Embedding Mental Health Care in Every Visit at Intermountain Healthcare

Brenda Reiss-Brennan, PhD, APRN, Mental Health Integration Director, Intermountain Healthcare, and Jeffrey Rose, MD, Senior VP of Clinical Strategy, Hearst Health.  Properly diagnosing and treating mental disorders through an effective integrated team approach is vital to achieving population health. In 2000, Intermountain created a Mental Health Integration program for patients that made mental health evaluation and service part of the routine care for all patients seeking care at Intermountain, with an emphasis on primary care. The Mental Health Integration program was integrated into the EMR, digitizing clinical workflows and connecting patient records to allow clinicians to have the necessary tools, resources, and information to make appropriate team-based clinical decisions.  Results from more than 100,000 patients over a 10-year period show improved outcomes, enhanced patient experience and better value. Intermountain’s Mental Health Integration program recently won the 2017 Hearst Health Prize, an annual $100,000 award given in recognition of outstanding achievement in managing or improving health in the U.S.