Primary care physicians want a collaborative approach to mental and behavioral health care, according to Dr. April Barbour, director of general internal medicine and the primary care residency program at George Washington University, Washington. “That’s a lot of what we teach and train our residents ... and this allows us to truly treat the whole patient.”
Training models are out there, but the question of whether funding is available to keep these models viable is an issue.
“Every professional is going to look to be compensated for his or her time and input,” explains Dr. Lillian M. Beard, physician director of Children’s Pediatricians and Associates, Silver Spring, Md. “We have to look at mind, body, spirit. It’s the whole thing.”
In this video, Dr. Barbour, Dr. Beard, and psychiatrists Dr. Lorenzo Norris and Dr. David Pickar discuss how to make primary care practices responsive to patients in ways that are both holistic and cost effective.