A look at healthy way la: Using GIS mapping to determine physical barriers to access of integrated behavioral services

Healthy Way LA (HWLA) marks the first large-scale collaborative effort by Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Department of Health Services (DHS) to provide the continuum of physical and mental health services to medically underserved and underrepresented persons in Los Angeles County. For the first time, federal mandates require the full integration of health care and mental health care services in Los Angeles County. This Geographic Informational Services (GIS) project includes nine maps that illustrate the potential environmental and physical barriers that may negatively impact service access for its HWLA consumers. In general, a correlation was found between the location of HWLA service providers and access to care. Although bus and rail routes do not efficiently reach HWLA providers, HWLA providers within SPA 4 are geographically accessible to HWLA clients who rely on public transportation. Within SPA 4, HWLA clients who drive to a DMH clinic from a DHS clinic generally need to travel between 5 and 10 minutes. Within SPA 4, most DHS clinics fall within close geographic proximity to a partnered DMH facility. Depicting the distance between providers, common modes of transportation, and the location of the target Medicaid-eligible population offer a visual representation of data to better evaluate relationships between providers, consumers, and their environment. This information is valuable for policy experts and providers in evaluating for unintended consequences and reducing physical barriers to integrated care, to ensure efficient provision of health and mental health services for our locally underrepresented and unhealthy populations.