News in Brief

For your practice: Integrating behavioral health into primary care

AHRQ’s Integration Playbook offers strategies for integrating behavioral health into primary care practices.

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Integrated primary care (or integrated ambulatory care) is an emerging approach for improving health care delivery in order to achieve better patient health outcomes.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) developed its Integration Playbook as a guide for large and small practices to integrate behavioral health into primary care and other ambulatory settings.

The playbook’s features include:

  • A self-assessment checklist to determine your practice’s needs.
  • Planning tools for integrating behavioral health.
  • Advice on preparing infrastructure, establishing protocols and tracking and monitoring patients.

Watch the AHRQ’s video to learn more about the playbook’s content and features.