Behavioral Health

Where Have We Been, Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

Abstract

In the Spring 2014 edition of the Stanford Social Innovations Review, Dr. Robert Ross, the President and Chief Executive Officer of The California Endowment, and a one-time Health Commissioner of Philadelphia and Public Health Management Corporation Board member, said in a lead article, “Innovation has been critical to economic and social progress since the invention of the wheel. But innovation isn’t everything. In fact, when it comes to addressing today’s urgent social problems, from education and public health to civil and human rights, innovation is overrated. The greatest impediment to solving these problems is not a lack of innovation. Rather, it is our inability to scale up solutions that we know work.”

This article and, in particular, this quote, have generated a firestorm of important discussion, much of it focused on the public health arena. Relevant to this discussion, it is suggested that services in response to behavioral health issues might best be looked at, reviewed and debated within the context of Dr. Ross’s concern.