How practices can advance the implementation of integrated care in the COVID-19 era
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Issue brief (Commonwealth Fund)
- Author(s):
- Docherty, Mary, author Spaeth-Rublee, Brigitta, author Scharf, Deborah, author Ferenchik, Erin, author Humensky, Jennifer, author Goldman, Matthew, author Chung, Henry, author Pincus, Harold Alan, author
- Contributor(s):
- Commonwealth Fund, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [New York, New York] : The Commonwealth Fund, November 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Behavioral Medicine COVID-19 Delivery of Health Care, Integrated Pandemics United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- ISSUE. Preliminary data predict an increase in mental health needs in the U.S. population because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its socioeconomic consequences. Patients with chronic medical conditions are especially at risk for behavioral health conditions and poorer outcomes. Integrated behavioral health and primary care can improve these patients' clinical outcomes. GOAL. To describe how practices are successfully implementing and advancing integrated care. METHODS. A literature review identified 20 primary care practices that deliver high-quality integrated care. Findings from surveys, site visits, and semi-structured telephone interviews were then analyzed. KEY FINDINGS. Financing, health information technology (HIT), and workforce challenges were the top three barriers to advancing integrated care. Practice-level strategies to address barriers included: diversifying revenue streams, prioritizing HIT implementation, and revamping workforce recruitment, training, and retention. To advance and sustain these investments, practices desired greater alignment with state regulators and payers. CONCLUSION. COVID-19 has magnified how the advancement of HIT, including innovations in digital mental health, could increase access to integrated care and alleviate workforce shortages. While this research was conducted prior to the pandemic, the findings offer insights into how practices have been addressing some of the challenges of providing high-quality, integrated care. State and payer actions could bring successful practice-level integration strategies to scale.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (11 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101774871 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101774871