Behavioral health integration in primary care at Brigham and Women׳s Advanced Primary Care Associates, South Huntington

Of the many problems facing the US healthcare system, the shortage of behavioral health providers in outpatient settings is particularly profound. To address this issue, Boston׳s Brigham and Women׳s Hospital identified ways to incorporate behavioral health into primary care when it opened the South Huntington Primary Care clinic in August 2011. When the needs of its patients were more complex than anticipated, the clinic created assessment tools and refined care processes to identify, triage, and monitor patients with mental illness. Key insights from the South Huntington experience include:
- Hiring for roles instead of training can decrease costs of implementation.
- A process for reflection, assessment, and adaptation is a critical component of innovation.
- Innovations must adapt to the specific needs of the local community.
- Innovations are most effective when they reflect the capabilities of local providers.