Bridging the Gap on Behavioral Health: Advancing Whole-Person Care Through Integration

Behavioral health integration (BHI) places behavioral health staff and resources into primary care and other medical settings, providing a more seamless care experience for patients. BHI can result in better health outcomes, more efficient coordination of care, improved patient and provider satisfaction, increased health equity, and lower overall cost of care. Despite the promises of BHI, systemic barriers can create challenges to scaling and sustaining BHI in California.

Watch recording of Blue Shield of California Industry Initiatives conversation with a panel of health care leaders discussing current challenges in our behavioral health system and how BHI can help address those challenges. Panelists also discuss opportunities to work together to overcome barriers and scale BHI to improve our system’s ability to meet the behavioral health needs of all Californians.

Panelists:

• Christine Brocato, VP of Strategic Innovation, CommonSpirit Health
• Jennifer Christian-Herman, VP of Clinical Strategy & Programs, Blue Shield of California
• Crystal Eubanks, Director, California Quality Collaborative
• Sharmil Shah, Assistant Deputy Director, Office of Health Workforce Development, HCAI
• Vanessa Villaverde, Senior Program Investor, Innovation Fund, California Health Care Foundation
• Muriel LaMois, Program Manager, Industry Initiatives, Blue Shield of California (moderator)