How does URAC support integrating behavioral health into primary care?

URAC supports the integration of behavioral health into primary care primarily by providing accreditation standards that promote collaborative care models. These standards encourage healthcare organizations to adopt practices that facilitate coordination between physical and behavioral health services, thus enabling comprehensive care for patients.

This integration is essential as it helps to address the whole person, acknowledging that mental and physical health are interconnected. By creating a framework that outlines best practices and quality metrics, URAC enables primary care providers to incorporate behavioral health assessment and intervention into their routine care, ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate mental health support.

The focus on accreditation standards also encourages healthcare organizations to implement systematic changes that can lead to improved patient outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and increased patient satisfaction. These standards serve not just as guidelines but as benchmarks that organizations strive to meet, fostering an environment where integrated care becomes the norm rather than the exception.

In contrast, the other options, such as providing exclusive services to behavioral practitioners, funding mental health programs, or creating educational materials for patients, may play supportive roles in the broader context of mental health care but do not directly contribute to the structural integration of behavioral health within primary care settings as effectively as the accreditation standards do.