4 minute read Growing up in poverty in the slums of Kumasi, Ghana, 18-year-old Abina longed for a better life. Her pastor talked to her about job opportunities in other countries, and with his help, Abina signed up with an organization that promised great pay and benefits. Staff helped her get a passport and a […]
Three years ago the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA) set out to report on the spread of integrated care across the United States primary care system. Our initial report on findings in 2020 elicited interesting findings on the breadth and types of care being provided. Here we provided updated data which appears to demonstrate greater […]
3 minute read In spring 2022, CFHA CEO Neftali Serrano approached the Primary Care Behavioral Health Special Interest Group (PCBH SIG) to begin the work of catalyzing standardized outcomes for measuring success in a PCBH environment. This invitation was warmly received as the role of the PCBH SIG is to grow interest and enthusiasm, provide […]
Neftali Serrano, CEO of CFHA, first approached me in late 2021 to design and distribute a salary survey to the integrated care workforce. I looked at my overloaded plate and thought, “This is too good to pass up”. So, I made room on the plate. As an educator, I’ve been involved in workforce projects for […]
Original post available here Our current medical system derives largely from the biomedical model, which focuses on physical causes for disease. The more recent bio-psychosocial model posits that other factors, including your emotional state, support system (friends and family), and the environment also play a role, both in the development of disease and its prognosis. […]
US federal government agencies are currently accepting applications for large grant awards to address behavioral health patient needs across the country. Your healthcare organization may be a good candidate for one of these awards! Even if you are not funded, the exercise of grant writing will help you imagine the possibilities of improving your organization […]
5 Minute Read There is no single issue in the movement to integrate physical and behavioral health system that trumps the workforce shortage and training problem. Primary care needs a moonshot initiative to bridge that gap. I have some ideas. They are mine alone – I can’t speak for all of the Collaborative Family Healthcare […]
5 minute read Most of my training and career have focused on the individual or family sitting in front of me asking for relief from their suffering. I have spent many hours learning how to engage, evaluate, and treat complex human beings who walk through the clinic door. It’s hard and rewarding work; but the […]
5 Minute Read Family medicine residency programs have long had behaviorists as part of the educational experience for physicians-in-training, but the role has not kept up with the many changes in training and healthcare over the last few decades. And so you have behavioral science faculty with unclear and often conflicting mandates for their work, […]
Maybe one of the only positives of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in attention to the long-standing crisis in behavioral health and the movement to address the systemic barriers which prevent people from getting care. President Biden has announced a national strategy to address the mental health crisis. The Department of Health and […]
Original post available here. One day, while working as a clinical psychologist in a primary care practice, I was asked by the family doctor scheduled to meet that morning with Lisa, a 72-year-old woman with moderate dementia, to stop by and see her 75-year-old husband, Dennis, for counseling for possible depression. Within the hour, I […]
3 minute read. Original post available here Hi everyone! As you can tell from the title of this post, today in the CFHA blog we are going to take on the age-old question “Which discipline creates the best BHC?” I hope that it highlights the strengths our varied disciplines bring to integrated care! I asked […]
3 minute read. Original post available here Returning to the PCBH (Primary Care Behavioral Health) world after a week off is always an exciting, yet frightening experience. My mind always worries when returning to clinical work. “Will I still be able to do this?” “Do I still got what it takes?” And, then, all that doubt […]
5 minute read Once upon a time, I was a behavioral medicine director at a family medicine clinic in North Carolina. Part of my job was to monitor the patient waiting list. We had normal delays like confirmation of benefits and no appointment slots. My goal was to schedule new patient appointments within 1-2 weeks […]
3 minute read The recent episode on Last Week Tonight puts the failing U.S. Mental Healthcare system in the spotlight. It is a great and timely episode. You should stop reading my pedantic post and watch it now. OK, now that you’re back, let’s recap the episode and discuss what it could mean for the […]
3 minute read. Original post available here As I was talking with one of our medical assistants (MA) after a visit she helped interpret for, we both agreed, “its good to get a win.” One of my favorite parts about spring is the intentionality that graduation and orientation season brings to reflect on the past year, […]
Several changes proposed in the 2023 CMS Physician Fee Schedule and Medicare Part B policies may help to advance integrated care. The proposed changes include a new General BHI service code for use when behavioral health is the focal point of care and allowing previously excluded behavioral health professionals to provide services to Medicare patients. The […]
3 minute read The history of medicine is a massive and fascinating subject. It shows that, over time, the goals and locations of doctors have changed. From the bedside to the library and from the hospital to the laboratory, doctors have sought out the innovation and evidence that compose our healthcare system today. In the […]
