pat Deegan

Personal Medicine and Service Planning

Personal Medicine is an effective addition to a member’s service plan. CPMCs coach members to discover their own unique Personal Medicine. When they do this, members empower themselves to disrupt the idea that they are the “problem.” Instead, Personal Medicine helps members recognize that they are part of the solution to their own recovery. The message in this for members is that they can find the right balance between their own Personal Medicine and the psychiatric medicine they may use.

Training and certification for Mercy Care providers

Mercy Care has provided funding for providers to have Certified Personal Medicine Coaching Champions who can train their staff for larger health homes.  We are also providing funding for all Rehabilitation Specialists who work at each ACC-RBHA behavioral health home and Assertive Community Treatment team (ACT) to become Certified Personal Medicine Coaches.  Mercy Care will also be holding CPMC training sessions.

Here's a video of a webinar on Personal Medicine for more information.

See the Provider Manual for additional guidance (Section 2.9, Clinical Guidelines on page 69).

If you need additional support, please contact us at PersonalMedicine@MercyCareAZ.org.

 

Our Workforce Development Training and Resource site contains valuable information regarding the Workforce Development department.  It also contains physical health courses that are not available in Relias for Behavioral Health Providers.   In the future, we will continue to develop further courses that may be of use to physical health providers.  We look forward to collaborating with providers on adding additional courses.   If you would like to contact us, please feel free to e-mail us at wfd@mercycareaz.org with any suggestions you may have.

Workforce Development Training Resource

The AzAHP Workforce Development Alliance (AWFDA) is comprised of all the AHCCCS Complete Care (ACC) & Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) Plans in the state of Arizona. This includes, Arizona Complete Health, Banner University Health Plans, Care 1st, Health Choice Arizona, Mercy Care, Molina Health Care, and United Healthcare Community Plan. Together they act as a single point of contact for reference and direction for the shared provider network. This Alliance is dedicated to working with Relias, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), health care Providers, Members, and Communities as a whole, to drive long lasting and effective changes in workforce development and Member outcomes. To achieve this vision, they are working collaboratively as seven separately established Health Plans to assist the Provider network in the transition from a prescriptive and compliance-based system, to a more autonomous, integrated, and competency-based system.

The AzAHP Workforce Development Alliance’s (AWFDA’s) mission is to evaluate, monitor, and support the development of the capability, capacity, connectivity, culture, and commitment of our provider workforce. 

Their website is https://azahp.org/

 

Mercy Care's Workforce Development department values collaborative, transparent knowledge sharing. We are dedicated to providing effective, high-quality training to our provider community. We’re here to help our providers meet the needs of our members and support them on their road to recovery and resiliency.

Our team is comprised of experienced professionals. We modify our training offerings and teaching styles to meet the roles, duties, operations, regulations and needs of those in our programs. We offer scheduled face-to-face trainings, scheduled conference-call trainings, and self-directed technology-based trainings.

For more information regarding any questions you may have, you can e-mail WFD@MercyCareAZ.org. Please allow us one to five business days for us to process your request.

 

PsychArmor

This nonprofit organization provides free education and support for all Americans to engage effectively with the military community. 

 

PsychArmor is the only national institute of its kind, dedicated to bridging the military-civilian divide through education. The institute also provides access to mental health experts that are ready to provide support. 

 

Visit PsychArmor to learn more.

 

 

Psych Hub

Mercy Care has partnered with a new company Psych Hub:

https://www.psychhub.com/partners/mercy-care

"Psych Hub is an online platform providing free, engaging videos about mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention. Psych Hub aims to be the trusted resource for consumers, family members, healthcare professionals and anyone else seeking best in class content on evidence-based behavioral health and substance use disorders. Founded by Patrick J. Kennedy and Marjorie Morrison in 2018, both co-founders have dedicated their careers to being passionate advocates for mental health and substance use.

Our content is meant to help individuals better understand their health care journey, from identifying symptoms to setting expectations for their provider during treatment. The stories we tell are brought to life through animated videos to effectively demonstrate the many faces of mental health and substance use disorders.

Mental health disorders can impact anyone. Through meaningful and innovative education, we can provide understanding and help each other lead healthier lives.”

Ways you might utilize these videos:

  • During all staff meetings
  • To supplements face-to-face trainings and enhance the learning experience
  • As lunch and learns
  • To educate members & family members

CME's available at freeCME®

freeCME.com® has provided a broad range of free continuing education available for more than a decade. Activities can be found that consistently meet providers' continuing education requirements. Their easy-to-use web portal makes finding courses and tracking required credits simple and seamless.

freeCME.com® provides its sponsor clients online CME/CE distribution to the industry’s most comprehensive list of physician specialties and healthcare professions. freeCME.com®'s extensive, dedicated membership represents enhanced exposure to your enduring educational activities. 

freeCME.com® is a division of Relias Media, a Relias Company, trusted for more than 40 years by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to provide current, evidence-based continuing education that is designed to improve patient outcomes. Relias Media, a Relias Company, is dedicated to improving healthcare around the world.

Mercy Care offers this resource to assist our provider network.  Please click on the below link to access their website:  

https://www.freecme.com/