Will health reform succeed if it skimps on services for people people with a mental health or substance use disorder? Not likely, writes Florida's Dr. Steven Ronik.

"I am calling for health reform to include mental health and addiction services in all components of health care reform to address the health care needs of individuals with mental health and substance abuse problems.

Ronik heads a Fort Lauderdale mental health clinic.

Funding research
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine lists research for wraparound services in the top tier of priorities for discretionary funding from the $400 million funds heading to the department of Health and Human Services.

We say, bravo to the recommendation that a project "Compare the effectiveness of wraparound home and community-based services and residential treatment in managing serious emotional disorders in children and adults." It belongs among the top 25 recommendations. What is curious is not that this is likely to get attention, but that the others are so low on the list. As the New England Journal of Medicine notes:

The third most frequent primary research area is psychiatric disorders: the committee has recommended CER studies on the location of mental health care, provider training, various pharmacologic treatments, depression, premature death related to mental disorders, and suicide.

Why, then did five of the six projects fall in the second, third and fourth quartiles where funding is dubious?

Information technology
This attention also comes at at time when the National Council says: "Fewer than half of behavioral health and human services providers possess fully implemented clinical electronic record systems," says a report about the status of information technology for behavioral health care.

Reform is needed. Including mental health and substance use disorders is essential.