Integrated Care

Integrated primary care is a service that combines medical and behavioral health services to more fully address the spectrum of problems that patients bring to their primary medical care providers. It allows patients to feel that, for almost any problem, they have come to the right place. ...Alexander Blount

Putting Integrated Care into Practice
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Why Integrate Care?
• Primary care setting is often the first and most trusted place people will go with health issues
• Patients prefer to get their mental health needs taken care of by their primary care physician (PCP).
• Cost effectiveness in service delivery
• Care plan often has medical and psychosocial elements.
• The primary care setting is often the primary locus of treatment for MH issues (e.g. depression, anxiety).
• Referral out is often a poor alternative and will become harder to access.
• PCP’s skills increase as Mental Health Provider becomes a part of overall team.
• Better adherence and outcomes, and increased satisfaction.
• Long-term benefits for all stakeholders.

What does the Research Say?
• Surgeon General Report says that 20% of the population has a mental health diagnosis
• National rate of depression is 16%
• 80% of clients prefer to get their behavioral health services from their regular medical provider
• Surgeon General report says 15% of US adult population use mental health services in any given year
• 6-10% of pts in primary practice have major depression
• 40-50% of people who get alcohol, drug or mental health treatment get it at primary care
• Recent study (Simon, 1992) suggests that on average, primary care patients with even mild levels of depression use two times more health care services annually than their non-depressed counterparts
• Nearly 70% of all health care visits have primarily a psychosocial basis ( Fries, et. Al 1993, Shapiro et al., 1985)
• 50% of mental health care is delivered solely by primary care physicians
• 67% of all psychopharmacological drugs are prescribed by primary care physicians
• 90% of the 10 most common complaints in primary care setting have no organic basis
• 50-70% or all primary care visits are primarily for psychosocial concerns
• Total economic cost of depression has been estimated at more than $83 billion/year in the USA