Integrating mental health services into primary care for children and adolescents

Join us on this episode as we speak with Hilary M. Bowers, a pediatrician who shares with us the importance of integrating behavioral and mental health care within primary care practices. With one in five children and adolescents receiving a behavioral or mental health diagnosis by age 18, and with youth depressive symptoms doubling since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to provide the right care at the right time to the right patient. Hilary discusses how her organization successfully integrated mental health care into their pediatric medical group, which cares for approximately 270,000 patients from birth to 21 years of age. She emphasizes the need to identify a champion and form a network of partners within the community-based organizations. Hilary also highlights the importance of supporting open communication and providing ongoing education to clinicians to provide evidence-based care. As parents and guardians look to us for guidance on various topics, including behavioral and mental health issues, we need to be there to provide the best care possible for the whole child. Tune in to this episode to learn more about how you can integrate behavioral and mental health care into your primary care practice. Hilary M. Bowers is a pediatrician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Changing the pediatric care landscape: Integrating behavioral and mental health care." The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience. With a growing physician shortage, increasing burnout, and declining patient satisfaction, a dramatic change is needed to make health care more efficient and effective and bring back the joy of practicing medicine. AI-driven ambient clinical intelligence promises to help by revolutionizing patient and provider experiences with clinical documentation that writes itself. The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience, or DAX for short, is a voice-enabled, ambient clinical intelligence solution that automatically captures patient encounters securely and accurately at the point of care. Physicians who use DAX have reported a 50 percent decrease in documentation time and a 70 percent reduction in feelings of burnout, and 83 percent of patients say their physician is more personable and conversational. Rediscover the joy of medicine with clinical documentation that writes itself, all within the EHR. VISIT SPONSOR → https://nuance.com/daxinaction SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended GET CME FOR THIS EPISODE → https://earnc.me/n66QJK Powered by CMEfy.