Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Veterans Health Administration Investments In Primary Care And Mental Health Integration Improved Care Access.

Leung LB, Rubenstein LV, Yoon J, Post EP, Jaske E, Wells KB, Trivedi RB. Veterans Health Administration Investments In Primary Care And Mental Health Integration Improved Care Access. Health affairs (Project Hope). 2019 Aug 1; 38(8):1281-1288.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

Aiming to increase care access, the national Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) initiative of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) embedded specialists, care managers, or both in primary care clinics to collaboratively care for veterans with psychiatric illness. The initiative's effects on health care use and cost patterns were examined among 5.4 million primary care patients in 396 VHA clinics in 2013-16. The median rate of patients who saw a PC-MHI provider was 6.3 percent. Each percentage-point increase in the proportion of clinic patients seen by these providers was associated with 11 percent more mental health and 40 percent more primary care visits but also with 9 percent higher average total costs per patient per year. At the mean, 2.5 integrated care visits substituted for each specialty-based mental health visit that did not occur. PC-MHI was associated with improved access to outpatient care, albeit at increased total cost to the VHA. Successful implementation of integrated care necessitates significant investment and multidisciplinary partnership within health systems.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.