Open AccessImproving Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration in an Academic Internal Medicine Practice
Author(s) -
Isabel Yin,
Erin M. Staab,
Nancy Beckman,
Lisa M. Vinci,
Mim Ari,
Fabiana S Araújo,
Daniel Yohanna,
Neda Laiteerapong
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
american journal of medical quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1555-824X
pISSN - 1062-8606
DOI - 10.1097/01.jmq.0000735472.47097.a1
Subject(s) - medicine , behavioral medicine , integrated care , primary care , baseline (sea) , health care , medline , family medicine , nursing , medical education , psychiatry , oceanography , geology , political science , law , economics , economic growth
This report details ongoing efforts to improve integration in the 2 years following implementation of the Primary Care Behavioral Health model at a general internal medicine clinic of an urban academic medical center. Efforts were informed by a modified version of the validated Level of Integration Measure, sent to all faculty and staff annually. At baseline, results indicated that the domains of systems integration, training, and integrated clinical practices had the greatest need for improvement. Over the 2 years, the authors increased availability of behavioral medicine appointments, improved depression screening processes, offered behavioral health training for providers, disseminated clinical decision support tools, and provided updates about integration progress during clinic meetings. Follow-up survey results demonstrated that physicians and staff perceived improvements in integration overall and in targeted domains. However, the main ongoing barrier to integration was insufficient behavioral health staff to meet patient demand for behavioral health services.