SUD Treatment in Primary Care: Sustainability and Policy Issues

There has been little research in the literature in the last few years on treating substance use disorders (SUD) in an integrated behavioral health and primary care setting. A good deal more research is available on treating mental health disorders in the integrated care setting. Most of the more current publications have been summarized on the Academy Portal, and may be found by using the general search function.

With regard to policy and financing related literature, we would refer you to the following  publications:

The cost effectiveness and sustainability of treating SUDs in the Integrated medical and behavioral health setting is addressed by Ron Manderscheid and Roger Kathol in their article “Fostering Sustainable, Integrated Medical and Behavioral Health Services in Medical Settings.”

There are significant barriers to integrating SUD with primary care. A study in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy(PDF - 332 KB) indicates many of these "arise at the policy level and are addressable."