Behavioral Health Integration (BHI)

This collection of AMA STEPS Forward^® Practice Innovation Strategies and Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) collaborative resources provides medical practices with evidence-based best practices, tools and practical solutions to implementing and sustaining integrated behavioral health care.

• Podcasts
  • BHI In Practice: Establishing Efficient Workflows Learn how behavioral health integration can support efficiency and care quality while avoiding disruptions to practice operations.
  • Beating Physician Burnout With BHI See how implementing BHI can increase joy and satisfaction in your practice.
  • BHI and Exploring its Effect on Clinical Practice Listen to the benefits and challenges of integrating behavioral health services into clinical practices in a real-life scenario.
  • The Importance of Screening for Social Determinants of Health Margaret Bavis, DNP, assistant professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, discusses how the CommunityHealth clinic assessed and optimized SDOH to improve patient care.
  • Medicare Annual Wellness Visit Philip Bain, MD, a general internal medicine specialist at Bozeman Health Belgrade Clinic in Montana and the physician assistant director for primary care at Bozeman Health, highlights how to streamline workflow for thorough and efficient annual wellness visits.
  • Health Equity: The Importance of Building Trust Kavita Bhavan, MD, chief innovation officer at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, Texas, talks about the importance of building community trust for improved health equity.
  • Racial and Health Equity: Five Concrete STEPS Rishi Manchanda, MD, MPH, president and CEO of HealthBegins, discusses the five STEPS health care leaders can take to translate their commitment to racial and health equity into action.
• Webinars
  • Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Collaborative: Overcoming Obstacles Webinar Series See how to best equip physicians and their clinical teams to provide and sustain equitable, whole-person care (physical, mental and behavioral health) for their patients and families.
  • Practical Practices: Behavioral Health Integration Learn key findings from a behavioral health integration study conducted by the AMA and the RAND Corporation.
  • How to Advance Equity by Integrating Behavioral Health Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, psychiatrist and immediate past president of the AMA, and Melvin Oatis, MD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, discuss ways physicians can advance health equity through the integration of behavioral health in their practice.
  • Integrating Psychopharmacology into Primary Care: When and How Learn the ins and outs of integrating psychopharmacological treatment into a primary care practice.
  • Accelerating and Enhancing Behavioral Health Integration Through Digitally Enabled Care Listen to the opportunities and challenges from accelerating BHI through digitally enabled care and supporting the widespread adoption of sustainable BHI.
  • Assembling the BHI Care Team: Roles and Responsibilities Get tips on identifying practice needs, training care team members and assigning roles and responsibilities to better address patient behavioral health needs in this webinar co-hosted by AMA and Manatt Health.
  • Implementation Strategies for Virtual Behavioral Health Integration Learn how practices can virtually support patients who have a mental health issue or substance abuse disorder.
  • Establishing Efficient Workflows Learn how to integrate behavioral health care into your practice workflow to create a seamless experience for patients and the care team.
  • Quantifying the Impact of Behavioral Health Integration into Financial Planning Understand how practices can both financially plan for and sustain the integration of behavioral health care in both fee-for-service and value-based care arrangements.
  • Practical Strategies for Managing Suicidal Ideation and Reducing Risk Get up to speed with current data on pediatric and adult suicidal ideation, the importance of screening and the connection between childhood and adult mental health. One pediatrician describes how they implemented suicide screening and prevention efforts into their care setting.
  • Addressing Physician and Patient Mental Health Including Suicide Risk Identify physicians and patients who are at risk for suicide and connect them with the most appropriate care.
  • Addressing Adult Suicidal Ideation in the Primary Care Setting Learn how primary care practices can address suicidal ideation within their adult patient population.
  • Practical Billing Strategies for the Collaborative Care Model A deeper dive into effective billing and coding strategies specific to the Collaborative Care Model, in which a behavioral health care manager and psychiatric consultant are part of the care team.
  • Behavioral Health Billing & Coding 101: How to Get Paid Learn how to bill and get paid for behavioral health care services in this introductory webinar that includes real-world examples.
  • Dismantling Stigma Around Behavioral Health Conditions and Treatment Break the stigma barrier and normalize treatment for people with mental health conditions, especially patients who are underserved or who represent traditionally marginalized populations.
  • Managing Mental Health During COVID-19 Hear suggestions on managing mental well-being while also caring for patients during the pandemic or any other crisis.
  • How to Integrate Behavioral Health into Your Practice Experts discuss how to integrate whole-person care into your practice, an issue that takes on new urgency during COVID-19.
  • The Pandemic's Impact on Children and Teens Find out more about the growing concerns with mental health issues among children and adolescents.
• Toolkits: How-to guides for implementation
  • Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Compendium Learn about integrating behavioral health care, which includes mental health and substance use disorders care, and how to make it effective for your practice and patients.
  • Behavioral Health Integration into Primary Care 0.5 Credit CMESelect the best integrated behavioral health model to implement in your practice, expanding patient access to services.
  • Medication Adherence 0.5 Credit CMEBetter understand why patients don’t take their medications, how to ask about adherence, and the ways a physician can improve outcomes.
  • Empathetic Listening Apply empathetic listening to identify the patient’s underlying feelings, needs and values.
  • Project ECHO^® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Connect with expert medical specialists to build capacity in primary care and reduce health disparities.
  • Social Determinants of Health 0.5 Credit CMEUnderstand social determinants of health, health disparities and the unique needs of your community to improve outcomes beyond the clinic walls.
  • Essentials of Good Pain Care: A Team-Based Approach 0.5 Credit CMESafely manage acute and chronic pain, using non-pharmacologic and non-opioid therapies first.
  • Health Coaching 0.5 Credit CMERecruit, train and mentor health coaches who can help patients take charge of their health.
  • Choosing Wisely^® Promote patient-physician conversations to improve patient engagement and choose appropriate care.
  • Sharing Clinical Notes With Patients 0.5 Credit CMELearn to write open visit notes and help patients, caregivers and clinicians make the most of your notes in a new era of transparency.
  • Adult Vaccinations Build a successful team-based adult immunization program and find downloadable tools and training materials to guide you through the process.
• Success Stories: Real-world examples
  • Behavioral Health Case Report: Cornell University A pilot program at Cornell University demonstrated the value of an embedded behavioral health consultant (BHC) as a cost-effective, accessible, culturally sensitive approach to providing mental health care.
  • Behavioral Health Case Report: Brigham and Women's Advanced Primary Care Associates Brigham and Women's Advanced Primary Care Associates has continued to find success in implementing its integrated behavioral health model.
  • Read more Success Stories