As the Executive Director of the Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation, I’ve worked with organizations that have proven integrated care, where physical and mental health services, working together, can transform lives. When providers treat the whole person, not just isolated symptoms, communities are healthier, barriers to care are reduced and patients feel truly supported.

There’s growing recognition in the health care world that behavioral health and primary care belong together. At Delta Dental of Arizona, we’re helping to facilitate conversations across the public health and private practice medical communities to move this important work forward.

While the outcomes of this integration are clear, the process is complex. There are several factors to consider, like how providers get paid and managing the workforce shortage. Still, even with the hurdles, this may be one of the most meaningful changes we can make in health care today to improve patient outcomes.

Why Integration Matters

Primary care visits with a doctor are often only about 10 minutes. That’s not enough time to provide basic care and also discuss important topics like sleep, nutrition, exercise or emotions. When time is short, things like stress, trauma or loneliness can easily go unmentioned. That makes it hard to get a full picture of someone’s health.

When mental health professionals are part of the primary care team, patients get more well-rounded support. It allows care teams to spot issues early and take action sooner. Together, they can address a patient’s full story, and not just a single symptom.

But for this to work, the health care system has to evolve. Traditional medical care has focused on fixing immediate problems. Mental health care, on the other hand, often looks at long-term habits and emotional well-being. Blending these approaches takes time, training and a true team effort.

Understanding the Challenges

There are several reasons why it’s difficult to bring behavioral health and primary care together:

• Different Specialties: Psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed therapists and primary care providers all have different specialties, roles and approaches.
• How providers get paid: Insurance usually doesn’t allow two providers to bill for services on the same day, even if the patient needs both. This makes team-based care harder to deliver.
• Workforce shortages: Arizona has several medical schools, but not enough residency spots, especially in psychiatry. Plus, few training programs focus on this kind of team care, and not all of them count toward licensing.
• Disconnected systems: Many health organizations offer similar services, but they don’t always coordinate. That makes it hard to share information or follow the same care standards.

Moving Toward Whole-Person Care

To make integration work, we need to support providers with training and systems that reward teamwork. We also need to address things like housing, transportation, job status, and food access. These basic needs, known as social determinants of health, directly affect how healthy people are, both physically and mentally.

We hear it over and over again: simplify the system, reduce red tape and create space for collaboration. But, we also need to support providers through the change and help patients understand that it’s OK to talk about mental health, just like they would any other health issue.

This isn’t about replacing one system with another. It’s about connection. It’s about care that’s easier to access, more compassionate and designed for the whole person.

This blog is part of the Expert Voices series. This series brings together leaders in health and wellness to talk about problems and solutions to improve communities. In this event, behavioral health professionals from public health, private practice and academia in Arizona had a lively conversation. They discussed how to combine behavioral health and primary care programs and explored ways to create partnerships in the future. For more information about Expert Voices, contact Barb Kozuh at bkozuh@deltadentalaz.com.