Bio: Vidhya Alakeson, a 2006-07 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, is lead analyst, mental health, at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to her Harkness Fellowship, she was a research associate at the Social Market Foundation, one of the UK's leading public policy think tanks. She was previously policy advisor at HM Treasury, leading a cross-government review of policy for children, young people and families and has also worked on an international study of youth policy at the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. Before working in government, she spent several years working in public policy think tanks, including Forum for the Future and Policy Network. She graduated with a first class degree from Oxford University in 1994 and a M.Sc. with distinction in European studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1999.
Placement: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Mentors: Pamela Doty, Ph.D.
Project: Is Self-Direction a Way of Creating a More Patient-Centered Healthcare System? Lessons from Self-Direction in the U.S. Public Mental Health System
Description: Alakeson's project analyzed three pilot programs for self-directed care, in which individuals have direct control of a budget with which to purchase services to meet their needs. She explored why consumers choose to self-direct, what they purchase to meet their mental health needs with an individual budget, and how program design influences the ability of consumers to make informed decisions. She conducted site visits to self-directed pilots for adults with serious and persistent mental illness in Florida, Michigan and Oregon, where she conducted interviews with consumers, staff, and state officials. Analysis of service use data was also conducted for the pilots in Oregon and Florida.