Developing Quality Indicators for Physical and Behavioral Health Care Integration

Patients who have medical problems in addition to behavioral health conditions tend to be in poorer health, use more health services, and incur greater costs than patients with medical problems alone. While research shows that the integration of physical and behavioral health care can be an effective strategy for improving these outcomes, there is no strong measurement and improvement infrastructure to support such integration. This project will craft recommendations for a portfolio of structural, process, and outcomes measures capable of assessing the integration of physical care and behavioral health. These recommendations will inform efforts by providers and policymakers to improve care coordination for high-need, high-cost patients. They also will be useful to the Commonwealth Fund–supported collaborative of state Medicaid programs.