At Family Medicine at Monument Square, a Rutgers Health primary care clinic in New Brunswick, N.J., doctors, nurses and even front-office staff are trained to connect behavioral-health services to every patient who needs them. When patients present with mental health needs or behaviors affecting their overall health, integrated care ensures these issues are addressed holistically. While this approach isn’t common nationwide, two Rutgers Health experts believe it should be.
“If America truly wants to cut unnecessary spending, it must invest in not only primary care but also integrated behavioral health,” said Alfred Tallia, professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
He and Ann Nguyen, associate research professor and implementation scientist at the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, said that integrating behavioral health within physical health models is among the most effective ways to improve outcomes, especially for underserved communities. Implementation hurdles remain, but as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., focus on reducing overall health care spending, now could be the moment for an integrated behavioral health resurgence. To read the full story.