SGIM24 Highlights: Strengthening Relationships through Behavioral Health Integration

This is a recorded session from the SGIM 2024 Annual Meeting in Boston.

Access to high quality mental health care is a critical public health need that has been made even more urgent in recent years. Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) interweaves mental health and substance use disorder treatment within primary care services in order to improve access and treatment outcomes for patients with mental health disorders. While clinics, health systems, and policy makers recognize the benefits for patient-centered care, many struggle to implement and sustain BHI. This session discusses how to leverage BHI to improve relationship-centered patient care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and promote policies that will improve logistical and financial sustainability of their BHI initiatives.

1. Describe two prominent models of behavioral health integration and five core principles of one model of behavioral health integration, list pragmatic steps for implementing integrated care, from nascency to sustainability, and identify solutions to common barriers.
2. List appropriate Medicare codes and the requirement for billing behavioral health
   services in primary care settings.
3. Identify current health policy initiatives and partner organizations to improve uptake and sustainment of behavioral health integration (including initiation, strengthening, scale-up) within their home organization, state, and/or national level.
4. List three grant funding sources and supportive organizations that assist clinics and
   health systems to promote behavioral health integration.

To receive CME and MOC credit, you must (1) watch the entire presentation, (2) complete the brief MOC Assessment survey, and then (3) click the Certificate item to claim your certificate (print/save for your records).