Each year, Americans make an estimated 500 million visits to primary care doctors. In fact, the CDC found just over 85% of Americans had a visit with a doctor or health professional in the past year. Whether for annual checkups, illnesses, ailments, or other physical concerns, these visits are relatively routine and somewhat expected.

Contrast that with the American Medical Association’s finding that less than half of the 43 million adults identified with a mental illness receive treatment. Same story for the 6 million children identified as suffering from an emotional, behavioral or developmental issue. The increasing number of Americans struggling with mental health challenges, combined with the ongoing shortage of behavioral health workers, has created an accessibility gap that shows no signs of slowing down.

For these reasons and more, the collaborative care model of integrating behavioral health services into primary care is not only growing in popularity, but also yielding encouraging results. Patients can express their mental health concerns in an environment they’re already accustomed to. They can often access behavioral health specialists faster and receive more individualized care from a team led by their physician.

Still, the........

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