5 minute read A Provocative Question Recently, I attended a session on healthcare workforce development at the Arizona State of Reform conference in Phoenix. The State of Reform is a national organization that facilitates healthcare policy meetings across the country. This session focused on problems and opportunities related to healthcare workforce in Arizona. During the […]
4 minute read In our first blog post on March 3rd, 2023, we reported on efforts by the Primary Care Behavioral Health Special Interest Group (PCBH SIG) to advance the understanding of screening and outcome measurement in demonstrating the value of the integrated model of service delivery. Since that time a Measurement-Based Care (MBC) workgroup […]
4 minute read When it comes to health insurance, we often forget about the importance of mental health coverage. But the reality is that accessing mental health services can be a daunting task. Limited coverage and difficulty reaching behavioral health care services can leave people feeling helpless and trapped in a cycle of poor mental […]
5 minute read On July 13, 2023, Health Federation of Philadelphia (HFP) announced a new investment in integrated care by the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS), which will allow HFP to hire a Director of Behavioral Health Integration position. The new Director will be responsible for leading all training and […]
4 minute read Whole person care means that people have access to both physical and behavioral healthcare. Unfortunately, there is no parity for such treatments by payers here in the United States. Payers intentionally limit their coverage of behavioral healthcare. But now the Biden administration wants to see that change. Yesterday, the Biden administration proposed […]
Riddle me this: I am a system that is active and essential in healthcare, but a complete mystery to most healthcare professionals. Answer: a patient attribution system! Hopefully you did not peek at the title of my post. Did you get the right answer? Don’t worry if you did not guess a patient attribution system. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
3 minute read The House Committee on Energy and Commerce recently advanced to the house a package of bipartisan legislation geared towards improving mental and behavioral health treatment, as well as providing substance use disorder care. If passed, this bill would have direct impact on integrated care programs throughout the U.S. I will highlight some […]
4 minute read. Original post available here With onboarding our new behavioral health consultant (BHC) interns and family medicine (FM) residents, we have had numerous conversations and presentations regarding the importance of integrating a contextual, compassionate approach to healthcare. Regardless of it being delivered by a BHC, by a primary care provider (PCP), by a […]
7 minute read Healthcare today is a team activity. The rapid accumulation of specialized knowledge in healthcare has created a substantial need for partnerships between medical and mental health practitioners. Physicians, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, and other health professionals must work together for patient-centered care to become a reality. These partnerships are best reflected in a […]
15 minute read If you’re looking for the hottest research, then swipe right here. This serial post covers several categories of research in integrated behavioral healthcare over the past 4-6 months. As always, I include the titles and abstracts below each research category. Click on the titles to access the full article. The top article […]
Our community is a rarity in the healthcare world. We do not represent a guild. We do not represent a sector of the healthcare industry. We do not represent a disease category. We represent an idea. That idea is that healthcare works best when professionals, in tandem with families and their communities, work together within […]
3 minute read Efficient care and high productivity are essential elements for behavioral health consultants (BHC) practicing the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model. But there can be quite a bit of variability in how clinics measure quality and productivity. Metrics can include the number of patients seen, the relative value of each intervention provided, […]
5 minute read “… I normally see patients for 3-6 visits.” “… we will focus on the symptoms that are getting in your way right now and help you to connect to something longer term if needed.” “… I can help with x, y, and z but if you need help with a, b, and […]
