News Archive

Low-Income Californians’ Need for Behavioral Health Services

A broad gap exists between behavioral health (BH) needs of low-income Californians and BH treatment, a recent report finds. The report from Blue Shield of California Foundation discusses…

Posted 09/14/15

Integrated Behavioral Care Developments in Four States

The Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA) posted a series of four stories on their blog that highlight developments in the field of behavioral health and primary care…

Posted 09/14/15

Quality Measures Needed to Enhance Integrated Behavioral Health Care

A recent Journal of the American Medical Association Viewpoint article argues that developing quality measures for assessing and rewarding high quality integrated behavioral health care…

Posted 09/14/15

Integrated Substance Use Disorder Services

Integration of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services are not getting adequate attention in health care settings, a new white paper suggests. The Addiction Technology Transfer…

Posted 09/14/15

Behavioral Health Integration and the Affordable Care Act after 5 Years

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law 5 years ago. In the time since its passage, the ACA has increased the number of Americans with health insurance, increased access to…

Posted 09/14/15

TED Talk Tackles Global Mental Health Workforce Shortage

Vikram Patel, PhD, delivered a TED talk at TEDGlobal2012 encouraging the training of laypeople to deliver mental health services to help meet the worldwide mental health workforce…

Posted 09/14/15

Wellness-Oriented Peer Approaches

In the first installment of the integrated care column(PDF - 556 KB) in Psychiatric Services, Margaret A. Swarbrick, PhD, discusses the importance of wellness-oriented peer approaches…

Posted 07/02/15

Quality Improvement Resources for Primary Care

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has recently released two white papers related to quality improvement in primary care (PC).    As part of the effort to…

Posted 07/02/15

Interprofessional Health Training – Podcasts

The Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) partnered with the National Center for Interprofessional Education to create a series of five podcasts, “Stories from the Nexus:…

Posted 07/02/15

Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines for Cultural Competence in Behavioral Health Delivery

Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines for Cultural Competence in Behavioral Health Delivery The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Improvement…

Posted 07/02/15

Background on Health Disparities and Health Equity

Until 2010, Federal agencies defined health disparities very generally as “differences in health among different population groups.” The term was originally coined not merely to describe…

Posted 07/02/15

GME Support and Expansion - Strategies to Support Primary Care

Two recent Health Affairs blog posts cite strategies to re-engineer Graduate Medical Education (GME) to better serve integrated primary care.Expansion of the Teaching Health Center…

Posted 07/02/15

Unmet Need for Pediatric Care Coordination for Children with Mental Health Conditions

A study, published in Pediatrics in March of 2014, revealed a significant level of unmet need for care coordination among parents of children with a mental health condition. Care…

Posted 07/02/15

Segregated Mental Health Care – Roadblock to Parity

A fragmented payment and delivery system has resulted in an ineffective approach to mental health and substance abuse problems. According to National Integration Academy Council (NIAC)…

Posted 07/02/15

Parents’ Behavioral Health Expectations for Pediatricians

Parents respond positively when primary care providers (PCPs) address behavioral health (BH) concerns, a recent study shows. The article, “Do Parents Expect Pediatricians to Pay…

Posted 07/01/15

Need for Integrated Pediatric Health Care Highlighted in Two Recent Studies

Two recently published studies highlight the benefits of integrating behavioral health in primary care for children and youth. Integrating behavioral health (BH) into pediatric care…

Posted 07/01/15

Pre-Visit iPad Screener Shifts Teen Annual Health Visit Focus to Psychosocial Concerns

Taking 10 minutes to answer questions on an iPad before an annual visit may help adolescents and their pediatricians address sensitive mental health issues. A recent study published in…

Posted 07/01/15

Alternative Payment Structure May Support Integrated Care

Oregon’s Alternative Payment Methodology (APM) model may be a promising approach to financing and sustaining behavioral health (BH) integration efforts, suggests Deborah Cohen, PhD, in…

Posted 07/01/15

Supervision in Primary Care – CFHA Blog Posts

Recent Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA) blog posts have featured approaches to supervision of behavioral health professionals in primary care. Part I, featured in…

Posted 04/03/15

APA Recommends Integrated Care Training for Psychiatrists

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) released in March 2015 new training recommendations calling for residency programs to educate the next generation of psychiatrists in…

Posted 04/03/15

Measuring Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care Settings

A team of researchers led by Rodger Kessler has developed the Vermont Integration Profile (VIP), “a set of standardized measures of integrated care processes to use in both practice…

Posted 04/03/15

National Quality Forum (NQF) Endorses Behavioral Measures

Behavioral health disorders are a major public health problem in the United States. An estimated 26.4 percent of the U.S. population suffers from diagnosable mental disorders that are…

Posted 03/19/15

Access Community Health Centers, an AHRQ Service Delivery Innovation

Access Community Health Centers is a federally qualified health center that provides integrated behavioral health and primary care services. With three integrated care clinics in Madison…

Posted 03/19/15

Primary Care Teamwork and Electronic Health Records

There is growing consensus that there is an increasing need for enhanced teamwork if primary care practices are to be efficient and effective. This study, Electronic health records and…

Posted 03/02/15