A Center for American Progress (CAP) brief examines the integration of behavioral health services into primary care and offers suggestions on how best to achieve care integration under the national health care reform law.  The brief highlights current issues impeding care integration, including a shortage of behavioral health providers, a disparity in access to behavioral health services, and a lack of financial incentives for primary care providers to deliver high-quality behavioral health services.

From the report:

The responsibility for providing mental health care is falling increasingly to primary care providers. This may reflect both the treatment preferences of many Americans and the availability and affordability of health care services. Well over half of treated patients now receive some form of primary care for their mental disorder, mostly from a primary care doctor, and primary care is now the sole form of health care used by over one-third of patients with a mental disorder accessing the health care system.

Full Report: Mental Health Care Services in Primary Care (PDF | 456 KB)