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Improving Behavioral Health Through Data-Driven Collaboration: A Santa Cruz County Case Study

September 12, 2023

Jennifer Bresnick, Content Creator, Inkless Creative Services

Samuel Taylor, Senior Consultant, Intrepid Ascent

Santa Cruz County is one of the state’s leaders in leveraging health information exchange (HIE) to improve care delivery for behavioral health clients. The county’s participation in the Behavioral Health Quality Improvement Program (BHQIP) has augmented its efforts to foster data-driven care across all its departments and health system partners.

This paper explores how programs like BHQIP and other CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal) initiatives can provide a framework for improving data-driven collaboration in county health care settings, using Santa Cruz’s challenges and successes as a guide for addressing future reform efforts.

The lessons learned from Santa Cruz County cover these topics:

Coping with ongoing workforce shortages
Taking a broader view of planning and executing data-driven projects
Navigating a complicated landscape of consent and privacy regulations
Establishing a neutral convener
Thinking creatively to ensure health equity

With a well-established HIE infrastructure, a clear road map for health system transformation, and a strong commitment to change, the county has become a case study in impactful innovation across its behavioral health services.

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