Today's Practice: Changing the Business of Medicine TP2018Q2DigitalEditionWeb | Page 15

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION
We Can Do Better.
By Dr. Jason Friday, MD
It has been 20 years now since the Institute of Medicine
advocated for the bringing together of primary care and
mental health services, a concept which has become
commonly known as behavioral health integration. 1
Broadly speaking, behavioral health integration is the
addressing of behavioral health disorders, both mental
health and substance abuse disorders, within the primary
care setting.
In this article, I will use the most common mental health
disorder – depression – to illustrate why integrating
behavioral health within primary care is important, along
with key areas of consideration when it comes to screen-
ing, evaluating, and delivering care.
Depression
Depression (i.e. major depressive disorder or clinical
depression) is one of the illnesses that