Integrating Mental Health and Primary Care Services for Children
Pediatricians and family physicians are often the initial points of contact for children’s health problems.Grantee Name
Long Island Home (dba South Oaks Hospital)
Funding Area
Special Projects Fund
Publication Date
April 2016
Grant Amount
$138,010
Grant Date:
November 2012 – July 2015
Pediatricians and family physicians are often the initial points of contact for children’s health problems.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and New York State Academy of Family Physicians have advocated for the integration of mental health treatment for youth into the primary care setting as an efficient and cost-effective model to deliver this service. In 2012, NYHealth awarded a grant to South Oaks Hospital (SOH) to develop and implement a model that integrates mental health services into primary care settings for pediatric patients. Under this grant, SOH embedded on-site mental health therapists in pediatrician offices so that children could get mental health treatment in a timely manner.
Goals:
- Co-locate mental health therapists into primary care practices for children.
- Demonstrate the cost-effectiveness for integrating mental health services into a primary care setting.
Outcomes and Lessons Learned
- Developed work plans for the best use of space, workflow, referrals, medication management, patient records, billing, and scheduling procedures; and
- Implemented separate billing practices for FSL to provide mental health services.
- Partnered with Family Service League (FSL)—one of Long Island’s largest providers of outpatient behavioral health—to embed a therapist in pediatrician offices, with five out of the targeted six offices currently providing behavioral health services;
- Implemented screening protocols for pediatricians to assess a child’s need for mental health services; and
- Facilitated collaborations between the primary care providers and on-site therapists, allowing them to deliver timely screening, treatment, referrals, and medication management to pediatric patients within the same setting.