Coordinate Medical Care, Mental Healthcare for the Best Outcomes

Hospital staff must identify patients with behavioral health issues and physical problems, and include both conditions in the treatment and discharge plans in order to prevent readmissions. •Patients with behavioral issues often have trouble adhering to their treatment plans, which increases the financial risk hospitals are beginning to bear as healthcare shifts to value-based reimbursement. •Hospitals are beginning to integrate treatment for mental and physical issues by placing clinical social workers in the ED to screen patients, contracting with a nearby mental health clinic, and assigning their own behavioral health staff to the ED. •Case managers should refer patients to community resources, preferably with a patient-centered medical home that can provide care for both issues. •Integrated care begins in the ED, but the staff typically has little training on how to recognize and treat behavioral health disorders.