COMMENTARIES Coordinating People and Knowledge: Efficiency in the Context of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Kimberly D. Becker, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland Bruce F. Chorpita, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles Eric L. Daleiden, PracticeWise, LLC The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, 2010) will have a remarkable impact on mental health services, yet enormous implementation challenges exist. This commentary examines some of the issues related to workforce development and performance measures raised by Chor, Olin, and Hoagwood (2014). In particu- lar, we examine inefficiencies related to the Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants, cur- rent training models, national initiatives to identify con- sensus quality indicators, and electronic health records. We highlight opportunities for psychology to lead effec- tive reform by developing efficient training and knowl- edge architectures. Key words: Affordable Care Act, efficiency, knowledge coordination, workforce coordination. [Clin Psychol Sci Prac 21: 106–112, 2014] The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ACA], 2010) will have a remarkable impact on mental health services by expanding insurance coverage to an esti- mated 13.4 million people with behavioral health con- ditions (Miller, Lentz, Maududi, & Harding, 2013). Chor, Olin, and Hoagwood (2014) provide a thought- provoking account of the implications of the ACA on prelicensure training and education in particular. It is our goal to examine the complexities of some of the issues they raise, particularly with regard to the effi- ciency with which psychological science and practice can adapt to the changing healthcare landscape. We propose that efficient ways to deal with these changes involve improving the coordination of psychology’s core resources, people and knowledge, to enhance clinical care. COORDINATING THE WORKFORCE Perhaps no issue related to the implementation of the ACA has garnered as much attention as workforce capacity. The collective evidence suggests that psychol- ogy struggles even to meet the current demand (Ellis, Konrad, Thomas, & Morrissey, 2009). Chor et al. (2014) point out that the ACA has appropriated fund- ing in the form of Mental and Behavioral Health Edu- cation and Training Grants (MBHETGs) to train more doctoral-level providers, yet these training grants may not have the full impact that is needed in terms of increasing workforce capacity. The ACA stipulates that 75% of $9.8 million awarded to 24 institutions in 2012 must be used for stipends to support field placements in psychology or social work, which amounts to $7.35 million for stipends. The mean internship stipend is Address correspondence to Kimberly D. Becker, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, 737 W. Lombard Street, 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21201. E-mail: kbecker@ psych.umaryland.edu. © 2014 American Psychological Association. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: permissionsuk@wiley.com. 106