Due to greater understanding of how many Americans live with mental illnesses and addiction disorders and how expensive the total healthcare expenditures are for this group, we have reached a critical tipping point when it comes to healthcare reform. We understand the importance of treating the healthcare needs of individuals with serious mental illnesses and responding to the behavioral healthcare needs of all Americans. This is creating a series of exciting opportunities for the behavioral health community and a series of unprecedented challenges Mental health organizations across the U.S. are determined to provide expertise and leadership that supports member organizations, federal agencies, states, health plans, and consumer groups in ensuring that the key issues facing persons with mental health and substance use disorders are properly addressed and integrated into healthcare reform.
In anticipation of parity and mental healthcare reform legislation, the many national and community mental health organizations have been thinking, meeting and writing for well over a year. Their work continues and their outputs guide those organizations lobbying for government healthcare reform :
1. Mental Health/Substance Use Health Provider Capacity Building
Community mental health and substance use treatment organizations, group practices, and individual clinicians will need to improve their ability to provide measurable, high-performing, prevention, early intervention, recovery and wellness oriented services and supports.
2. Person-Centered Healthcare Homes
There will be much greater demand for integrating mental health and substance use clinicians into primary care practices and primary care providers into mental health and substance use treatment organizations, using emerging and best practice clinical models and robust linkages between primary care and specialty behavioral healthcare.
3. Peer Counselors and Consumer Operated Services
We will see expansion of consumer-operated services and integration of peers into the mental health and substance use workforce and service array, underscoring the critical role these efforts play in supporting the recovery and wellness of persons with mental health and substance use disorders.
4. Mental Health Clinic Guidelines
The pace of development and dissemination of mental health and substance use clinical guidelines and clinical tools will increase with support from the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and other research and implementation efforts. Of course, part of this initiative includes helping mental illness patients find a mental health clinic nearby.
5. Medicaid Expansion and Health Insurance Exchanges
States will need to undertake major change processes to improve the quality and value of mental health and substance use services at parity as they redesign their Medicaid systems to prepare for expansion and design Health Insurance Exchanges. Provider organizations will need to be able to work with new Medicaid designs and contract with and bill services through the Exchanges.
6. Employer-Sponsored Health Plans and Parity
Employers and benefits managers will need to redefine how to use behavioral health services to address absenteeism and presenteeism and develop a more resilient and productive workforce. Provider organizations will need to tailor their service offerings to meet employer needs and work with their contracting and billing systems.
7. Accountable Care Organizations and Health Plan Redesign
Payers will encourage and in some cases mandate the development of new management structures that support healthcare reform including Accountable Care Organizations and health plan redesign, providing guidance on how mental health and substance use should be included to improve quality and better manage total healthcare expenditures. Provider organizations should take part in and become owners of ACOs that develop in their communities.
8. Quality Improvement for Mental Healthcare: Organizations including the National Quality Forum will accelerate the development of a national quality improvement strategy that contains mental health and substance use performance measures that will be used to improve delivery of mental health and substance use services, patient health outcomes, and population health and manage costs. Provider organizations will need to develop the infrastructure to operate within this framework.
9. Health Information Technology
Federal and state HIT initiatives need to reflect the importance of mental health and substance use services and include mental health and substance use providers and data requirements in funding, design work, and infrastructure development. Provider organizations will need to be able to implement electronic health records and patient registries and connect these systems to community health information networks and health information exchanges.
10. Healthcare Payment Reform
Payers and health plans will need to design and implement new payment mechanisms including case rates and capitation that contain value-based purchasing and value-based insurance design strategies that are appropriate for persons with mental health and substance use disorders. Providers will need to adapt their practice management and billing systems and work processes in order to work with these new mechanisms.
11. Workforce Development
Major efforts including work of the new Workforce Advisory Committee will be needed to develop a national workforce strategy to meet the needs of persons with mental health and substance use disorder including expansion of peer counselors. Provider organizations will need to participate in these efforts and be ready to ramp up their workforce to meet unfolding demand.

Everybody knows that ‘personal skin care’ has a great significance. Different people have various views regarding ‘personal skin care’. Some people are of the opinion that visiting beauty parlors every next day will give personal skin care. However, some think that only by applying a lotion or some cream on their skin frequently gives personal skin care. Also, it is mere an episode for some people that occurs either once in a month or a year. Yet others keep themselves engaged in ‘personal skin care’ every time. However, taking the benefits of personal skin care into consideration you can see that it is neither that costly nor complicated. It is following a procedure or a routine to attend the needs that your skin requires.
Before you start the ‘personal skin care’ you need to know the type of skin that you have i.e. whether it is sensitive, dry, normal or an oily skin and then choose the skin care product based on the skin-type. Initially, you have to experiment some skin care products. Given below is the routine for a person with normal skin-type.
The first step in the routine of personal skin care involves ‘Cleansing’. The main ingredients in a cleanser are wetting agents (surfactants), water and oil. Surfactant and oil draw oil and dirt from the skin and after that water flushes out, hence cleans your skin. But, you have to experiment some cleansers before you decide which one is best for your skin. You should prefer cleansers that are soap-free. Also, use warm water to cleanse your skin (cold and hot water might harm your skin). However, don’t cleanse your skin too hard otherwise it would damage the skin.
The second step in the routine of personal skin care includes exfoliation. The skin undergoes a natural process in which it eradicates the dead skin cells and changes them with new cells. Exfoliate is only a way that facilitates your skin in this procedure. The dead skin cells don’t react to any kind of personal skin care thereby consuming the skin care products, thus, prevents them from undergoing new skin cells. So, it is very essential to eradicate the dead skin cells so as to use the skin care products effectively. Hence, after cleansing follows exfoliation. It is important to know how mush exfoliation is required when you go for any kind of personal skin care. Exfoliate 1-2 times weekly for sensitive/dry skin and 4-5 times weekly for normal/oily skin. In humid and hot weather exfoliate for more time.
The next step in the routine of personal skin care involves moisturizers. This can be considered as one of the very significant processes of personal skin care. Yet an oily skin-type requires moisturizers. Moisturizers not only draw the moisture content from the skin cells, also intake moisture from atmosphere when required. The excess use of moisturizers may blog the skin pores and results in damaging your skin. When you use moisturizer, within one week you will understand the amount of moisturizer that is required by the skin. It is better to apply the moisturizer when the skin is damp.
The last step in the routine of personal skin care involves sunscreen. Many moisturizers and day-time creams are available with dual benefits as they have both the moisturizing property and protection from UV radiation. Such type of moisturizers can be used in any time in any weather (cloudy or sunny).
Again try the different products in this type of skin care, also the quantity you want to use. The best result that you will get from is the best recipe for your personal skin care. In case of any skin disorders, it is advised to visit a dermatologist before applying any kind of products for personal skin care.