The title of this post is a terrible pick-up line, but it reflects my recent musings on how we identify patients in primary care who may benefit from behavioral health services. Health screening is standard practice in primary care. We screen for physical health, mental health, substance use, health behaviors, family functioning, social determinants of […]
This year is almost over, a signal it is time to highlight all the great blog posts published in 2018. We have terrific writers in the CFHA community who collectively represent unequaled experience and thinking in the field right now. Catherine Van Fossen et al wrote about a new tool that measures family functioning. They […]
Starting and sustaining a movement in healthcare is tough business, unless there is a plan and resources for dissemination. The movement to integrate behavioral health services into primary care began in diverse places, but now appears to have serious momentum. The challenges facing integration today are many and include the following big two: workforce development […]
During the 24 years I worked as a psychologist in family medicine, I heard many complaints about patients’ family members gumming up the healthcare system in various ways. For instance: “My patient’s wife keeps asking me to do things I can’t do—like arrange for her husband to live elsewhere—and taking up my time with frequent […]
Welcome to the November Research Report. This is the post where I, your friendly neighborhood blog editor, save you time and keep you informed of the latest and greatest in integrated care research. The studies you see below represent some of the best research coming out. I organized them into categories for easier reading […]
I vividly remember my first meeting with the OB-Gyn and maternal-fetal medicine providers in the early weeks of my role as a behavioral health consultant for a group of women’s health clinics. I wore my favorite shirt. I got up earlier than seemed reasonable (who knew how much doctors love 7 am meetings?). I brought […]
Family functioning is one way to measure how a family meets its physical and psychological needs; in other words, it quantifies the family’s emotional environment1,2. Family functioning has been found to be associated with chronic physical and mental illness in children3–6; however, family functioning is not consistently measured in clinical health care settings or large […]
The Plenary Session opened with the presentation of the 2018 Don Bloch award to John Rolland, a psychiatrist and creator of the Families, Systems, and Illness model. John is a Wingspread Conference legacy member and prolific writer on family-oriented approaches to healthcare. He and his lovely wife Froma Walsh are the co-founders and co-directors of […]
The opening plenary session for the 2018 CFHA Annual Conference in Rochester, New York was led by internationally-renown expert on teamwork, Eduardo Salas from Rice University. His presentation was a fire hydrant of incredible information on the science of teamwork and included insightful advice on how to help a team of experts become an expert […]
Lauren and I both love CFHA, and attending the annual conference is one of our favorite things to do each year. We are so excited to welcome you to our city! We believe this conference will be one of the best, between the content highlighting CFHA’s history (due to it being our 20th conference) as […]
Next year will be the 10th anniversary of CFHA blogging! During the past several years, nearly 600 posts have graced the digital face of our organization with many voices and viewpoints. The blogs have been a source of information and inspiration for our members as they work to advance the field of collaboration and integration […]
Policy change can be hard, slow, and seem daunting. This is especially true at the federal level, but many of the important changes happen at the more accessible state and local levels. For example, Pennsylvania leaders recently helped to change state Medicaid policy to allow licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and licensed marriage and family therapists […]
There is so much good research coming out in the field of integrated care. Trying to keep up with all the new developments can feel like drinking from a fire hydrant. So, to save you time and keep you from overhydrating, your friendly neighborhood blog editor is here to separate the wheat from the chaff. […]
A prescriber-patient miscommunication causes an adverse drug interaction, the nurse administers the wrong immunization to the patient, or the EMR system goes down five times a day. When adverse events like these occur, it might feel like it’s time for a fishing vacation, but what these events really call for is a root cause analysis […]
This post is a two-part series on quality improvement. Check back later this month for the second part. Quality Improvement in Primary Care The use of quality improvement is not a new concept to the medical field as quality improvement teams are often routine in health system settings. Primary care, however, appears to have a […]
When I first began working as a psychologist in primary care, I was embedded in a busy, 14-provider primary care practice in Kansas City with a 35,000 member panel. I developed a canned speech to explain to friends and family exactly what my new job entailed. My explanation was met with confusion, enthusiasm and doubt […]
This is the third in a three-part series on PCBH research. Click here for part 1 and part 2. Research exploring the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model has been increasing in the literature. However, the body of work on this specific model of integrated care is still being built, and many unanswered questions remain. […]
This piece is the second in a series of posts highlight research on the Primary Care Behavioral Health model. Click here for the first post. Why and how did we do this review? My colleagues and I at the VA Center for Integrated Healthcare recently published a systematic review to assess the research evidence on […]
