Andrea Auxier, PhD, Christine Runyan, PhD, Daniel Mullin, PsyD, Tai Mendenhall, PhD, Jessica Young, LICSW, & Rodger Kessler, PhD (2012). Behavioral health referrals and treatment initiation rates in integrated primary care: a Collaborative Care Research Network study. Transl Behav Med. Sep; 2(3): 337–344. Published online 2012 Jun 6. doi:  10.1007/s13142-012-0141-8)

This study presents the results of a multisite card study organized by The Collaborative Care Research Network, a sub-network of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ National Research Network devoted to conducting practice-based research focused on the provision of BH and health behavior services within primary care practices.

Deborah J. Cohen, PhD, Melinda M. Davis, PhD, Jennifer D. Hall, MPH, Emma C. Gilchrist, MPH,
Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD. A Guidebook of Professional Practices for Behavioral Health and Primary Care Integration: Observations From Exemplary Sites. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. March 2015.

This AHRQ-funded guidebook was developed to assist the field of primary care and behavioral health in identifying professional practices for developing a workforce for integrated care. The guidebook was developed as part of a project that included an expert panel, a literature review, and identification of key professional practices through observation and interviews at exemplary primary care organizations.

Jacqueline R. Scott, Lisa R. Holderby and Durrell J. Fox, E. Lee Rosenthal, J. Nell Brownstein, Carl H. Rush, Gail R. Hirsch, & Anne M. Willaert. (2010). Community health workers: part of the solution. Health Affairs, 29(7), 1338-1342 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0081)

Community health workers are recognized in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as important members of the health care workforce.  The evidence shows that they can help improve health care access and outcomes; strengthen health care teams; and enhance quality of life for people in poor, underserved, and diverse communities.  We trace how two states, Massachusetts and Minnesota, initiated comprehensive policies to foster far more utilization of community health workers and, in the case of Minnesota, to make their services reimbursable under Medicaid.  The recommendations are that other states follow the lead of these states, further developing the workforce of community health workers, devising appropriate regulations and credentialing, and allowing the services of these workers to be reimbursed.

Turchi RM, Antonelli RC, Norwood KW Jr, Adams RC, Brei TJ, Burke RT, Davis BE, Friedman SL, Houtrow AJ, Kuo DZ, Levy SE, Wiley SE, Kalichman MA, Murphy NA, Cooley WC, Jeung J, Johnson B, Klitzner TS, Lail JL, Lindeke LL, Mullins A, Partridge L, Schwab W, Stille C, Waldron D, Wells N, & Sia C. (2014). Patient- and family-centered care coordination: a framework for integrating care for children and youth across multiple systems. Pediatrics, 133(5), 1451-60)

At the foundation of an efficient and effective system of care delivery is the patient-/family-centered medical home.  From its inception, the medical home has had care coordination as a core element.  In general, optimal outcomes for children and youth, especially those with special health care needs, require interfacing among multiple care systems and individuals, including the following: medical, social, and behavioral professionals; the educational system; payers; medical equipment providers; home care agencies; advocacy groups; needed supportive therapies/services; and families. Coordination of care across settings permits an integration of services that is centered on the comprehensive needs of the patient and family, leading to decreased health care costs, reduction in fragmented care, and improvement in the patient/family experience of care.

Richardson, L.P., Ludman, E., McCauley, E., et al. (2014). Collaborative care for adolescents with depression in primary care: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 312(8), 809-816. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.9259)

The study presented in this paper determined whether a collaborative care intervention for adolescents with depression improves depressive outcomes compared with usual care.`è^ŸU`è^ŸUн!^ŸU°
^ŸUÈè^ŸU€è^ŸUM€è^ŸUental health services with depression can be integrated into primary care.

Aseltine, R.H., James, A., Schilling, E.A., & Glanovsky, J. (2007), Evaluating the SOS suicide prevention program: a replication and extension. BMC Public Health, (7)161,doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-161)

With suicide the leading cause of death for youth in the United States and school-based programs being a principle vehicle for youth suicide prevention efforts, the authors examined the effectiveness of Signs of Suicide (SOS) prevention programs in reducing suicidality.  This study confirmed initial analysis, this time with a larger and more racially and socio-economically diverse sample.

This is a research-based guide from the National Institute on Drug Abuse/NIH on the principles of adolescent substance use disorder treatment.

In this guest editorial in Pediatric Annals, Dr. Levy describes the picture of adolescent substance use, evidence-based approaches to addressing it, and the role of primary care clinicians in addressing it.