This article discusses the need to integrate mental health care into primary care and highlights the Behavioral Health Integration Program (BHIP) in the UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics. The use of Collaborative Care in the Neighborhood Clinics has helped thousands of patients and has worked to close the gap between behavioral health care and primary care in Washington State.
Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH discusses integrated care and compares two prominent models, the Collaborative Care model and the Behavioral Health Consultant model (BHC). BHC is a rapid access model in which patients are generally seen the same day and lasts about three sessions, whereas Collaborative Care addresses chronic mental health conditions like depression and anxiety that require longer-term treatment to ensure patients don't fall through the cracks or relapse. These two models originated from two different focus areas - Clinical and Research - and each has its own strengths.
Wayne Katon, MD, discusses his Depression Attention for Women Now (DAWN) study in The New York Times opinion pages. He explains why using Collaborative Care in OB/GYN settings is important for women facing depression before, during and after pregnancy. Dr. Katon also emphasizes the importance of allowing the patient to help choose the treatment option that's best for her.
An intervention based on the IMPACT model was adapted for teens, using age-appropriate education materials and an “engagement” session with the adolescent and his or her parent.
In this Seattle Times editorial piece, Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, sheds light on some of the issues troubling mental health care today and discusses integration of Collaborative Care as a solution.
Implementing Collaborative Care in primary care has been shown to improve patient outcomes. This study looks at the DIAMOND initiative and highlights essential elements that make a Collaborative Care implementation effective. Some broad important implementation factors were: leadership, care management, physician engagement and financial issues.
There is now a variety of well-established educational experiences in integrated care within psychiatry residencies. This article proposes core competencies to be taught and highlight rotations and educational methods in five different programs, which provide experience in different models of integrated care, as a psychiatric consultant, overseeing population-based mental health care, and delivering medical care for psychiatric patients. The authors present examples of programs educating psychiatry residents to work in integrated healthcare settings.
Depression is a common and extremely undertreated condition in adolescents. In numerous studies it has been shown that Collaborative Care can significantly improve depression symptoms in adults, but only a handful of studies have been done to look at the effect of Collaborative Care on adolescent depression. The objective of this study was to determine if a Collaborative Care intervention for treating adolescent depression showed more significant improvement than usual care.
The newest issue of the National Council Magazine, published by the National Council for Behavioral Health, takes a look at integrated care and population health. On page 49, Marc Avery, MD, AIMS Center's Associate Director for Clinical Services, focuses on five key lessons that have been learned when implementing integrated healthcare.
Marc Avery, MD, the AIMS Center Associate Director for Clinical Services, discusses the benefits of Shared Decision Making (SDM) in healthcare practices. SDM is a process that allows a patient to give input and and assist with decision making regarding their care plan, essentially becoming partners with their physicians.