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ACP calls for better incorporation of behavioral health care into PCPs

In a recent policy paper, the Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians called for integration of behavioral health care into primary care settings, and provided recommendations for how to include this care in practice.

“The policy paper provides an environmental scan of the current state of conditions included in the concept of behavioral health and examines the arguments for and barriers to increased integration of behavioral health within the primary care setting,” American College of Physicians (ACP) President, Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, said in a press release. 

The paper urges primary care providers to discuss behavioral health issues with their patients, within the confines of their knowledge on the subject, along with their available resources. This will ensure that patients are receiving “whole person” care, since behavioral and physical health are intermingled, according to the paper.

To ensure behavioral health care is more easily accessible, insurance payers, both public and private, policymakers, physicians, psychiatrists and other various behavioral health providers, should focus on removing payment barriers that hinder the incorporation of behavioral health into primary care practices. Developing payment models, such as bundled payments, partial and full capitation and fee-for-service, may provide more motivation for integrated care, according to the paper. 

In addition to payment models, gaps in insurance coverage also need to be addressed by federal and state governments, insurance regulators, payers and stakeholders to move towards integrating behavioral health care into primary care practices. According to the paper, this includes “strengthening” and implementing nondiscrimination laws.

Eliminating stigma, often held by both patients and health care providers, associated with behavioral health is vital. To do so, the ACP recommends steps to fight mental health discrimination, such as public education efforts and recovery-focused interventions. 

To deal with the shortage of behavioral health care professionals, training and educational programs are needed for health care providers. This would ensure that both primary care physicians and behavioral health specialists may effectively work with one another, according to the authors.

More research is needed to determine what integration approaches are both efficient and effective, according to the paper.

“Physicians and other health care professionals will have to consider the behavioral and physical health of the patient if they are to be treated as a “whole person.” Most patients with behavioral health needs use the primary care office as their main source of care, and given the nation’s shortage of behavioral health providers, this may be the only setting in which behavioral health problems can be broadly recognized and treated,” the paper’s authors, Ryan A. Crowley, BSJ, and Neil Kirschner, PhD, of the Health and Public Policy Committee of the ACP, concluded. – by Casey Hower

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.