Integrated behavioral healthcare strategies for pediatric and adult care
The "Pediatric BHI Workflow Guide" (PDF) and “Adult BHI Workflow Guide” (PDF) offer best practices and tools on crafting an efficient and effective integrated workflow. These guides enable primary care providers and their care teams to overcome key barriers to operationalizing integrated behavioral health (BH) care in their practice setting.
This is part of AMA’s broader efforts to empower healthcare organizations to overcome obstacles to accessible and equitable treatment for their patients’ behavioral, mental and physical health needs.
Featured topics and resources in the guides
Strategies to design an effective workflow
Workflows may look different depending on the practice setting, current staffing, and overall financial considerations; however, general sequences of actions are often consistent. Adjust to fit identified practice needs and available resources.
Approaching workflow design requires practices and systems to consider key questions, such as:
- Staffing: What kind of administrative and clinical staff does the practice need? Key factors include patient demographics, financial considerations and practice setting, as well as daily operations, clinical care and data/record management needs.
- Handoffs: How, and at what frequency, will the staff discuss behavioral health caseloads?
- Protocols for crisis: Who develops and maintains a referral list with contact information for higher-level care?
- Technology: How and under what circumstances will telehealth and/or digital tools be used, if at all, to deliver behavioral healthcare?
- Billing and coding: Are appropriate codes available in the electronic medical record system?
- Patient and staff feedback: How is patient and staff feedback collected and used to iterate on and improve the behavioral health integration workflow?
The guides provide adult (PDF) and pediatric (PDF) workflow examples and a workflow plan (PDF) to help practices and systems create their own workflow that works best for them and their patients.
Download the AMA's BHI workflow guides for adult care (PDF) and pediatric care (PDF) to learn more about creating effective workflows for addressing the behavioral health needs of your patients.
Additional resources
- BHI Compendium for physician practices and health systems
- Strategic behavioral health guides for patient care
- BHI for Adult Primary Care Toolkit
- Whole-person care resource list
- Webinars on BHI
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
With an increased number of people reporting worsening mental health in recent years, it is imperative that people are aware of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) telephone program.
People experiencing a suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress can call, chat or text 988, and speak to trained crisis counselors. The national hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will continue to be operational and route calls to 988 indefinitely.
