The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in five Americans will suffer from some form of mental illness. This is a staggering number, and it continues to grow every year.
And yet, despite the growing need for mental health services, many people struggle to find the help they need.
Primary care providers are frequently the entry point for patients with mental health diagnoses—and often the only point of contact.
However, many doctors are not trained on mental health diangoses or screening tools. Further, PCP’s may not be able to bill for time spent on mental health assessment and may not know where to refer a patient that needs mental health treatment.
This is where the collaborative care model comes into play.
The collaborative care model is a team-based approach that puts primary care providers and behavioral health specialists together to provide a more holistic approach to treatment.
How does it work?
The integration of behavioral health care does not need to be expensive or cumbersome to implement. With the right technology and referral partners, collaborative care can become a seamless part of healthcare.
Behavioral health groups like Silver Lake Psychology, can screen patients for mental health diagnosis, provide treatment and escalate patients to higher levels of care such as inpatient or partial hospitalization mental healthcare.
Mental health providers can prepare progress reports and deliver data-driven results back to the primary care provider. These reports can be done via a shared technology platform or secure uploads for the physician to view as needed. Some collaborative care teams hire a psychiatrist to oversee treatment team meetings between mental health provides and physicians. Other hospital systems use custom made apps that allow patients to complete assessments and providers to report on progress. Some hospital systems hire mental health professionals for onsite services and others refer out.
What is Collaborative Care?
The collaborative care model was developed at the University of Washington. It’s a coordinated approach to treating physical and behavioral health issues and the underlying causes of these problems.
The goal is to incorporate psychiatric services into the primary care setting. Some hospital systems are hiring a team of social workers and psychiatrists to provide onsite mental health crisis managment and triage. Other health systems partner will affiliated community providers.There is no one-size fits all approach.
Collaborative care emphasizes communication and collaboration between providers as well as a shared responsibility for the patient’s care.
Silver Lake Psychology evaluates patients and develops a mental health care plan. Our team also monitors the patient’s progress, evaluates the effectiveness of treatments, and makes adjustments to the care plan as needed.
The collaborative care model and other forms of integrated behavioral health services because:
- It’s an evidence-based model.
- It relies on quality improvement and accountability.
- It’s based on principles of effective chronic illness care.
Principles of Collaborative Care
Collaborative care is based on five key principles.
- Patient-centered team care – a shared care plan between providers based on the patient’s goals, values, and preferences.
- Population-based care – tracking patient outcomes over time to identify gaps in care and improve quality.
- Measurement-based treatment to target (Stepped care) – treatment plans are designed to meet each patient’s specific needs and are adjusted based on progress.
- Evidence-based care – patients are treated with evidence-based treatments such as Problem-Solving Treatment (PST)
- Accountable care – accountability is shared by all providers involved in the patient’s care.
Why Adopt Collaborative Care?
Mental health awareness in the community is increasing, and people are more willing than ever to seek help for their mental health concerns.
Collaborative care is an effective way to address the growing need for mental health care. This model is effective in:
- Improving access to mental health care
- Reducing costs
- Increasing patient satisfaction
- Reducing stigma
If you’re a PCP, you can improve the quality and efficiency of your practice by adopting the collaborative care model.
Research on Links Between Mental Health and Health Conditions
Depression & diabetes:
IBS & anxiety:
- Anxiety and Depression in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Anxiety and depression comorbidities in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): a systematic review and meta-analysis
Stress & heart disease:
Trauma & chronic lung disease:
Trauma & chronic heart disease:
- Early childhood trauma – Psychological Traumas and Cardiovascular Disease: A Case-Control Study
- PTSD – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease: A Twin Study
Trauma & liver disease/cancer:
Trauma & viral hepatitis:
- Links trauma and injection drug use and mentions resultant hepatitis infections – The Relationships of Childhood Trauma and Adulthood Prescription Pain Reliever Misuse and Injection Drug Use
- Not a research article per se but links the injection drug use to hepatitis and applies the research stating it is linked to trauma – Using a Trauma-Informed Approach with Hepatitis C Patients
Trauma & autoimmune diseases:
Trauma & STDs:
Trauma & depression:
Silver Lake Psychology will partner with any healthcare institution to create a custom collaborative healthcare plan. We are able to provide a custom intake process for patients and custom communication plans that are easy and inexpensive for our health system partners. Contact us today to get started.
