Physicians take a new approach to improve mental health

Mental and behavioral health issues such as anxiety, depression, smoking and physical inactivity impact many aspects of health. Find out how one university health service incorporated behavioral health to help their patients live happier, healthier lives.   While primary care seeks to improve the overall health of patients which includes both mind and body, treating both medical needs is often met with barriers such as lack of resources, lack of time and the perceived stigma that many patients have toward mental health care.    A new module from the AMA’s STEPS Forward™ collection of practice improvement strategies offers ways in which you can embed behavioral health within a primary care or certain secondary care practices to expand services to meet both the mental and general health needs of your patients.    How Cornell University did it Cornell University Health Services recently set out to show the value of an embedded behavioral health consultant as a cost-effective and culturally sensitive approach to merging mental health with standard practice.   Nearly 80 percent of Cornell students used campus medical services. Although surveys showed as many as 40 percent of students could have benefited from mental health care, only about 18 percent used such services. One barrier was that counseling and medical services were provided separately.    To offer their student population the best possible access to care and overcome barriers, Cornell ...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news