CQC Behavioral Health Integration Initiative
Meeting patients’ mental health needs and considering social impacts on their health are fundamental to providing comprehensive, patient-centered and high-quality care. However, the lack of improvement in screening and care access demonstrates the need for greater investment to support primary care practices in efforts to integrate behavioral health services.
CQC will work on a Behavioral Health Integration Initiative from 2022 through 2027 that will accelerate integration efforts by small and independent primary care practices throughout the state. The initiative aims to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment of patients’ mild-to-moderate behavioral health needs, like depression, anxiety and substance use disorder.
This includes:
- Direct technical assistance and funding to primary care practices engaged in improvement efforts through the CalHIVE Behavioral Health Integration Improvement Collaborative
- Better understanding patient perspectives of their behavioral health needs, access to care and treatment through expanded surveying
- Development of common standards for patient privacy, consent and data sharing among payers and providers to reduce administrative burden to integrating care
Support
CQC’s Behavioral Health Integration Initiative is possible thanks to the generous support of the Centene Corporation and the California Health Care Foundation.
Resources
Behavioral Health Integration Improvement Collaborative Curriculum
CQC Toolkit: Implement Adverse Childhood Experiences Screening in Primary Care
This toolkit is a collection of evidence-based interventions and resources for ambulatory care provider organizations to implement Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) screening and follow-up care.
CIN Toolkit: Three Strategies to Help Primary Care Teams Treat Substance Use Disorders
This document is a guide for primary care organizations and care teams working to integrate substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services.
Accelerating Opioid Safety Ambulatory Care Toolkit
The following document is a guide for provider organizations working to improve opioid safety — to prevent new populations of patients from becoming dependent on or addicted to opioids and improve care for patients with chronic non-cancer pain, opioid use disorder, and/or at risk of overdose.
Past Events and Training
Behavioral Health Integration Fundamentals: Concepts & Models
Integrating behavioral health into primary care is essential for providers looking to deliver patient-centered, high-quality and whole-person care. Yet many health care organizations struggle with knowing where to begin.
CQC Webinar – Behavioral Health Integration: Telehealth Promising Practices
Hear on-the-ground lessons around behavioral health integration, and understand opportunities around effective virtual care.
CQC Webinar: Increase Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Screening
Part of our ongoing Accelerated Integrated Care Series, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood and have been linked to more than 40 negative health conditions.
CQC Webinar: Increase Depression Screening
In this meeting, attendees shared challenges and questions related to depression screening at their organizations, and identified a next step they could apply at their own organizations.
Measure Screening and Access for Behavioral Health
Results from a Patient Assessment Survey (PAS) from a study of 35,000 patients across California were shared and discussion about how organizations can use data to help identify populations that need additional mental health support.