Elevate Patient Care Through Behavioral Health Integration: Mental Health Awareness Month 2025

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the deep connection between physical and mental health. This understanding has led to a significant shift in healthcare, with the integration of behavioral health services into hospital settings emerging as a vital strategy.

By partnering with focused experts, hospitals can effectively address the growing need for behavioral health services. This collaboration is crucial as demand continues to increase, necessitating specialized care and highly trained staff.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has outlined six ways that integrating behavioral health can improve patient outcomes, all of which can be further enhanced through a strategic partnership. These include:⁵

1. 1. 1. Improved patient outcomes
      2. Reduced total cost of care
      3. Increased access to behavioral health services
      4. Enhanced patient satisfaction
      5. Better workforce productivity and satisfaction
      6. Reduced healthcare disparities and stigma

By leveraging a contract management or joint venture partnership, hospitals can effectively expand their behavioral health offerings, enhancing the continuum of care for patients and benefiting the community at large.

Why is it so important to integrate behavioral health into the hospital setting?

• • • As many as 40% of all patients seen in the primary care setting have a mental illness.¹
    • Nearly 67% of patients with behavioral health disorders do not receive the care they need.¹
    • More than 65% of the U.S. population lives in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area.²
    • 68% of adults with mental health disorders have comorbid chronic health disorders, and 29% of adults with chronic health disorders have mental health disorders.³
    • Approximately 9.2 million adults in the United States have a co-occurring disorder – or the coexistence of both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.³
    • Nearly all indicators of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors worsened from 2013 to 2023 in high school students.⁴

Interested in growing your hospital’s behavioral health offering? Read our whitepaper learn about the positive impact it can have on your patients and local community.

References:

1. https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The_Value_of_Integrated_Behavioral_Health_09.07.18-3.pptx
2. https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/data-research/state-of-primary-care-workforce-2023.pdf
3. https://www.samhsa.gov/medications-substance-use-disorders/medications-counseling-related-conditions/co-occurring-disorders
4. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0806-youth-mental-health.html
5. https://www.aha.org/integrating-physical-and-behavioral-health-time-now