Registry will be honor roll and information-sharing resource for primary care providers who offer mental health screening for adolescents

 – Providers Using Validated Questionnaires Encouraged to Register Now –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 1, 2011

NEW YORK – The TeenScreen® National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University today announced the establishment of a new, first-of-its kind registry – the Columbia University TeenScreen Registry – that will serve as both an honor roll of primary care providers who offer mental health screening during routine adolescent care and a resource for information sharing among those providers. Primary care providers are encouraged to enroll in the registry to receive free evidence-based screening questionnaires, patient education materials, access to a private online community to share information about mental health screening in primary care, and a certificate from Columbia University. Registrants will also have their profile information listed on the public page of the registry website, which will launch in June.

The Columbia University TeenScreen Registry is open to pediatric primary care providers who use evidence-based questionnaires to identify teens who are struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. Registrants are not limited to those using questionnaires provided by TeenScreen. Mental health screenings can be easily administered in a doctor’s office as part of routine care and usually take less than five minutes to complete.Providers may enroll in the Columbia University TeenScreen Registry now, or request more information about adolescent mental health screening in primary care practice, by visiting http://registry.teenscreen.org.

Routine mental health screening for teens is the standard of care. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) are among 40 leading medical professional organizations that recommend routine mental health screening for adolescents. Additionally, routine screening of adolescents for mental illness is now provided under federal health reform as a free preventive service.

“Research has shown that mental health checkups are an accurate and effective way to identify teens suffering from depression, anxiety, or another mental illness. There are thousands of healthcare professionals offering routine mental health checkups who should be recognized and distinguished as being at the forefront of adolescent healthcare,” said Laurie Flynn, executive director, TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University. “TeenScreen is establishing this registry in order to provide valuable resources and tools to support these committed providers in their practices.”

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The TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University is a non-profit public health initiative and national policy and resource center devoted to increasing youth access to regular mental health checkups. The TeenScreen National Center is affiliated with the Columbia University Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. TeenScreen is being implemented by more than 1,000 primary care providers and in over 600 school and community-based sites in 46 states through the TeenScreen Primary Care and TeenScreen Schools and Communities programs. To learn more about TeenScreen’s free resources and policy research, please visit www.teenscreen.org.

For more information:
Elizabeth Streich
streich@childpsych.columbia.edu
212-265-3174