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California Primary Care and Mental Health Integration Initiatives

Promoting the Interface between Primary and Behavioral Healthcare in California: Prevention, Early Intervention, and Saving Lives

One of the major challenges facing healthcare delivery systems today involves the linkage, coordination and integration of primary care and mental health services. The historic separation of physical and psychiatric healthcare is no longer meeting people’s needs. Too many go without their mental health needs being adequately identified and addressed. Of equal concern is the substantial physical suffering and premature death for individuals with serious mental illness.

The California Institute for Mental Health, in collaboration with a range of partners from government, academia and the service delivery sectors amongst others, is working on several initiatives that will begin to address the pressing need for improved linkage and access between primary and behavioral healthcare in our state. It is increasingly clear that changes in policy, administration, and practice will be required to improve the current circumstance; solutions lie in developing and better managing a continuum of care ranging from coordination and collaboration to partial and full integration.

California County Behavioral Health Intergration Intitiativies Website

A Message from the CiMH President and CEO

Sandra Naylor  Goodwin, PhD, MSW

Welcome to this Web site created for county mental health and substance use disorders integration efforts with primary care. This web page is an ongoing effort to display efforts by counties. There are more efforts than listed here. We will continue to collect information and post as we obtain it. County contacts are listed for the initiatives. We encourage interaction between individuals to increase learning.

If you are aware of an initiative not listed here, please contact Alice Washington at awashington@cimh.org to provide her with information which we will add to this site.

There is enormous change occurring all over California as we attempt to improve care to individuals in need. The work is impressive. And, the more we can help each other learn how to better our services, the faster our progress.

Link to Website: 

https://sites.google.com/site/cacountyintegrationinitiatives/

 

Announcing "The Business Case for Bidirectional Integrated Care..."

We are pleased to announce a new resource for primary care, mental health and substance use disorders policy leaders, administrators and providers as well as advocates including consumer/client and family member organizations. The Integration Policy Initiative (IPI) Summit identified the development of the "business case for for bidirectional integrated care" as a key priority. This report authored by Barbara Mauer and Dale Jarvis of MCPP Heatlhcare Consulting on behalf of IPI and CiMH (as well as accompanying brief talking points,) is intended to support efforts to "simultaneously accomplish the three critical healthcare objectives of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim:

  • Improve the health of the population
  • Enhance the patient experience of care (including quality, access, and reliability)
  • Reduce, or at least control, the per capita cost of total healthcare"

Webinar Downloads Now Available

The California Institute for Mental Health in collaboration with the Alcohol and Drug Policy Institute and the Integrated Behavioral Health Project webinar series: Integrating Primary Care, Mental Health and Substance Use Services is available through downloading the recording for each session. Click here for to download the materials.