The article in the business section "Primary care gets a boost in pay" (Sept. 21) is an interesting concept. It would be even more interesting to see how behavioral health care is integrated into this system, in a meaningful way, since most patients who are high users of the medical system and high cost usually have a co-occurring mental illness, substance abuse and/or a cognitive/intellectual disorder as well.
Revising an integrated plan of care and monitoring the patient's progress is one thing, but in order to know how effective the treatment is also depends on a quality component such as the use of specific outcome measures that are realistic and measurable.
