Integrated Care for Complicated Patients: A Role for Combined Training and Practice

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2023 Mar;31(3):222-231. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2022.10.008. Epub 2022 Nov 6.

Abstract

Patients with chronic medical disease frequently have comorbid psychiatric illness, yet mental and physical healthcare is frequently siloed in the United States. Integrated behavioral healthcare models, such as medicine-psychiatry services, are feasible, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs. The Duke University Hospital medicine-psychiatry service provides holistic patient care and serves as a model for those interested in developing combined services or training programs elsewhere. Combined residency training in psychiatry is a way to provide a workforce of physician-scientist educators adept at providing coordinated, integrated care for complex patients with comorbid illness.

Keywords: Integrated care; collaborative care; comorbid illness; healthcare delivery models; inpatient care; medicine-psychiatry.

MeSH terms

  • Delivery of Health Care, Integrated*
  • Humans
  • Internship and Residency*
  • Mental Disorders*
  • Patients
  • Psychiatry* / education
  • United States