The future of psychiatric collaboration in Federally qualified health centers

Abstract

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) provide comprehensive care to underserved and disadvantaged populations. FQHCs now comprise the largest primary care network in the United States. Currently, many FQHCs provide limited access to psychiatric services; and when such services are available, most use traditional on-site psychiatric clinics. The author reviews the rationale for increasing access to behavioral health care in FQHCs by adopting collaborative models of care, describes challenges to adopting these models in FQHCs, and discusses ways to increase the primary care team's ability to support patient self-care and family functioning.