Online Program

Oral

We cannot address the cost and quality problems in the U.S. healthcare system without addressing the behavioral health needs of all Americans with mental health and substance use disorders. Growing recognition of prevalence and high cost combined with emerging research about the benefits of integrated care create a compelling business case for change. In this session, Benjamin Miller from the University of Colorado School of Medicine clarifies the core challenge – fragmentation in training, clinical practice, payment, and measurement – and explores solutions he and his colleagues have been studying and supporting. To achieve the triple aim we must rethink the roles of primary care, behavioral health, and public health, bringing a new set of tools and work processes to the clinical and community settings. Following Dr. Miller’s presentation, we will hear from discussants from the East, West and Central regions of the country, who will explore integration from radically different perspectives: a practicing primary care physician, a certified public accountant who has consulted with the nation’s system of community mental health centers for over twenty-five years, a behavioral health advocate who directs a State research/training institute, and a primary care physician who is also a local Health Commissioner. All discussants are deeply involved in supporting practice change that leads to improved outcomes for individuals with complex health conditions and behavioral health disorders. This session is a collaboration between the APHA Medical Care and Mental Health sections.

Session Objectives: Explain the challenges for organizations that provide services to populations experiencing behavioral health, primary care and substance use disorders. Discuss research-based solutions to achieving clinical and financial integration that lead to whole health for client populations. Describe the development of health neighborhoods that pair culturally responsive, clinic-based solutions with community supports for Americans with complex health and behavioral health conditions who are deeply affected by the social determinants of health.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)