The development of the Level of Care Utilization System for Psychiatric and Addiction Services (LOCUS) by the American Association of Community Psychiatrists will be described. LOCUS and its derivatives were developed to address some of the weaknesses of proprietary and often self-serving medical necessity criteria, and to provide an objective standard for service intensity decisions. The LOCUS Family of Tools (LFTs) provide a flexible and user-friendly approach to developing service intensity recommendations for persons with either or both psychiatric disorders and addictions. LOCUS provides a quantifiable, dimensional assessment of need and describes a service continuum that includes both clinical and supportive elements in the service array. The simple structure of LOCUS allows for easy conversion of assessment scores to level of care recommendations and provides a framework for progress documentation and treatment planning in which a service user can participate. It reduces the impact of clinician bias regarding treatment recommendations. Developments in the dissemination and ancillary uses of the tools will be described along with discussion of value management. 

Format

Recorded webinar, non-interactive, self-paced distance learning activity with post-test.

This presentation was recorded on October 27, 2022.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss historical, economic, and clinical rationale for the development of standardized and reliable utilization systems for behavioral health. 
• Explain the relationship between the use of LOCUS and the enhanced value of services delivered.  
• Describe the basic structure of the LOCUS and its unique features 

Outline

• Problems with traditional medical necessity criteria 
• Dimensional ratings 
• Level of care and service intensity  
• Placement recommendations  
• Attendee Q&A 

Target Audience

Counselor, Nurse/Nurse Practitioner, Peer Specialist/Peer Support, Psychiatrist, Physician Assistant, Psychologist, Social Worker 

Instructional Level

Intermediate

Estimate Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 1 hour
Program Start Date: November 2, 2022  
Program End Date: July 8, 2023

Ongoing Interdisciplinary Discussion Board 

After completing the course, engage with colleagues in the mental health field through SMI Adviser's Webinar Roundtable Topics discussion board. This is an easy way to network and share ideas with other clinicians who participate in this webinar. Access through the discussion tab.

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, nursing continuing professional development contact hours (NCPD, formerly CNE), CE credit for psychologists, CE credit for social workers, or a certificate of participation may do so by viewing the live presentation and completing the evaluation. Participants claiming CE credit for psychologists and those claiming CE credit for Social workers, must have full attendance to claim credit. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians), CE certificate (psychologists), CE certificate (social workers) or certificate of participation (other disciplines) showing the event date and hours earned.

Continuing Education Credit

Physicians

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The APA designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Psychologists

The American Psychiatric Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. American Psychiatric Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Nurses/Nurse Practitioners

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Social Workers 

American Psychiatric Association, provider #1743, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. American Psychiatric Association maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 05/18/2020-05/18/21. Social workers completing this course receive 1.0 (clinical) continuing education credits.

Continuing education requirements vary from state to state. Many state boards grant reciprocity with national accrediting organizations and other state boards. It is the responsibility of each professional to understand the requirements for license renewal or check with the state or national licensing board and/or professional organization to become more familiar with their policies for acceptable continuing education credit. Social workers and Psychologists should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval.

Faculty and Planner Disclosures

The American Psychiatric Association adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity — including faculty, planners, reviewers or others — are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity. 

Instructor

• Wesley E. Sowers, MD is Director of the Center for Public Service Psychiatry and Program Director of the Public Service Psychiatry Fellowship at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Sowers has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  

Planners

• Teri Brister, PhD, LPC, National Alliance on Mental Illness. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Amy N. Cohen, PhD, American Psychiatric Association. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• John Torous, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Torous has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Sherin Khan, LCSW, Thresholds. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN, University of Texas at Austin. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.  

• Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN, University of Texas at Austin. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests. (Reviewed on 6/15/2023)

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This website requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be:  Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact SMIadviserhelp@psych.org for technical assistance