A Model for Coordination of Mental Health Care for Transitioning Serice Members

Mental health is a vital component of military readiness and has been identified as a priority by the Department of Defense (DoD).   One of the issues uniquely facing DoD in its efforts to provide comprehensive mental health care is fragmentation of care due to transitions such as a permanent change of station, deployment, or return to civilian life.  Research shows that in some cases, transitioning Service members who are receiving mental health care lack the information or motivation to connect with a provider in their new location, and therefore experience a lag or termination of their care.  As a result, DoD requires all military Services to have programs to mitigate fragmentation of mental health care across transitions.

DoD has conducted an environmental scan to identify existing coordination of care programs and evaluate their effectiveness and efficiency.  Preliminary results suggest each Service has programs in place to mitigate the problem by utilizing techniques such as provider-to-provider transfer of care, one-on-one coaching for the member transitioning, and disseminating information on administrative procedures for transitioning care.  The effectiveness of each of these types of programs is relatively unknown and the variation in methodologies further emphasizes the need to establish and implement best practices. Findings of this research will help create recommendations and best practices to inform DoD policy and therefore improve the mental health of the military. These findings may also be used in the civilian world to coordinate mental health care for returning Service members and Veterans.