Several APA members outlined advantages of integrating mental and behavioral health services into primary care at an Oct. 16 congressional briefing sponsored by the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine.
- Benjamin Miller, PsyD, director of health policy and assistant professor, department of family medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, shared epidemiological data that showed most cases of adult depression and anxiety are treated in primary care, and that the combination of depression and common physical disorders, such as diabetes, is one of the major causes of increased health care costs in America.
- Parinda Khatri, PhD, chief clinical officer at Cherokee Health Systems in Tennessee, addressed how integrating mental health services within primary care is the most practical way to advance a patient's health, which can reduce hospitalizations and emergency visits, all resulting in decreased costs.
- Susan McDaniel, PhD, APA president-elect and professor of psychiatry and family medicine, University of Rochester McDaniel pointed out the need for a new approach to training health care professionals to work on interprofessional teams. McDaniel outlined how training funds from existing federal programs could be used for this purpose and how health education loan repayment programs could be used to place integrated care in rural and underserved areas.
In addition, Patrick Gordon, a fiscal analyst from Rocky Mountain Health Plans, explained how the integrated approach improves patient health, and how healthier patients use fewer services, thus decreasing costs.
The briefing identified the challenges facing training, health-care delivery and financing that hinder the implementation of integrated care, and highlighted the gains large clinics have seen using this model.
"This information suggests that in the current environment of health system change, the time is right to advance integrated care as the most effective means to improve health," said Doug Tynan, PhD, director of integrated health care with APA's Center for Psychology and Health.