Evaluation of integrated behavioral healthcare

What is it about?

Health care professionals working in integrated behavioral health settings participated in a survey about how they evaluated their programs' clinical, operational, and financial success. Findings from the survey, which included primary care providers, behavioral health clinicians, and administrators working in integrated care settings, confirmed a lack of knowledge about evaluation and resources necessary to evaluate clinical, operational, and financial outcomes. The survey also highlighted that organizational barriers to implementing integrated care were an issue across programs.

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Providing behavioral health services in primary care is critical in improving access to behavioral health care, including mental health and substance use treatment. Healthcare professionals reported how they determine success with providing integrated behavioral services and offer recommendations for measuring outcomes to continue building access to care. Utilizing clinical, operational, and financial evaluation together provides a more comprehensive review of the implementation of integrated behavioral health. Real-world implementers and evaluators should consider forming integrated and inclusive evaluation teams, including administrators, medical providers, behavioral health clinicians, patients, and families.