Accessing behavioral health care comes with a host of challenges; complicated referral processes, long wait lists, and limited insurance reimbursements are just a few of the barriers that prevent those in need from receiving care—or ever seeking it out in the first place. In Utah, which consistently ranks among the nation’s top states for suicide, these realities become even harsher.

10 years ago, Huntsman Mental Health Institute set out to address these issues of access through the creation of its Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) program. This program embeds licensed social workers directly into University of Utah Health clinics, providing immediate mental health support alongside primary care services. By facilitating a “warm hand-off,” this approach circumvents many of the traditional barriers to care, offering same-day access to behavioral health services.

Constantly innovating

While inventive itself, the BHI program continues to expand access through bold innovations. Perhaps the most paramount of these began in July 2024, with the integration of auto-PHQ depression screenings into patients’ pre-appointment checklists. Now, if a patient screens positive for any potential behavioral health concerns, a professional preemptively reaches out to them, taking the responsibility—and any of the accompanying confusion or hesitancy—of starting that often difficult conversation into their own expert hands. In just its first year, this screening measure resulted in over 6,000 preemptive encounters.

The program has also begun establishing itself beyond primary care settings, integrating into specialty clinics. Now, patients meeting with a doctor specializing in neurological conditions, women’s health, and chronic illnesses have access to these integrated services. BHI has even developed specialized support groups to address the intersection of physical and mental health, offering services to those suffering conditions like long COVID, Parkinson’s disease, and more.

Addressing affordability

To address the barrier of affordability, maintaining financial accessibility is amongst the top priorities for the program. This is why BHI’s services are billed through the primary care provider at standard copay rates rather than at specialist rates. While this billing structure improves accessibility for everyone, it also makes care accessible for Medicaid recipients, underinsured patients, and underserved populations.\

Improved patient outcomes

Since its inception, the BHI program has achieved a 15% penetration rate—meaning that 15% of all primary care patients annually received behavioral health care via this program. This has resulted in the program’s social workers meeting with six times more patients than those in traditional outpatient behavioral health settings.

Perhaps most impressively, the program has managed to achieve a dramatic reduction in wait times—from 74 days to an average of just 10 days from referral to appointment. “When it comes to mental health care, every second counts,” says Teresa Lopez, LCSW, Director of Behavioral Health Integration. “This program represents our commitment to making mental health care as accessible and routine as another other aspect of primary care.”

Partnerships across campus

In its effort to drive greater integration as well as awareness of behavioral health care, the BHI program has established a number of educational opportunities across campus. A formal internship program with the University of Utah College of Social Work, as well as training opportunities for medical students and psychiatry residents, will help ensure the next generation of health care professionals remains up to date on best practices and that behavioral health has its place in primary care settings.

You can learn more about the BHI program and its impact through the Good Notes blog.