Integrating Primary Care Into Community Mental Health Centers: Impact on Utilization and Costs of Health Care

Objective:This evaluation was designed to assess the impact of providing integrated primary and mental health care on utilization and costs for outpatient medical, inpatient hospital, and emergency department treatment among persons with serious mental illness.Methods:Two safety-net, community mental health centers that received a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PBHCI) grant were the focus of this study. Clinic 1 had a ten-year history of providing integrated services whereas clinic 2 began integrated services with the PBHCI grant. Difference-in-differences (DID) analyses were used to compare individuals enrolled in the PBHCI programs (N=373, clinic 1; N=389, clinic 2) with propensity score–matched comparison groups of equal size at each site by using data obtained from medical records.Results:Relative to the comparison groups, a higher proportion of PBHCI clients used outpatient medical services at both sites following program enrollment (p