The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine is partnering with the Department of Psychiatry and the Depression and Suicide Prevention Center to bring the Project ECHO Model to family medicine and primary care practitioners across the state. Project ECHO Depression will connect Alabama providers with a team of experts at UAB to help them better care for patients suffering from depression.
Project ECHO uses a hub-and-spoke model to “move knowledge instead of people” in pursuit of better patient care. The model utilizes virtual tools to connect physicians with experts in other areas to encourage innovation and allows for open discussion about difficult cases to assist physicians in providing even better care. It began in New Mexico and has quickly become a national standard for empowering regional clinicians through monthly e-learning clinics. By leaning on virtual tools, Project ECHO Depression can reach more practitioners and assist them with the diagnosis and treatment of depression in their practices.
Participating physicians will receive access to monthly clinics, staffed by UAB psychiatrists, a family medicine physician, psychologists, and patient advocates. These clinics will be held virtually and offer Alabama clinicians the chance to gain didactic instruction and undergo live, de-identified and HIPAA-compliant mental illness case discussion on a monthly basis.
“We are excited to bring this model to our department and to practitioners across the state,” said Kimberly Smith, Ph.D., director of the Alabama Practice-Based Research Network (APBRN) and assistant professor for the department. “Through monthly ECHO sessions, we aim to make a difference in the lives of these practitioners, by helping them gain knowledge and assurance in prescribing a variety of treatment plans to better take care of their patients who are struggling with mental illness.”
The project is currently seeking family and primary care physicians to participate in the study. To participate, please fill out the interest form.
To learn more about Project ECHO Depression or to donate to this project, click here.