Behavioral Health Integration

One in four Americans experiences a behavioral health illness or substance abuse disorder each year. The majority of those individuals have a comorbid physical health condition and may enter care without having their underlying behavioral health disorder addressed. A recent Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence guide “Integrating Behavioral Health Across the Continuum of Care” explains the value of integrating physical and behavioral health services and the importance of measuring integration efforts. This guide offers several frameworks to use for behavioral health integration and provides a list of strategic questions for hospital and care system leaders to consider moving forward. Case examples highlight how five hospitals and care systems have integrated behavioral and physical health services and lessons learned from their experience. In an integrated, patient-centered system of care, hospitals, physician practices and payers can incorporate services that address all of the patient's needs and can work to achieve the Triple Aim—better care, better health and lower costs.

HPOE.org features guides, case studies and webinars from AHA resources and other groups.