Photo Credit: Gorodenkoff

The integration of two full-time equivalent behavioral health clinicians was associated with a decrease in behavioral health diagnoses and psychotropic prescriptions among OB/GYN clinicians, according to a study published in General Hospital Psychiatry. Eydie L Moses-Kolko, MD, and colleagues reviewed EMR data from 24 OB/GYN clinics to explore the impact of collocated behavioral health (BH) care on OB/GYN clinician coding of BH diagnoses and medications for perinatal individuals. BH integration resulted in a significant increase in OB/GYN coding for BH diagnoses, while BH clinician integration was associated with a 25% decrease in OB/GYN BH diagnoses and a substantial 37.7% decrease in BH medication prescriptions. Notably, non-white patients exhibited 28% to 74% lower odds of receiving a BH diagnosis and 43% to 76% lower odds of being prescribed BH medications compared with their white patients. According to the researchers, increased BH clinician integration may lead to external referrals for BH treatment, raising questions about equitable BH care delivery calling for further research to assess fiscal strategies supporting BH care manager-OB/GYN collaboration and strategies to ensure fair BH care distribution in OB/GYN clinics.