Physical health and mental health are undeniably linked, and with rising mental health concerns in the U.S. population, integrated primary and behavioral health care is more important than ever.

Since 2020, the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Solutions have embarked on an annual learning series aimed at primary and behavioral health providers to address different aspects of team-based care to improve health outcomes for patients.

The latest webinar series, presented exclusively by PCDC experts, focused on Integration at Work, which provided a roadmap for behavioral and primary care collaboration. This series helped organizations operationalize screening, address billing protocols, implement workflow policies, and streamline access. Ultimately, this webinar series, attended by over 800 participants, successfully provided organizations with the tools and tips to make integration possible—81% expect the information provided in the series will immediately impact their work. Additionally, 74% plan on making changes and improvements as a result of the information covered within the series.

“PCDC’s partnership with the National Council and SAMHSA has paved the way for primary and behavioral health providers to collaborate and share best practices to improve health equity and the quality of care for their patients,” said Julie Schilz, BSN, MBA, Senior Director, CQP and Integrated Care Portfolio lead at PCDC. “PCDC’s staff are experts in addressing the barriers to integrated care and the organization is fully invested in expanding integration nationally for primary care and behavioral health, as well as broader opportunities of integration to support health equity.”

“We are proud of the work and results from the Integration at Work webinar series,” said Alicia Kirley, Senior Director at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. “This and the subsequent webinar series showed how crucial it is for organizations to adopt integration, and that practical and implementation-focused tools are the key to helping organizations achieve integration.”