An NEJM Catalyst article and video looks at the challenges of primary-care physicians engaging in truly integrated care, especially for low-income patients with addiction and other behavioral-health issues.
The article says:
“True integrated care in a true collaborative space — not just a consult — is still a foreign concept to a lot of clinicians. San José Clinic, in Houston, is a unique environment that serves uninsured patients who face numerous challenges, particularly with social determinants of health — folks who may not make it back for follow-up care in a timely manner. For this reason, they aim to help patients with as many issues as possible within one visit.
”’Every clinician, every specialist is 100 percent willing to do whatever it takes in that visit to make it happen,’ says the clinic’s president and CEO, Paule Anne Lewis.”’
“’I’ve seen some really interesting things on getting the buy-in from a recruiting perspective,’ adds Corey Waller, Senior Medical Director for Education and Policy at Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers’ National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs.”
“’For physicians, our job is really changing. We’re not just seeing patients all day anymore,’ says Waller. ‘Our role is only to see the sickest and then to run teams of people who see patients. That’s where the future of being a doctor is going, which is super scary since we have no training in it.”’
To read the article and see the accompanying video, please this link.