Advancing Care Together by Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health

Outcomes of Integrated Behavioral Health with Primary Care

“…The methods have been presented previously in detail. 16 A mixed-methods learning evaluation 30 generated key practice-based findings demonstrating how ACT practices implemented integrated care in the context of usual care delivery. The study received ethical approval by the institutional review boards of the Oregon Health & Science University, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and University of Colorado.…”

“…12,13 However, the adoption of integrated care 14 has been slow because of challenges implementing it in community settings, and relatively little research is available on context-specific implementation strategies. [15][16][17] We previously documented the extensive processes used by diverse community mental health centers and primary care practices to integrate behavioral and primary care in the Advancing Care Together (ACT) demonstration project. 15,16,18 -27 The ACT evaluation showed that the shift to integrated care requires extensive health system redesign, including modifications to team composition,and interprofessional interaction, 19 and that variations in approaches have implications for the cost of the health system redesign 29 and how well these efforts actually reach target patients.…”

"A Paradox Persists When the Paradigm Is Wrong": Pisacano Scholars' Reflections from the Inaugural Starfield Summit

“…Summit participants examined roadmaps for transforming primary care practices with team-based approaches. Examples highlighted included the 10 Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care, 29 team strategies for integrating behavioral health and primary care, 30 incorporating patients and communi-ties into primary care teams (eg, community health workers), 31 and approaches for increasing joy in practice. 32 Participants concluded that effective teams must be adaptable with regard to the needs of the population, size of the community, and specific roles of team members.…”

When Frontline Practice Innovations Are Ahead of the Health Policy Community: The Example of Behavioral Health and Primary Care Integration

“…15 The following 3 areas are ripe for attention to help bring into alignment practice innovation with health policy.…”