Implementation lessons: Integrating care from the perspective of mental health care providers

PRICARe – Promoting Resources for Integrated Care and Recovery - integrates primary health care in Denver's community mental health center creating an integrated “medical home.” This new model, created with funding from the Colorado Health Foundation, acknowledges the multiple treatment dimensions for persons with serious mental illness that have been difficult to address and coordinate. PRICARe allows mental health consumers to obtain the specialty mental health services necessary to promote recovery and, concurrently, it permits access to basic primary health care at the mental health clinic.

From the perspective of mental health care staff implementation of PRICARe has been a slow, but successful process. Key informant and survey data findings describe the experiences of mental health professionals as they participate in this innovative project. For example, developing an efficient client referral and follow-up procedure to the primary care staff has been a challenge. How this challenge has been met can be a useful lesson to mental health staff that will attempt such integration projects.

Prior to PRICARe there had been great difficulty exchanging initial and follow-up information between health care and mental health practitioners which resulted in an inability to support consumers in both health care arenas. In the development of PRICARe, case managers and primary care practitioners learned they could consult as partners in treatment planning.