Report Published on Integrating Primary Care into Behavioral Health Settings for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

People with serious mental illness experience significant gaps in health care—and these gaps result in disproportionally high rates of physical health conditions, shorter life expectancies, and higher health care costs. How can policymakers improve health care delivery to better serve patients with serious mental illness? For two decades, research has shown that behavioral health integration (BHI)—a patient-centered approach in which behavioral health and medical providers work together to provide care—can benefit patients with depression and anxiety disorder. Much less is known about behavioral health integration models that target people with serious mental illness.

Recognizing the gap in the research, the Reforming States Group (RSG) asked the Milbank Memorial Fund to prepare this report, “Integrating Primary Care into Behavioral Health Settings: What Works for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness” to better understand the evidence concerning the integration of primary care into behavioral health settings for this population. The RSG is a bipartisan, voluntary group of state health policy leaders from both the executive and legislative branches who, with a small group of international colleagues, work on practical solutions to pressing problems in health care.

Read the Report