Examples of Successful Integrated Models

Examples of Successful Integrated Models from Across the Country

  • (MN) DIAMOND (Depression Improvement Across Minnesota Offering a New Direction) is one of the nation’s most promising efforts to improve healthcare for people with depression because it changes the way care is delivered and how it is paid. Through ICSI, medical groups, health plans, employers, and patients collaborated to develop a better, evidenced-based model for managing depression.
  • (VT) Vermont Blueprint for Health is a new way of looking at the practice of medicine and chronic care. Hundreds of healthcare providers are signing on to the Blueprint to learn about innovations, tools, clinical guidelines, and best practices to deliver effective, proactive care, and to involve patients in managing their own chronic conditions.
  • (TN) Cherokee Health Systems, since 1960, have served the healthcare needs of their communities. Their philosophy is simple, as they believe the best approach to wellness involves treating both the body and mind. They offer an array of comprehensive primary care, behavioral health, and prevention programs and services.
  • (UT) Intermountain Healthcare: HPM
  • (CA) The Integrated Behavioral Health Project (IBHP) is a four-year initiative launched in 2006 to accelerate the integration of behavioral health services into primary care settings in California.
  • (MA) The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP) is a new, interdisciplinary healthcare initiative that assists primary care providers (PCPs) who treat children and adolescents for psychiatric conditions.
  • (TX) “Best Practices: Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care: The Harris County Community Behavioral Health Program”; Charles E. Begley, Ph.D., et al. Psychiatr Serv 59:356-358, April 2008. Psychiatry Online
  • IMPACT (Improving Mood – Providing Access to Collaborative Treatment) is a team approach that integrates depression treatment into primary care and other medical settings. This model of care was tested in a randomized control trial in 18 clinics across 8 healthcare systems in five states. Results from the study show that IMPACT is more than twice as effective as usual care for depression. It also improves physical and social functioning and patients’ quality of life while reducing overall health care costs over a four-year follow-up. The model has been adapted and shown to be effective with a wide range of depressed patients, including adults of all ages, diabetics, cancer patients, and adolescents. The program has also been adapted to treat other common mental disorders, such as anxiety disorder. The IMPACT Implementation Center has trained over 4,000 clinicians and supported implementation of this evidence-based program in more than 500 clinics. The IMPACT website is intended as a source of information and materials designed to help clinicians and organizations implement IMPACT in a variety of settings.

Examples/Case Studies from Integration

There are several examples of the integrated exemplars from across the country. Case studies from some of these leaders can be found in the AHRQ EPC report.

International Examples

“Beating the Blues”, a program in the UK, has been shown to be evidence based and cost effective in treating anxiety and depression by the primary care provider. Beating the Blues® is the only computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) program approved by NICE for treatment of depression.