Integrating Primary and Behavioral Health Care in HRSA Programs

Increasingly the screening and treatment of people with substance use disorders are being conducted by primary care providers; including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. A leader in the integration model of behavioral health and primary care is the Health Resources Sources and Service Administration's (HRSA) federally-funded health center program. For example, health centers have served as Screening and Brief Intervention sites since the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) SBIRT initiative's inception in 2002. In his presentation, RADM Don Weaver will describe the growth of the SBIRT model in health centers; the increasing provision of substance use disorder services within the range of HRSA programs; the call-to-action and role of health centers to expand substance use screening articulated in the 2010 Office of National Drug Control Policy Strategy; and the need to train primary care provider teams in evidenced-based practice for substance screening and treatment.