Team Structure

Collaborative Care requires a team of professionals with complementary skills who work together to care for a population of patients with mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc. It involves a shift in how medicine is practiced, the creation of entirely new workflows, and frequently the addition of new team members.

In usual care, the treatment team has two members: the Primary Care Provider (PCP) and the patient. Collaborative care adds two more vital roles: the Behavioral Health Care Manager and the Psychiatric Consultant. Its success relies to a great extent on each member of the treatment team understanding their role and believing they have the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill that role. Please remember that the principles and core components of Collaborative Care, not just team members, must be in place to practice this model.

A triangular diagram representing the Collaborative Care Team. At the center is the Patient, connected by solid lines to the Primary Care Provider at the top and the Behavioral Health Care Manager at the bottom left corner. The Primary Care Provider and Behavioral Health Care Manager are also directly connected by a solid line. At the bottom right is the Psychiatric Consultant, connected to the Primary Care Provider and Patient with dotted lines, signifying indirect involvement. A solid line links the Psychiatric Consultant to the Behavioral Health Care Manager, with a computer registry icon along this line, indicating communication through both the registry and scheduled interactions.