Integrated Care

Integrated or collaborative care is the coordination of care for patients who have psychiatric disorders, which includes substance use disorders, and general medical illness. There is a higher rate of psychiatric illness in patients with chronic medical illness, and a higher rate of chronic medical illness among patients, with psychiatric illness, especially with serious and persistent mental illness. Patients with these conditions have increased morbidity and mortality and are costly, but because of the way our service systems have evolved over time, the prevailing tendency has been to treat medical and psychiatric illness as if they occur in different domains. That simply is not true from the standpoint of patients, and if we are going to have patient-centered care, it needs to encompass all of their needs.
—APA President-elect Paul Summergrad, M.D.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT INTEGRATED CARE?

Subscribe to Integrated Care News Notes (ICNN), a weekly newsletter focused on integrated care and delivery system innovations policy.

New: PsychNews on Integrated Care:

Integrated Care: What Does It Mean for You? September 20, 2013
Integrated Care Frequently Asked Questions September 20, 2013

Educational Opportunities, or How to practice in collaborative or integrated care settings:

APA offers numerous sessions, lectures and courses at its Institute on Psychiatric Services (2013 Integrated Care Track) and its Annual Meeting (2014).
Guide to Medicaid Health Home Design and Implementation resources available on Medicaid.gov:
A Brief to note (May 2013): Collaborative Care Model: An Approach for Integrating Physical and Mental Health Care in Medicaid Health Homes defines collaborative care model in both mental health and primary treatment settings; the evidence; quality issues; return on investment, etc. Defines health homes for Medicaid departments within the integration of behavioral health treatment. Has application beyond Medicaid. [Resource on webpage].
AIMS Center (University of Washington) has educational materials available designed to introduce a psychiatrist to collaborative care as well as provide support for implementation of a collaborative care consultation program.
Skills training for an individual consulting psychiatrist in the collaborative care model
Skills training for the entire team.
TEAMcare provides skills training to improve chronic medical illnesses in the medical home, Publications relevant to and formative in development of the TEAMcare health approach.
The SAMHSA/HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) identifies integrated care models in behavioral health in primary care and primary care in behavioral health.