Dr Paul Ciechanowski Expresses Importance of Integrating Behavioral and Physical Health

Only about one-fourth of all patients with behavioral health issues are diagnosed by a primary care provider and receive the appropriate treatment, said Paul Ciechanowski, MD, MPH.

“The fact is that we are faced with working with people with behavioral health issues in primary care and that’s not going to change soon,” he said. “But the good news is that these new models of care allow us to do this in a different way.”

Dr Ciechanowski explained that while primary care physicians are tasked with treating behavioral issues more and more each day, new care models that seek psychiatrist recommendations allow physicians to better combine mental and physical health into primary care.