Optimising and personalising behavioural healthcare in the US Department of Defense through Primary Care Behavioral Health

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, one way the US Department of Defense (DoD) has worked to optimise and personalise the delivery of behavioural healthcare is by integrating behavioural health providers into primary care settings. Using the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model for integration allows behavioural health providers to see service members and their families for brief and targeted appointments. These appointments are focused on ensuring that the patient receives the care that is needed, while reducing the barriers (eg, delays in receiving care, negative stigma, isolated from other medical care) that are often associated with seeking behavioural healthcare. We review the primary components of the PCBH model, detail the history of how the DoD implemented the PCBH model, review the training methods used by the DoD and briefly describe some of the research that has been conducted by the DoD evaluating the PCBH model.