Principal Consultant Crossroads Health Consulting, LLC
Eligible for: ACMPE: 1 | ACHE: 1 | CEU: 1 | CME(AAPC*): 1 | CPE: 1.2 | PDC: 1 Traditional | Intermediate | Analysis * This session is included in the 2025 MGMA Summit education program.
Integrated care (IC) is the systematic coordination of behavioral health (BH) services and primary care services. Since physical and BH problems often occur together, integrating care to treat the whole person offers benefits to patients, providers, and health organizations. Patients receiving IC prefer this approach and find it a convenient and effective way of receiving care that reduces stigma and is focused on what is important to them. Providers who practice in an IC model are more able to meet the needs of their patients, improve population health, enhance the quality of care, increase patient-provider engagement, and improve their work-life satisfaction. Organizationally, BH integration involves ongoing cycles of planning, development, implementation, and assessment, to ensure a seamless approach to care that achieves targeted goals, improves outcomes, and the potential to reduce costs. The biggest barrier to establishing IC in primary care practice is implementation knowhow. Participants will gain a better understanding of the benefits of IC, the common models of IC, how to evaluate their practice's readiness, and what to consider in planning and implementing IC, including: defining target goals and approach, understanding the differences between traditional outpatient and primary care BH services, measuring outcomes, and operational considerations in establishing an integrated primary care practice.
Learning Objectives:
Organize BH care delivery in three ways to fit the primary care environment
Point out three examples of how IC can help patients with BH needs such as stress, anxiety, obesity, sleep problems, chronic medical conditions, and substance use
Outline at least four operational elements to consider when integrating BH services in primary care
