2
Health
System Transformation
2023
HIGHLIGHTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Expanding Integrated Behavioral Health Care
The Meadows Institute is reinventing how mental health care is delivered through evidence-based integrated models of care, including the gold standard, the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). Psychiatrists and case managers are embedded directly into family medicine practices, under the leadership of a primary care provider. The team works together to coordinate care, prescribe medication when needed and ensure access to the best treatment for each patient’s mental health needs. This model of mental health care is equitable and cost-effective, and it helps people get better, faster—which should be the norm in the American healthcare system.
When mental health care is located within family practices, prescribing clinicians can reach and treat as many as 8x the number of patients, compared with traditional one-on-one care.
The Meadows Institute brought proven models of integrated care to 24 Texas health systems in 2023, representing 9.82 million people initially reached, 1.93 million fully reached and an estimated 110,302 treated.
U.S. representatives Lizzie Fletcher (D) and August Pfluger (R) hosted the Meadows Institute’s first-ever bipartisan congressional briefing for a standing-room-only audience in Washington, D.C. The briefing showcased our new report, “Improving Behavioral Health Care for Youth Through Collaborative Care Expansion.”
In 2023, the Meadows Institute galvanized support for the COMPLETE Care Act (Connecting Our Medical Providers with Links to Expand Tailored and Effective Care), which would help primary care clinicians adopt evidence-based models of integrated behavioral health care. The legislation would increase Medicare reimbursement incentives to cover some up-front implementation costs. With the Institute’s input, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the bill in the Senate, and U.S. Representatives Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) and August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced the bill in the House.
By meeting people where they are, integrated care reduces barriers to mental health care, lowers treatment costs and, most critically, improves patient outcomes. The Meadows Institute is:
Bridging the access gap: Integrated behavioral health care helps people get timely treatment for mild-to-moderate mental health disorders, especially youth and young adults. Half of all mental health conditions develop by age 14, and on average it takes eight to 10 years to receive care, often only after symptoms have reached crisis level.
Promoting best practices: The Meadows Institute gathered 20 national experts for the inaugural Pediatric and Adolescent Collaborative Care Roundtable. Participants shared real-world experiences and identified ways to bring this model into more health systems and doctors’ offices that serve children and youth.
Incentivizing implementation: Our strategic approach overcomes common barriers to making mental health care part of overall health care. We help primary care clinics cover their start-up costs and train health systems on how to properly bill insurance for mental health services.
Providing resources: The Meadows Institute, along with Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, released a suite of technical assistance guides to help family doctors integrate mental health care into their own practices.
Freeing every Texan from depression
The Lone Star Depression Challenge (LSDC), our bold, five-year project sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, aims to eradicate untreated depression and suicide in Texas by driving implementation of the Collaborative Care Model, which has been proven to help people achieve full or substantial recovery from the symptoms of depression.
“As a country, embedding behavioral health care into family practice is one of the single most important things we can do to improve and save countless lives for people struggling with depression, addiction, and other mental health concerns.”
“Integrating mental health care within primary care would make it easier for those battling depression, anxiety, and substance abuse to access the treatment they need.”