Integrating Behavioral Health And Primary Care

Across the country, a steady increase has been noted in the number of patients presenting to emergency departments for psychiatric complaints (Zun, 2014). Patients also attempt to use their primary care doctors to treat their mental illnesses. The mental health care options for these patients are extremely limited, especially for minority populations such as African Americans and Hispanics. One out of four adults in America suffers from some form of mental illness, yet only one out of three of those affected receives treatment (Safran, 2009). Furthermore, patients are routinely misdiagnosed, receive poor quality of care, receive care from providers who have no understanding of their cultures and values, or are not even able to receive care in the first place (Sanchez, 2012).

People with mental illness often go undetected, undiagnosed, and untreated in primary care settings. The mental health stigma contributes to how primary care decisions exclude and overlook mental health as an integral part of patient care (Corrigan, P. et al., 2014). Past research revealed that at least one third of primary care patients with psychiatric disorders escape detection (Jones, Badger, Ficken, Leeper, & Anderson, 1987). As a result, current researchers assert there are increasing concerns about how behavior health contributes to the physical health of people. Alarming figures indicate that people with serious mental illness have two to two and a half times higher mortality rate than the general population (Iyer & Young, 2015).

Physical health and behavioral health care are typically delivered in separate settings by different providers, often with little collaboration and coordination. This fragmented health care delivery system leads to care deficiencies, specifically for individuals with mental and physical health co-morbidities (Enthoven, 2009). Individuals with mental and substance abuse disorders may die decades earlier than the average person — often from untreated and preventable chronic diseases (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration [SAMSHA], 2017). Evidence indicates that the health care system is improving care delivery for members with co-morbidities through the integration of physical and behavioral health care (Enthoven, 2009).

Rivers Integrated Care (RIC) is a primary care facility located in Phoenix Arizona. This clinic recently transitioned from an urgent care facility to an integrated primary care and emergency clinic. The goal of this transition is to become a patient-centered medical home and behavioral health facility. The clinic currently has a Behavioral Health Consultant, who is also the Site Administrator, Physician Assistant (PA) and a Primary Care Provider (PCP). The plan is to employ a full-time Psychiatrist to prescribe psychotic medication. Although employees of RIC consider this clinic a fully integrated facility. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) integration assessment tool, the clinic is partially integrated.

Tristan is a sixteen year old male that has been admitted to Newport News Behavioral Health Center for the following reasons: mood instability, impulsivity, substance abuse, and poor impulse control.

South Florida Behavioral Health Clinic, Inc. is a comprehensive and federally qualified health clinic serving residents of all ages, races and ethnicities, with or without insurance, within Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties for more than 15 years. SFBHC encompasses 6 health clinics across South Florida, and employ approximately 25 providers with over 135 staff members. The SFBHC main purpose is to provide residents in South Florida with effective treatments and services for mental and/or substance use disorders. Recent changes in the United States health system has helped remove barriers for citizens to access behavioral health services. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, a range of health plans are being required to cover essential benefits including mental health and substance abuse treatments.8 The Affordable Care Act extends the impact of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) so that many health plans must offer coverage for mental health or substance use disorders with at least an equal level of benefits as the plans offer for the treatment of physical health problems.8 Services at SFBHC include: individual/group counseling, supportive services, evidence-based treatment and

Southwest Behavioral Health Center is a government-ran program that deals with mental illness, substance abuse, child abuse, and youth crime. Leaders from five Utah counties in southern Utah govern the center and funding comes from local and federal government. The center is located at 54 N 200 E Cedar City Utah. The Southwest Behavioral Health Center has a variety of clientele

Mental health services and resources in League City, Texas seem to be available for those individuals who are in need of help and qualify for any assistance offered by the facilities. For example, “Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health is one of the largest and most advanced behavioral healthcare organizations in the country. We have a unique model that connects the latest scientific and medical advancements to practical, effective interventions in the treatment of behavioral health. We were founded in 1912 by one of the first pioneers in the field, Helena Devereux. Today, we are a national nonprofit partner for individuals, families, schools and communities, serving many of the most vulnerable members of our society in areas of autism,

This letter is in response to your first level Administrative Appeal filed with Horizon Behavioral Health on November 3, 2016. In this appeal, you requested reconsideration of the payment in the amount of $3632.16 on the claim for dates of service October 1, 2016 through October 4, 2016. You stated that the member was involuntarily admitted through the Emergency Department, therefore the claim should be covered at the full charge of $9137.40.

Adopting behavioral health needs to be a priority for the Dallas area. Lastly, there needs to be a continuum of care. It is important to not only give residents support but to also assist them through the process. It is imperative that the city of Dallas takes heed to the needs of its community. Meeting these needs will approve the overall health and safety of the city of

The authors and researchers of this article are expressing their views on the need to expand and improve medical, behavioral, and community models of the mental health system to promote the well-being of all Americans by delivering them high-quality, accessible and efficient health care. To promote the integration of primary care and behavioral health, an attempt is made by these fellow researchers to aid members of the integrated care team to excel behavioral health of people by developing population-based measures to evaluate integration.

The integrated behavioral health pilot program is quite new and different from other behavioral health models. Prior to the program, there was no behavioral health services located with PAMF, which is serving the needs of 97,000 patients. As primary care struggled with this, a group offered PAMF a grant and the primary care providers (PCPs) wanted a behavioral health team. PAMF formed a team and they spent a year researching behavioral health models. They then developed our current model that was adapted from many different models found in research. The purpose of the model was to improve access to quality mental health services through supporting PCPs in meeting their patient 's behavioral health needs.

Southwest Behavioral & Health Services (SB&HS) will experience the Topaz difference in the following areas:

Behavioral health is a major determinator of health status and serious behavioral disorders have devastating effects on the well-being of individuals and communities. Behavioral health consequences

Availability of behavioral health providers to accept new patients with private, public insurance, both Medicaid and Medicare, and other types of public insurance including Tricare due to the proximity of Wright Patterson Air Force Base