Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare
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The redesign of primary care through the patient-centered medical home offers an opportunity to assess the role of primary care in treating mental health relative to the rest of the health care system. Better understanding the patterns of care between primary care and mental health providers helps guide necessary policy changes. ⋯ Our findings indicate that poor mental health and specific mental health conditions remain prevalent in primary care. An increased focus on patient-centered care requires greater integration of primary and mental health care to reduce fragmentation of care and disparities in health outcomes.
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Comments on the article "Joint principles: Integrating behavioral health care into the patient-centered medical home" (see record 2014-24217-011). The American College of Physicians (ACP) supports the intent of these "Joint Principles" for behavioral health care and agrees that the incorporation of behavioral health care within the patient-centered medical home model is incomplete. ACP believes that these principles should be labeled as guidelines, rather than Joint Principles. ACP is also concerned with the use of overgeneralizations within the document that do not include a cited evidence base.