Today's Practice: Changing the Business of Medicine TP2018Q2DigitalEditionWeb | Page 18
P R A CT I CE M A NA GE M E NT
We Can Do Better
Dr. Jason Friday, MD
One, it’s important to note that best practice for depres-
sion care involves a combination of both pharmacother-
apy and psychotherapy 14 .
Ignorance of this
growing epidemic is
no longer an excuse.
Two, having a robust and trusted referral network is
critical. This can be challenging to do, availability of
specialty mental health providers for new patients can be
a significant challenge and a collaborative effort must be
made to assist patients as they navigate the system.
Integrating Behavioral Health Within
Primary Care
There are variety of ways for a primary care practice to
integrate behavioral health. Organizations such as the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have
published models and guidelines for integration and
many states, insurance companies, and health care
systems have undertaken different manners of integra-
tion 15 . In addition, various organizations and consult-
ants are working to develop and enhance behavioral
healthcare models specific to the primary care setting.
meet the author:
Dr. Jason Friday, MD
Founder, Redemption Psychiatry
The specific needs of the primary care practice and its
patients should determine the type and level of behavio-
ral health integration.
Now Is The Time
Ignorance of this growing epidemic is no longer an
excuse. We as a medical community must begin to
allocate time and resources to better understand and
address the behavioral health needs of our patients. The
economic landscape is shifting as state and national
legislation drive requirements for population health,
coupled with incentives and penalties for managing the
behavioral health of patients. I challenge each of my
physician peers within both the psychiatry and primary
care space to engage one another, move forward and
continue with the integration of behavioral health, and
begin the process of improving the health of our patients
and our communities.
17
Dr. Jason Friday is the founder of Redemption Psychiatry, a
Board-Certified Psychiatrist and a Board Certified Child and
Adolescent Psychiatrist that specializes in treating families and
children with emotional and behavioral problems. He obtained
his Bachelor of Science at Arizona State University in Life
Science with Emphasis in Cell Biology and Physiology in 2004.
He went to medical school at the University of Arizona in Tucson
and obtained his M.D. in 2008.
Dr. Friday returned to Phoenix to complete his Psychiatric
residency at Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in 2011
followed by a fellowship for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in
2013. He was elected Vice Chief Resident in 2010 and served
as Chief Child/Adolescent Psychiatric fellow in 2012 and 2013.
Dr. Friday specializes in caring for LDS patients and is sensitive
to the needs of patients of all faiths. He speaks French fluently
and is always happy to converse with a fellow francophone or
Francophile.
14 Pratt and Brody.
15 Butler, et al. Integration of Mental Health/Substance Abuse and Primary Care No. 173. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 2008 Oct.
TODAY ’ S P R A C T I C E: C H A N G I N G T H E B U S I NES S OF M EDI C I NE