Table 1. Staffing, Scheduling, and Characteristics of Practices Integrating BHCs in Primary Care (n = 17)
Practice IDFederal Designation(s)OwnershipGeographyBHC Appt. LengthaBHC Appt. SchedulingbPCC-to-BHC PathwaycPCC FTEEstimated BHC FTERatio (PCC:BHC)
3GovernmentPrivateUrbanBriefFlexibleWarm handoff48.217.42.8:1
2FQHC/CMHCPrivate, not for profitSuburbanBriefFlexibleWarm handoff6.53.22.0:1
4FQHCPrivate, not for profitSuburbanMixedFlexibleWarm handoff11.02.05.5:1
16FQHCHospital SystemSuburbanBriefFlexibleBoth9.01.46.4:1
5NoneHospital SystemUrbanBriefFlexibleWarm handoff5.81.63.6:1
1FQHC/CMHCPrivate, not for profitUrbanLongPrescheduledReferral22.51.022.5:1
7NoneClinicianSuburbanLongPrescheduledReferral10.00.520.0:1
14NoneHospital SystemSuburbanMixedPrescheduledReferral21.90.636.5:1
6FQHCPrivate, not for profitSuburbanLongPrescheduledReferral1.23.80.3:1
12FQHCHospital SystemSuburbanLongPrescheduledReferral3.20.93.5:1
11NoneHospital SystemRuralLongPrescheduledReferral5.01.05.0:1
9NoneClinicianRuralMixedPrescheduledReferral2.00.54.0:1
17FQHCPrivate, not for profitRuralLongPrescheduledReferral6.02.03.0:1
8FQHCPrivate, not for profitUrbanMixedPrescheduledReferral9.92.93.4:1
15GovernmentGovernmentUrbanMixedMixedWarm handoff70.05.612.5:1
13NoneClinicianUrbanMixedMixedWarm handoff13.61.013.6:1
10NoneClinicianSuburbanMixedMixedReferral4.80.59.6:1
  • Abbreviations: BHC, behavioral health clinician; CMHC, Community Mental Health Center; FQHC, Federally Qualified Health Center; FTE, full-time equivalent; PCC, primary care clinician.

  • Practices are grouped by staffing, scheduling, and approach to integrated care. Numbering corresponds with other articles in this supplement.23

  • BHC is defined as the behavioral health clinicians who worked directly or most closely with the PCC. It does not include traditional mental health therapists working in a practice in the same building yet operating separately from primary care.

  • a BHCs generally saw patients for brief (15-to-30-min) or long (50-min) encounters.

  • b BHC appointments could be prescheduled back to back across the day or open and flexible to accommodate emerging patient needs.

  • c The approach used to transition patients between the PCC and the BHC. All practices used a referral pathway to access traditional mental health services.