Behavioral health integration in a nurse-led federally qualified health center: Outcomes of care.

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, significant evidence has emerged for collaborative care in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders in primary care. The purpose of this project was to integrate an interprofessional and collaborative care model of behavioral health services into routine nurse-led primary care delivered to vulnerable and underserved populations across the lifespan. Team members included psychiatric nurse practitioners (PMHNPs), a registered nurse, and a case manager. An Access database was developed to track clients seen by the PMHNPs. Three key outcome measures were tracked over time: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist Civilian Version, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), and Bipolar Depression Rating Scale (BDRS). A retrospective analysis of client outcome data from January 2017 through December 2019 was conducted. There were 118 patients included who were mostly female (63.6%), White (90.7%), and not Hispanic (69.5%), with Medicaid as their primary insurance (74.6%). For each outcome, models with linear and quadratic function forms for time were fit. The final model for PTSD Checklist Score had a linear functional form for time and the final models for BDRS and HAM-D had linear and quadratic terms for time. All predictors were significantly associated with the outcome. This program demonstrated that a patient-centered, nurse-led team approach to the treatment of depression, bipolar depression, and PTSD can be successful in primary care.