Why Primary Care Needs Behavioral Health Services?

Why would a primary care provider consider the need for behavioral health services?

Ted Epperly, M.D., FAAFP, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, calls for integration of primary and behavioral care. Such an approach can enhance quality and reduce costs. He states individuals with severe persistent mental illness who are not seen for primary care die 25 years younger than similar patients who receive primary care. Epperly's medical home incorporates behavioral health, but he warns such integration is not the norm. What is needed is a trusted personal relationship with a primary care physician. To read more about this, please click on the attached Behavioral Health Central article entitled, "How Healthcare Reform Could End the Stepchild Status of Primary and Behavioral Healthcare: A Talk With AAFP Board Chair Dr. Ted Epperly."

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