What is Primary Care?

The Committee on the Future of Primary Care at the Institute of Medicine offered this widely accepted definition of primary care in 1994 (Institute of Medicine, 1994).

“… integrated, accessible health care services provided by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of health care needs, developing sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community.”
Institute of Medicine. (1994). Defining primary care:  An interim report. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

What is Integrated Primary Care?

The movement to bring behavioral health services into primary care has increasingly gained momentum over the last few decades.  Behavioral health is the term used to reflect the combination of mental health, substance misuse, and health behavior concerns addressed in primary care by a psychologist or other behavioral health provider.  Truly integrated primary care occurs when behavioral health care is an integral part of the “medical” treatment at the medical care site.  Integrated care providers work closely together in teams to generate and implement single treatment plans with both behavioral and medical elements (Blount, 2003).

…combines medical and behavioral health services for problems patients bring to primary care, including stress-linked physical symptoms, maladaptive health behaviors, and/or mental health or substance misuse concerns and disorders.

Resources for Learning More about Integrated Primary Care

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  • An introductory primary care psychology curriculum for use in educating psychology graduate students, pre-doctoral interns, and post-doctoral fellows. - Click Here
• APA Integrated Health Care