Bronx, N.Y.-based Montefiore Health System and the United Hospital Fund — a New York City-based nonprofit organization — have created a framework to assist primary care practices in serving patients with mental health issues.
The framework, titled Advancing Integration of Behavioral Health into Primary Care: A Continuum-Based Framework, centers on eight domains:
- Finding, screening and referral to care
- Use of a multidisciplinary professional team to provide care
- Ongoing care management
- Systematic quality improvement
- Decision support for measurement-based, stepped care
- Culturally adapted self-management support
- Information tracking and exchange among providers
- Links between community/social services
In addition to providing guidelines on integrating behavioral health, the framework follows a flow chart, which enables a practice to better track its progress through stages of behavioral health integration.
The framework was published by and created with grant support from the United Hospital Foundation. Click here to access the framework for free.