Under One Roof: Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Healthcare in the Medical Home

Summary: Individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses are likely to die 20 years earlier than people without such conditions, says Liz Reardon, president of Reardon Consulting and a member of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) Integration Consulting Team. Putting the right medical home services in place for adults with chronic mental illness can help to reduce this disparity, suggests Reardon, explaining why the earliest medical homes for children with complex health needs are great models for behavioral healthcare organizations. Reardon, along with Laura Galbreath, NCCBH Director of Policy and Advocacy, kicked off HIN's Medical Home Open House webinar series when they presented current developments in the patient-centered medical home model with evidence-based approaches to integration of primary care and behavioral health during the July 1, 2009 webinar, Under One Roof: Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health in the Medical Home.