The Critical Role of Health Information Technology in the Safe Integration of Behavioral Health and Primary Care to Improve Patient Care

Integrated behavioral health and primary care is a set of related approaches to enhance care delivery, safety, and quality through closer collaboration and coordination among clinicians and care organizations in these two fields. Technology (e.g., electronic health records (EHR), telehealth, clinical decision support, and standards-based interoperability) can enable integration and improve delivery of care. Reinforcing these opportunities, virtual care and telehealth have dramatically changed care availability and delivery, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are different levels of integration, ranging from minimal to full collaboration. The Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety and the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association (EHRA) formed a workgroup to examine using information technology to facilitate integration. Taking a three-pronged approach focused on (1) screening for behavioral health issues, (2) clinician documentation, and (3) sharing data among clinicians, patients, and authorized parties, the workgroup developed action-oriented recommendations and strategies for safe use of health IT for stakeholders and policymakers seeking to advance efforts to integrate behavioral health with primary care.